Nicolas Sarkozy, France's interior minister, yesterday called for constitutional reform to address the "crisis of political representation" that he claimed had opened a gap between votersand politicians, fuelling violent protests over labour reforms.

Mr Sarkozy, leader of the ruling centre-right UMP party, compared the "serious crisis" over a contentious youth labour law with riots across poor suburbs last November, claiming both illustrated the "exhaustion" of the country's political system.