THE NEW YORK TIMES: PARIS (Reuters) - Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced the creation of a new center-right party on Thursday set to challenge bitter rival President Nicolas Sarkozy in elections in two years' time.
The move by one of Sarkozy's fiercest critics within his own conservative camp comes as the president strains to recover from a crushing defeat in regional elections at the weekend.
"I have decided to create a new political movement that will be free and independent," Villepin told a news conference, adding that the party will be launched in Paris on June 19.
Villepin, an aristocratic former diplomat, said his movement would advocate a more equitable approach. "The motto of our struggle will be a republic of solidarity," he said.
Villepin's announcement is one of a number of signs that preparations for the 2012 presidential elections are already under way and that Sarkozy, previously seen as a near-certainty for re-election, may face a tougher race than expected.
In past years Sarkozy has enjoyed the spectacle of seeing Socialist opponents bicker among themselves, but a Villepin candidacy in the 2012 poll could split the conservative vote and highlight divisions in Sarkozy's UMP party.
CONSERVATIVE DISCONTENT
The president has focused on soothing discontent among center-right allies since the weekend election rout, dropping a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, reassuring farmers and hammering a tough line on security and immigration.
He also moved to undermine Villepin's nascent movement by recruiting to the government Georges Tron, one of the former prime minister's closest allies, in a reshuffle on Monday.
Villepin said his new party would stand for a more socially responsible conservatism, called for higher income and corporate taxes and said Sarkozy should drop the "fiscal shield" that protects the wealthy from paying more than 50 percent in tax.
Villepin said that while the 10 percent best paid in France now earn up to 230 times more than the 10 percent lowest paid, compared to 20 times in the 1970s and '80s.
"This is intolerable. Are we still a democracy, are we still a republic when the wage differences are so violent?" he said. >>> Reuters | Thursday, March 25, 2010
LE FIGARO: Villepin lance un mouvement politique «indépendant» : Devant un parterre de journalistes, l'ex-premier ministre s'est livré à un réquisitoire contre la politique de Nicolas Sarkozy et n'a pas exclu de se présenter en 2012. >>> Par Thibault Lieurade, Bastien Hugues | Jeudi 25 Mars 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Der ehemalige französischen Premierminister Dominique de Villepin fordert seinen langjährigen Rivalen Präsident Sarkozy offen heraus. Er gründet eine eigene Partei, deren Name noch nicht feststeht. Fernziel ist offenbar die Präsidentschaft.
Dominique de Villepin will mit einer neuen Partei die politische Landschaft in Frankreich verändern. «Wir brauchen einen Politikwechsel», sagte der frühere Premierminister am Donnerstag auf einer Pressekonferenz in Paris. Der Name der neuen Gruppierung soll am 19. Juni bekanntgegeben werden. Wo sie im politischen Spektrum stehen soll, war zunächst unklar. >>> ddp | Donnerstag, 25. März 2010
