French President
Francois Hollande's dramatic decision not to seek a second term next year
leaves the leftwing field open in an election that is proving increasingly
unpredictable.
Hollande announced
Thursday he would not seek re-election next April, bowing to historic low
approval ratings.
"I have decided
that I will not be a candidate," the 62-year old Hollande said in a solemn
televised address from the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Manuel Valls, who
had been a loyal prime minister to Hollande until recently but hinted at the
weekend he might run against his boss in planned primaries, is expected to
throw his hat in the ring.
The president
conceded he had failed to rally his deeply divided Socialist Party behind his
candidacy and keep a promise to slash unemployment, which hovers at around one
in 10 of the workforce.
In the months to
come, my only duty will be to continue to lead my country," he said.
The Socialist leader
has some of the lowest approval ratings for a French president since World War
II.
His term has been
marked by U-turns on major policies, terror attacks, a sickly economy and
embarrassing revelations about his private life.
A new poll on
Wednesday predicted he would win just seven percent of votes in the first round
of next year's election -- strengthening Socialist Party critics who view him
as a lame duck.
Voter surveys
currently tip rightwing Republicans party candidate Francois Fillon to win the
election, with the far-right National Front (FN) candidate Marine Le Pen seen
as the closest challenger.
But the full range
of candidates remains unknown and the role of independents such as 38-year-old
ex-economy minister Emmanuel Macron are difficult to predict.
The emergence of
Fillon threw up a surprise in itself. At the start of the rightwing primary, he
was considered a distant third, only to roar through the field and win
comfortably.
Hollande's decision
flings open the door to others vying to be the Socialists' champion.
The party began
accepting candidates on Thursday for its primaries, due on January 22 and 29.
The presidential elections are due on April 23, with a runoff on May 7.
Arnaud Montebourg, a
leftist former economy minister, has already submitted his name.
- A mixed legacy -
Valls spoke out
against Hollande in October after the publication of a devastating book called
"A President Shouldn't Say That" featuring interviews with the
president.
The best-seller was
the last straw for many loyalists, for Hollande was seen as sniping at judges,
the national football team and even his own government's policies.
But the prime
minister praised Hollande's Thursday announcement as "the choice of a true
statesman", while Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was a
"dignified and courageous decision".
The press was less
forgiving, with front page headlines proclaiming "The end",
"Goodbye, president" and "Hollande gives up".
Some 80 percent of
the French public said they approved of Hollande's choice, according to to a
survey by market research company Harris Interactive published Friday.
Hollande took office
in 2012 promising to be "Mr Normal" after the flamboyant and
mercurial Nicolas Sarkozy, who married supermodel Carla Bruni while in office.
But his tenure has
been anything but ordinary.
France has faced
three major Islamist-inspired terror attacks -- firstly against Charlie Hebdo
magazine in January 2015, then in Paris the following November and in Nice in
July.
On economics,
Hollande started with a leftist programme that included a wealth super-tax of
75 percent on top-earners but he shifted course mid-way through his term to
embrace pro-business reforms.
And his colourful
personal life has never been far from the headlines, leading his opponents to
claim he has demeaned one of the most powerful political offices in Europe.
In January 2014,
celebrity magazine Closer published pictures of him arriving on a scooter at an
apartment near his official residence for secret trysts with a French actress,
Julie Gayet.
The revelations led
to the break-up of Hollande's relationship with partner Valerie Trierweiler who
went on to write an eviscerating book which claimed the president mocked poor
people as "the toothless".
Hollande listed his
achievements on Thursday night, saying he had worked to "get France back
on track and make it more fair" through reforms to the economy, social
security and education.
He pointed to a
global accord on climate change signed in Paris last year as part of his
legacy, as well as his handling of the terror attacks when he had sought to
heal and comfort a wounded country.
He also brought in
gay marriage in 2013.
AFP
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