Reuters

French President Nicolas Sarkozy

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is setting the stage for his re-election bid by airing plans to overhaul the education system and make the jobless work for benefits, and is expected to announce his candidacy as early as next week.

In an interview with Le Figaro Magazine to be published on Saturday, Sarkozy unveils the broad outlines of the electoral platform he will deploy against Socialist front-runner Francois Hollande before the April-May presidential election.

With jobless claims at a 12-year high, Sarkozy takes what is bound to be a controversial approach to voters' biggest concern by promising to tighten access to unemployment benefits so that the jobless can no longer decline offers or training after a certain period out of work.

His plans could spark outrage among a wide swathe of the electorate, and if unions oppose them Sarkozy would resort to a referendum - a tool which he has avoided throughout his presidency, stung by previous defeats.

“After a five-year term, I am more convinced than ever before that we need to reward working and heighten our regard for it,” he said. “This is not just saying that you need to work in order to succeed, but that work is a value in and of itself, necessary for individuals to define themselves and for the cohesion of society.”

Sarkozy - who according to an OpinionWay poll on Thursday would lose to Hollande by 10 percentage points in an election runoff - also tried to counter Hollande's plans for hiring teachers by offering a reform of the schools system.

At the same time, eyeing a volatile bloc of far-right votes currently backing Marine Le Pen, who may not be able to gather enough sponsorships to run, he insisted on limits on immigration and repeated his opposition to gay marriage.

Although few in the French political establishment doubt that Sarkozy will seek re-election, there has been intense speculation about when he will make his candidacy official.

Political opponents, who point out that Sarkozy has effectively been campaigning for months as president, criticised his appearance on television this week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as blatant electioneering.

Once he becomes a candidate, he will have to respect laws that limit the amount of time presidential candidates are allowed to appear on television and speak on the radio.

Presidential aides have said he will try to announce his candidacy close to the March 16 deadline, hoping to occupy the media spotlight for as long as possible in the favourable role of crisis manager tackling the European debt crisis.

But Sarkozy has changed tack. A series of media reports, including an article in Le Monde, have said he could declare as early as next Thursday and follow up quickly with a television appearance and a big political rally.

Other media point to February 24, when they say Sarkozy's conservative UMP party has booked a sports arena in Paris, as the date to kick off a “lightning campaign” before the first round of voting on April 22.

If he declares on February 16, he will have little more than two months to unveil a detailed platform, claw back voters from Hollande and recover from the lowest popularity rating of any president since 1958 so close to an election.

The bleak economic outlook will not help, with jobless claims at a 12-year high, growth prospects growing dimmer, and France struggling at the centre of a European debt crisis that has caused a new groundswell of euro-scepticism.

To help win back voters - many of whom express deep disappointment with the man they helped to elect in 2007 by 53 to 47 percent against Socialist candidate Segolene Royal - he has re-hired the architect of his first presidential bid, Emmanuelle Mignon.

Known for her toughness and Christian beliefs, Mignon is credited with inspiring Sarkozy's visits to the Vatican and speeches about France's Christian values - controversial moves in a country with a deeply secular tradition. - Reuters