Sarkozy prepares his party for 2012

NICOLAS Sarkozy today marks his third anniversary as French president, and is reported to have given a strong hint to his party colleagues that he is considering standing for re-election in 2012.

Sarkozy would not comment on a possible second term at a press briefing yesterday, where he set out his "three years of action" so far. He told reporters that he would make a decision in autumn 2011.

However, at a separate meeting with almost 300 UMP members of parliament, the president is said to have touched on the question of preparing the party for the next election.

According to one of the MPs present, he told them that the goal was to get the government's full programme of reforms passed by mid-2011 to allow time at the end of the year to work on policies and start the political campaign.

One MP told the Journal du Dimanche: "We immediately interpreted that as: 'I'm standing'."

A BVA poll for Canal+ published this morning found 69% of people are dissatisfied with Sarkozy's achievements in his first three years in office.

Spending power, social inequalities and unemployment were among the key areas that respondents said the president's policies had failed to address.

However only 31% said they believed a Socialist leader would do a better job.

At his press briefing, Sarkozy said he would be judged at the end of his five-year mandate on his ability to get France out of the economic crisis.

He added: "Until unemployment starts falling again, the government will not consider our country to have got out of the crisis."