French PM vows to explain motorway sell-off plan

French prime minister Dominique de Villepin pledged to explain to parliament in the autumn his decision to privatise the country's motorway operators, in a bid to fend off mounting political opposition to the €12bn-13bn sell-off. In what appears to be the start of the 2007 presidential campaign, François Bayrou, head of the centre-right UDF party and a potential candidate for the presidency, has accused Mr de Villepin of wielding an 'excess of power' for announcing the sale without parliamentary approval. He warned he would appeal to the Conseil d'Etat, the country's highest administrative court, to stop the sale.