November 2007 strikes in France retire with full pension benefits after 37.5 years rather than 40 years. The Sarkozy administration claims the current pension system allows some public sector workers to retire as early as age 50. The government calculated the cost of these early-retirement benefits at $7 billion a year. President Nicolas Sarkozy felt that his victory in the 2007 presidential election gave him a mandate to carry out labour reforms, stating "I said before I was elected what I would do," and "we will do these reforms because they have to be done." He declared the strikes a test of political will. "I
Orientalism in early modern France future cosmographer André Thévet, philosopher Guillaume Postel, traveler Nicolas de Nicolay, or the cleric and diplomat Jean de Monluc, who would publish their findings upon their return to France and contribute greatly to the early development of science in France. Knowledge of the Ottoman Empire allowed French philosophers to make comparative studies between the political systems of different nations. Jean Bodin, one of the first such theorists, declared his admiration for the power and administrative system of the Ottoman Empire. He presented as a model Turkish frugality, the Ottoman system of punishments for looting, and promotion on merit in the