He will reshuffle some ministers, partly because two Rachida Dati at justice and Michel Barnier at agriculture are off to the European Parliament.

ECONOMIST: France's victorious centre-right

In an abrupt move, Rachida Dati, a former justice minister who fell out of favour with Mr Sarkozy, was deprived of the chauffeur-driven car she had hung on to despite leaving her job to become a member of the European Parliament.

ECONOMIST: Privacy in France

In France this was taken as a warning to people like Rachida Dati, told to run for the European Parliament after failing as justice minister, that they would be expected to serve their time in the salt mines of Strasbourg and not run home to Paris.

ECONOMIST: European politics