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
President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games 2001. Pierre de Coubertin who headed the organizing committees for the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics as well as the 1924 Winter Olympics was the founder of the modern Olympic movement and International Olympic Committee. He served as President of the International Olympic Committee from 1896 to 1925. Peter Ueberroth who headed the organizing committee for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles went on to serve as the Commissioner of Baseball from 1984 to 1989. Sebastian Coe who headed the organizing committee for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London is now serving as the President of the International Association