The new president said on his first day in office that France needed to bring in more reforms quickly.
There is a demand for change. Never have the risks of inertia been so great for France as they are now in this world in flux where everyone across the world is trying to change quicker than the others, where any delay can be fatal,” he said.
Shortly afterwards, the pair put on their jogging kits and went for a brisk run around the Bois de Boulogne.
The BBC’s Caroline Wyatt, in Paris, says all this is a new and very different style for France, whose heads of state here have traditionally been patrician, somewhat remote figures.
It is clear that Mr Sarkozy and Mr Fillon are serious about getting this nation moving again, she says, beginning by setting their own personal example.
Mr Fillon’s renowned conciliatory skills will be much needed as prime minister if he is to succeed in a post often described as a poisoned chalice, says the BBC’s Alasdair Sandford in Paris.
Mr Fillon will lead the UMP party into parliamentary elections in June.
Opinion polls suggest the party will gain a majority, giving Mr Sarkozy and Mr Fillon the scope to push ahead with reforms
