French President Francois Hollande says he will NOT seek re-election
The Socialist is the most hated French leader since World War II
FRANCE’s unpopular Socialist president, Francois Hollande, says he will not seek re-election for a second term in office.
Hollande, 62, who made the announcement in a TV address, was facing a tough fight to even make the second round of voting in next year’s contest.
The country’s centre-right has been bolstered by newly-selected candidate Francois Fillon and the far-right Front National which has made large strides under leader Marine Le Pen.
Hollande said he wanted to give the Socialist Party a chance to win “against conservatism and extremism.”
He said: “I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election” adding that he remained “lucid” about his chances of getting wide backing within the party.
The deeply unpopular Hollande was expected to reveal whether he would run again in the coming weeks.
The French president, the most unpopular of France’s modern history, repeatedly said he would seek re-election only if he was able to curb the unemployment rate, which has hovered for years at 10%.
His decision not to seek re-election means the Socialist Party will now go forward under a new candidate five years after Mr Hollande ended the centre-right’s 17-year stranglehold on the French presidency.
The Socialist Party will select its candidate for the Elysee Palace in primaries in January.
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