French President Nicolas Sarkozy planned a government reshuffle Monday, after a humiliating defeat by the left in regional elections raised pressure on his reform programme. Sarkozy was to fire Labour Minister Xavier Darcos, the minister’s aides told AFP, in a key change as the increasingly unpopular president limbers up for sensitive pension reforms. Meanwhile one of Sarkozy's most bitter rivals within the right, former prime minister Dominique de Villepin, said he would form a political party to challenge the president in 2012. The second-round poll on Sunday left the ruling UMP party in charge of only one of the regions of mainland France and Corsica in the last ballot-box test of Sarkozy's popularity before the 2012 presidential vote. Duration: 02:18