Most Impopular French President Ever

Socialist president Hollande never recovered from his €10k monthly haircuts …

○ French President Rolls Up to His Mistress’ Flat on Back of Moped

Why François Hollande’s popularity has plummeted | The Guardian – Nov. 2012 |

When François Hollande became French president in May, he kept his old mobile phone number so old friends could still reach him to give their frank views. The first Socialist party president in 17 years may be regretting that now: six months after the victory street party at Paris’s Bastille, where he vowed to save Europe from one-size-fits-all austerity, his popularity is plummeting.

By comparison, the rightwing Nicolas Sarkozy had 53% approval ratings six months after his election in 2007.

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By contrast, Hollande’s opinion poll nose-dive is not about personal animosity – he has kept up his image as a modest president – it’s his politics, specifically his way of doing politics, which is under attack. The Socialist leadership and government is seen as confused, accused by its opponents of amateurism and inaction. Even the leftwing daily Libération recently dubbed Hollande and his prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault “The Apprentices”.

Hollande and Ayrault are pushing through France’s harshest budget for 30 years – and despite telling voters that nine out of 10 of them wouldn’t feel the pinch of higher taxes aimed mostly at the rich and big business, public opinion clearly does fear it will feel the pain.

Hollande is forced to respect EU demands to cut the French deficit. But he must also persuade voters he has his own ideas. The old cliche of France being a country impossible to reform has given way to a searching quest for real structural solutions to rising unemployment, dying industry, low competitiveness, stuttering growth and the threat of recession.

François Hollande becomes most unpopular French president ever (Oct. 2013)