President Chirac stands by his prime minister

PARIS, June 26 (Reuters) French President Jacques Chirac today rebuffed pressure to sack Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and promised to stand by his conservative government despite a series of political setbacks and gaffes.

The president, who has faced widespread calls from members of his own UMP party to remove Villepin, said in a television interview the government was proving successful in reducing unemployment, lifting the economy and reforming the state.

''I don't see why I should change a government today that has perfectly fulfilled its mission,'' he told France 2 television.

Chirac said it would be up to the French people to judge the government at elections set for 2007, indicating that Villepin would stay at his post until the end of the legislature.

The president pulled the plug on his previous government in May 2005 when the French people handed it a stunning rebuke, voting in a referendum to reject a European Union Constitution.

After a brief honeymoon period, Villepin's star has waned dramatically following widespread rioting in the suburbs, a failed bid to loosen up employment laws and accusations he tried to smear his own interior minister.

Last week, Villepin triggered a fresh political storm when he denounced the opposition leader as a coward.

The prime minister later withdrew the insult but not before numerous UMP deputies called openly for his resignation, saying he was a liability ahead of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Chirac, 73, won a second successive term as president in 2002, but his health has declined in recent months and he is widely expected to retire when his mandate expires.

But asked about his political future, Chirac said he would only announce a decision in the first three months of next year.

''This is a question that one poses ... You should know in the first quarter (of 2007) when I'll have taken a decision and decided to announce it,'' he said.

Reuters SK VP0128