The former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, on Thursday outlined his plan to rescue France from economic disaster by rolling back the 35-hour week, cutting taxes and pruning the bloated civil service, reports The Telegraph.
He outlined the proposals after being criticised for announcing his return to front-line politics two weeks ago amid considerable fanfare but without offering policy details.
Mr Sarkozy, 59, is casting himself as a saviour who can restore hope to a nation despondent over rising unemployment, deepening debt and an exodus of talent and capital under his unpopular Socialist successor, François Hollande.
"I have been president, I have learned a lot from travelling abroad," Mr Sarkozy said. "I want to bring new ideas, to enrich the debate."
However, political analysts said the policies he outlined in an interview with the newspaper Le Figaro published on Friday contain little that is new. "There's nothing fundamentally fresh in this," said Bruno Cautrès, a political analyst at the Institute of Political Studies. "He is returning to themes where he is sure that Right-wing voters will follow him."
Mr Sarkozy said companies should be allowed to opt out of the 35-hour rule, although he did not abolish it during his presidency.
Read more of this report from The Telegraph.