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
France at the 1924 Summer Olympics Great Britain) to have competed in each Olympic shooting contest. French shooters took two medals: Coquelin won the gold in the prone rifle and was a member of the five-man team which took silver in the team rifle. France won its first gold medal in water polo in 1924, in its fourth appearance in Olympic competition in the sport. France at the 1924 Summer Olympics France was the host nation for the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was the second time that France had hosted the Games, after the 1900 Summer Olympics, also in Paris. 401 competitors, 373 men