French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday told ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) lawmakers, who were gathered at the presidential office, that they had been given "a five-year responsibility to write the history of France" by the French people.

Sarkozy said "we will either succeed or fail together." "When I say we will succeed together, I don't mean that I'm intending to rule for the longest time possible," the president said.

"The French people have entrusted the destiny of France into our hands, the people have given us the responsibility to write France's history," Sarkozy said.

"During this decisive moment, one of those historic moments when everything is at stake, one of those moments when error is not admissible as many opportunities had been lost before, the French people gave us all an opportunity to succeed," the president added.

According to him, the French chose change during this year's presidential elections. "All that I promised to change, I will change, all that I promised to reform, I will reform," the president said.

Sarkozy was elected French president with more than 53 percent of all the valid votes cast during the second round of presidential elections which was held on May 6, 2007.

"We received a mandate from the people, it's a mandate for the ruling party," he added.

Once again, the president laid emphasis on the "value of work" in order to break from the past. According to him, "all those who reward work will be favored while those who undermine work will be cast aside."

"I'm proposing to the governing party the following choice: social policy, work, pro-education policy, work, economic policy, work, taxation policy, work, competition policy, work, trade policy, work, immigration policy, work, monetary policy, budgetary policy, work," Sarkozy said.

"I will judge all these policies on the basis of one single criterion, are they aimed at rewarding or undermining work," the president added. "I'm suggesting that you adopt one policy, work," Sarkozy told the assembled lawmakers.

The president was addressing the parliamentarians and senators for the first time following legislative elections which were held between June 6 and June 17, 2007. The UMP won an overwhelming majority of 324 parliamentary seats out of the 577 in the national assembly.

Source: Xinhua