Are the political fortunes of Nicolas Sarkozy on the turn? The embattled French president has certainly had a good week.

Flush from the success of his grand conference for a Mediterranean Union, Mr Sarkozy’s visit to Dublin on Monday to mollify the Irish voters who rejected the Lisbon treaty passed off without major incident. The same day France’s parliament passed Mr Sarkozy’s package of constitutional reforms by just one vote after it had looked as though it might be shot down. On Wednesday night the Senate approved an economic modernisation law that will all but bury the 35-hour working week. On Thursday, his government fleshed out the details of controversial military base closures without sparking a political – or army – revolt.