Nicolas Sarkozy, the flagbearer of France’s Gaullist right, on Monday promised a “real economic revolution” if he won the presidential elections in May by offering employees new tax incentives to earn more money by working longer hours.

In an interview with Le Monde newspaper, Mr Sarkozy said his “priority of priorities” was to restore the value of work and lift France’s sluggish economic growth rate. “France’s moral crisis carries a name: it is the crisis of work,” he said.