France's Sarkozy sets out his "green vision"

French home affairs minister and leader of the centre-right UMP Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a "popular ecology" in a speech seen as a further step in his campaign to become president in 2007. He suggested that France could solve its environmental problems in one generation, and that the world could tackle climate change in two.

In the centrepiece presentation at a UMP convention on the environment on Wednesday, Mr Sarkozy called for a break with past policies. Rather than just "vilifying" the Greens and environmentalists, the party should look for "practical solutions", involving all stakeholders, to solve environmental problems, he said.