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
2007 France rugby union tour of New Zealand Blacks achieved their largest ever victory over France with a 61–10 win. The defeat was France's heaviest in their history. 2007 France rugby union tour of New Zealand The 2007 France rugby union tour of new Zealand was a series of matches played in June 2007 in new Zealand by France national rugby union team. The final rounds of the 2006–07 Top 14 season conflicted with the tour, so France sent a Test team short of 30 of their top players. The team was labelled "France C" by the New Zealand media. Featuring 11 new caps, France were defeated 42–11