Since becoming France’s prime minister in May, François Fillon has lived in the shadow of the country’s omnipresent president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

But over the past few weeks, Mr Fillon has crept into the light as his government pushes through what he describes as France’s “biggest economic and social reform programme since the 1960s”. As the Sarkozy era moves from promise to delivery, it is perhaps natural that Mr Fillon is coming to the fore. For the moment, at least, the prime minister’s approval ratings even outshine those of the president.