Sarkozy tightens own noose with desperate reshuffle

President Nicolas Sarkozy's second Government reshuffle in little more than three months has prompted a snort of disdain rather than a jolt of surprise, and an apparently widespread view that it is an act of desperation rather than revival.

With just 14 months before the next presidential elections, the reshuffle is the latest lurch in a downward spiral driven by Sarkozy's policy flip-flops and flawed judgment, say media commentators.

"Each day that passes hollows out the President's image, nibbles at his credibility, erodes his authority, devalues his word, further reduces his room to initiate," the daily Le Monde said.

The musical chairs saw the departure of Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, under blistering attack for her off-hand response to the Arab revolutions and her cosy links to a tycoon linked to the former regime in Tunisia.

She was replaced by former Premier and Defence Minister Alain Juppe, a loyalist to Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac.

Juppe's reputation for brisk efficiency is also tarnished by a 14-month suspended prison term in 2004 for mishandling public funds while Chirac was mayor of Paris.

Also jettisoned was a Sarkozy loyalist, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux, whose problems while in office have included a fine by a French court for making racist remarks about an Arab member of the governing UMP party. He was replaced by Claude Gueant, a presidential adviser and veteran of the civil service, dubbed "the Dark Cardinal" for his silent methods and discreet handlings.

In a brief nationwide address on Monday, Sarkozy said the changes were part of an overhaul of France's policies in North Africa.

The revolutions that have swept through Tunisia, Egypt and Libya mean France needs individuals "prepared to face coming events whose outcome is unforeseeable", he declared.

On Tuesday, Sarkozy followed this up by sending medicines and doctors to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

In November, after dragging his feet for nearly six months, Sarkozy reforged the Government, keeping Prime Minister Francois Fillon but adding right-wingers in what was seen as the opening salvo in a battle to win back conservatives for next year's elections.

But, with humiliating swiftness, a second became inevitable as the fiasco snowballed over Alliot-Marie and France's tardy response to the revolutions on the other side of the Mediterranean.

Scores of current and former French diplomats published an open protest in Le Monde, in which they said France's international status had been undermined by impulsiveness and grand-standing at the highest level. It was a stinging slap, given that Sarkozy has been counting on his stewardship this year of the G20 and G8 groups to revive his standing.

In the meantime, the opposition Socialist Party looks in better shape than at any time since its drubbing by Sarkozy in 2007.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former Finance and Economy Minister and current head of the International Monetary Fund, has a wave of popularity behind him, although he has yet to officially declare his candidacy.

Just 22 per cent of French voters, according to pollsters BVA, say they would plump for Sarkozy in the first round of France's two-round voting system.

"The options available to Sarkozy are few," said BVA director Gael Sliman.

"The doors are closing one after another."