There is a new government in France. The surprise is that Prime Minister François Fillon has been reappointed.

Given there have long been rumours of how he and President Sarkozy do not see eye to eye, then Fillon’s reappointment is perhaps a surprise. However, recent opinion polls have suggested that if Fillon stood for the presidency, then he would defeat the likely socialist candidate, Martine Aubry, at the second ballot, whereas Sarkozy would lose. So, quite possibly, Sarkozy is following Lyndon Johnson’s famous dictum about how it is better to have your enemies in the tent pointing outside, rather than having them outside the tent pointing in (or something like that!).

The presidential election is scheduled for 2012. So, the assumption is that Fillon will be prime minister until then.