Sarkozy in uphill battle over living standards

Nicolas Sarkozy’s main pledge in his successful Presidential poll campaign in 2007 was the improvement of 'pouvoir d’achat' (purchasing power) . In particular, he promised to boost the stagnant incomes of early-rising, working families. One year on in May 2008, public grumbling continues, and French consumer confidence has hit a 21-year low, with people becoming gloomier about the outlook for living standards. Some commentators however give the Sarkozy government credit for launching useful economic, retail and labour market reforms.