Chirac set to sacrifice PM

FRENCH President Jacques Chirac is seeking to recover momentum by reshuffling his cabinet after the humiliating rejection of the EU constitution.

His authority at rock-bottom after voters ignored his appeals for a "yes" vote, the 72-year-old was last night trying to prevent his last two years in office being ones of terminal decline.

In his first reaction to the public's massive rejection of the constitution, Mr Chirac promised to give "a new and strong impulse to government action" with an announcement about the cabinet and its priorities.