Nicolas Sarkozy may contest French presidential election in 2017

Four months after losing the French presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy is considering running for the country’s highest office again.

Paris weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaine quoted former agriculture minister Bruno Le Maire as saying Sarkozy had told him that he had been left with “no choice” but to make a bid for the presidency in five years’ time, Reuters reported.

"Given the disastrous shape France is likely to be in five years from now, I'll have no choice in 2017," Sarkozy reportedly told Le Maire.

"The question is not whether I come back but if I have the choice, morally speaking, of not coming back."

Sarkozy, 57, has been taking it easy since moving out of the Elysee Palace.

According to The Telegraph, he has had holidays in Morocco and southern France.

He’s also been brushing up on his English, possibly in preparation for making a break into the lucrative public-speaking circuit.

If President Francois Hollande’s approval ratings don’t pick up, Sarkozy may well get his old job back.

Hollande has fallen to a new low of 41 percent from 50 percent, Reuters reported, citing a TNS Sofres poll released today.

More from GlobalPost: Millionaires' tax: Hollande hits France's rich with 75 percent tax rate


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