Sarkozy assumes 'protector' image

PARIS, May 4 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy, although politically unpopular, is unchallenged by political rivals after two years in office, analysts say.

Expatica reported Monday that the global economic crisis has forced Sarkozy to reinvent himself as a protective leader and soften some of his calls for government reform.

"He is continuing to reform while portraying himself as a protector-president who is staying the course, weathering the storm," Gael Sliman, director of the BVA private polling firm, said. "By doing so, he is scoring reserve points for when the economic turnaround comes, some time before the next presidential election" in 2012."

Sarkozy's poll numbers have been increasing, from a low of 32 percent last year to 43 percent in a BVA poll released last week.