If people want to work, let them work, Mr Sarkozy says

In an interview with newspapers Les Echos and the FT, Mr Sarkozy blamed tight restrictions on working hours for France's budgetary problems.

The policy directly costs the French Government and firms 16bn euros (�10.6bn; $19bn) a year, Mr Sarkozy said.

And by restricting companies, the rule has left the French economy far less flexible than its competitors.

"We simply have to accept that those who want to work longer to earn more should be allowed to do it," he said.

Trimming the fat

Mr Sarkozy, who makes no secret of his presidential ambitions, used the interview to lay out his economic and political manifesto.

His most urgent problem is French state finances, which are currently in breach of eurozone criteria after repeated failures to curb spending.

Mr Sarkozy gave no immediate counter-proposal for working-time rules, but reiterated his commitment to trimming budgetary fat.

In particular, he said it should be possible to force people to pay more for healthcare.

The government is considering introducing a flat excess payment, under which patients pay part of the cost of treatment up to a certain limit.

He also strayed into foreign policy, arguing that France had recently become too exclusively friendly to Germany.