French President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed reform-minded conservative Francois Fillon as his new prime minister on Thursday. Fillon was to take over formally from outgoing Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT). Fillon, 53, a member of Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement, is credited with pushing through a tricky retirement reform as social affairs minister from 2002 to 2004. He served as education minister from 2004 to 2005, the Associated Press reported.