But if he does not withdraw it, the demonstrations and strikes could go on for some weeks, and that would be very damaging. He has no good solution. |
His problem is that he has to convince people in his own party that he can be a better candidate than Sarkozy, who is president of the party. |
It may seem strange to foreigners, but young people in France are very concerned about unemployment. |
Since the referendum on the EU constitution, Chirac has been in a much weakened position, and it has become obvious he is not really in the running for another term as president. |
Society is getting more and more dangerous, more and more violent, and the French are trying to find answers, to find better solutions. |
This reinforces the idea that many of us already had that Chirac could not stand (for re-election) again in 2007, |
What's striking is that there's no improvement in terms of optimism in public opinion, instead there's a post-referendum depression. People are worried about jobs and their purchasing power. Unemployment needs to fall for six months in a row for people to take that on board. |