Nicolas Sarkozy prepares official declaration of candidacy Le Monde reported he might declare his candidacy as early as next Thursday, but there was no official confirmation from the office of the right-wing leader, who polls say would lose the vote to his Socialist rival Francois Hollande. Sources in his UMP party said that, in an interview with Le Figaro magazine to be published this weekend, Mr Sarkozy proposes holding a referendum on whether the unemployed should be allowed turn down a job and still keep their benefits. He also said he was hoping to reform the way in which illegal immigrants could be kicked out of France, and tabled a series of other propositions that could be seen as an electoral programme, the sources said. Mr Sarkozy places great emphasis on "values" in the Figaro interview, rather than on his economic programme, they said. Last month, the president gave his strongest hint yet he will be a candidate in the two-round election to be held in April and May. I have a rendezvous with the French people. I will not shy away from it," he said. "I am determined," he added, in an interview to unveil reforms aimed at lifting France out of the economic doldrums and boosting his credibility ahead of the vote in which Mr Hollande is the front-runner. Members of Mr Sarkozy's entourage have said he will stand for re-election, but Mr Sarkozy himself has never done so publicly. On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw her weight Sarkozy in his tough re-election battle, saying the two right-wingers were from the same "political family." Despite accusations in both countries of interference, Merkel used a visit to Paris for a joint Franco-German cabinet session to make clear her support for Sarkozy, who has increasingly cited Germany as a model for France.