President Nicolas Sarkozy may have won a majority in Sunday’s legislative elections, but he is far from winning his battle to reform France.

In particular, he will have to tread carefully with France’s unions. Union membership may be low by European standards at 8 per cent, but the French passion for street protest gives organised labour far wider public support in the face of potentially unpopular reforms. This week the right of centre government will present a draft law to the powerful unions on minimum service in public transport in the event of strikes, the first in a series of economic and social reforms Mr Sarkozy is determined to push through this summer.