Chirac to complete new government

Presidency sources said the final government line-up was likely to be announced on Wednesday or Thursday, and the new cabinet’s first meeting would be on Friday morning.

Chirac said in a nationwide address on Tuesday evening that the French people needed to rally together at a difficult time after Sunday’s referendum and the government’s priority would be tackling unemployment, now at a five-year high of 10.2 per cent.

He vowed to preserve the French social model and rejected doing things the ‘‘Anglo-Saxon’’ way—a dismissal of the free-market economic systems of Britain and the United States, which came under fire during the referendum campaign.

‘‘The vote (on the EU constitution) is not a rejection of the European ideal. It is a call to listen, a call to action, a call for results,’’ he said of the referendum. France’s snub of the EU charter plunged France and the whole of the 25-nation Union into crisis.

Chirac did not say what role Sarkozy would have, although he named him Minister of State. He was expected to run the Interior Ministry—the job he held before he became Finance Minister 14 months ago and Villepin took over as Interior Minister.

Chirac forced Sarkozy (50) to chose between keeping his post as Finance Minister last November or taking over leadership of his ruling centre-right party. Sarkozy opted for the party job because he saw it as a launchpad for a bid for the Presidency.

France committed to Europe: Chirac

: President Jacques Chirac has reassured his partners in the EU that France remains committed to the 25-nation bloc, despite its overwhelming of the EU constitution. In a letter to other EU leaders, he wrote that member states should continue the ratification process and EU leaders should start weighing the implications of France’s rejection at a summit on June 16 and 17. Chirac wrote: ‘‘France will continue to take its full place (in the EU) while honouring its commitments, and I will personally guarantee this,’’ he wrote. —Reuters