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Dominique de Villepin, a former prime minister of France, announced Thursday his new but still unnamed conservative party to challenge President Nicolas Sarkozy’s camp in the elections in 2012.

De Villepin, who was once the country’s prime minister, unveiled his plan to create a new party after the center-right camp of Sarkozy saw a defeat from the left-wing party on Sunday.

According to analysts, the outcome of the election showed that the Sarkozy administration has not convinced many citizens in the midst of economic crisis and increasing unemployment rate France has been faced with.

“I’m uncomfortable with the politics led by today’s majority [party]“, said De Villepin.

The former prime minister expressed his criticism of the president’s “all over the place” way of leading, adding that the president tries to satisfy people’s opinion by making an immediate shift from one project to another.

He also questioned the president’s effort to prohibit the public use of burka, which is worn by a group of Muslim women living in France.

“Do we need to quarrel today about a burka debate . . . and point fingers at a specific community?” said De Villepin, tackling on the secretly kept issue by the Sarkozy’s party.

In 2007, De Villepin was acquitted by judges on attempts to slander the president upon the latter’s political victory in 2007. Now, the former senior official is becoming increasingly popular as he returns to the political scene.

Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin, has been acquitted of involvement in plots against the now president Nicola Sarkozy.

The charges dated from before Sarkozy took offer and related to de Villepin’s alleged attempts to manipulate a corruption investigation in order to smear Sarkozy and ruin his chances of the presidency – a post that Villepin himself coveted.

Over the last month a Paris court had heard how Mr Villepin received a list of politicians and businessmen, supposedly involved in accepting bribes from international arms dealers.

The prosecution, while acknowledging that Villepine did not create the list himself, told the court they believed that the accused was aware that the list was not authentic but ploughed ahead with a corruption investigation, which could have wrecked Sarkozy’s political career.

De Villepin denied charges of complicity in false accusation, complicity in using forgeries, receipt of stolen property and breach of trust.

If he had been found guilty he faced a suspended sentence of up to 18 months and a fine of €45,000, as well as the certain death of his political ambitions.

However, now he has been cleared, de Villepin, who was a close ally if Jacques Chirac and  Sarkozy’s major rival to take control of the party, is expected to try and reclaim his political career, and has even indicated a desire to challenge the president at the country’s next general election.