 There, she has launched many reforms which have caused a great wave of strikes.In 2009, the Académie de la Carpette anglaise, an organization that opposes the spread of the English language in Francophone countries, gave Pécresse the Prix de la Carpette Anglaise ("English Doormat Prize") for having refused to speak French at international meetings in Brussels, Belgium; Pécresse had stated that English was the easiest means of communication.After the defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential election of 2012, Pécresse remains a key member of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP in French).