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| Francois Hollande (Image: France24) |
For me, it's hard not to sympathise the soon departing President of France, Francois Hollande. The Socialist leader is the first in modern French history to decide against running for a second term in office. He was elected in 2012 and promised so much hope to his people after the rather painful Nicolas Sarkozy era.
However, as the country continues to struggle both economically and socially, and the President's personal life under the negative spotlight, Hollande's approval rating dipped to the lowest levels seen from any leader in a very long time. Hollande felt that therefore, he had no choice but to tender his resignation so his Party has a greater chance of election success. When I say 'greater chance', I mean from zero chance to a tiny chance - and that's if you believe in the unreliable polls. But as my headline suggests, I have to say that from an outsider's view, I have to commend Hollande on facing the bigger tasks he's had to face during his time as President.
Since 2012, France has been through a lot more than most powerful countries would witness in a decade. During this time, the country was notably victim to several terrorist attacks. I remember when the Charlie Hebdo magazine location went under attack in January 2015, when Bataclan music venue witnessed horror in November 2015 and when one man in Nice deliberately ran over hundreds of people during Bastille Day earlier this year. These were particularly poignant as the world watched with a mix of emphasised fear and sorrow.
We can talk all day about those responsible for these needless murders, however, the French have found it very easy to criticise the government for not protecting them to the best of their abilities and failing to maximise their resources. However, from my interpretations, after any recent terror attack that shattered a country, I've never really seen a leader so more involved than Hollande had during France's difficult times. I didn't recall Tony Blair getting involved and reassuring people after the 7/7 attacks the way the outgoing French President did during the number of times his country was under attack.
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| Merkel (3rd right) with Hollande (Image: TheJournal.ie) |
To be honest, there is so much that one man can do. His government could have tightened security further than they had pledged. However, without giving the attackers any credit, they were terrorists that didn't commit horror in so-called traditional ways. When I say 'traditional', I mean suicide bombs, mass stabbings and so on. The type of attack in Nice I don't think anyone would anticipate, even if the culprit was tracked previously. If Hollande enforced further security measures, the citizens may as well not live with any freedom at all. He deserves at least some credit for intervening in a non-violent way. Many would have stooped to the terrorists' levels, Hollande didn't.
What Hollande also did which I also supported was the way he dealt with the European Union dramas. Both he and Angela Merkel of Germany practically held the fort in Brussels while Greece were in crisis-mode, the Eurozone fell flat and Britain voted to leave the Union. For any average leader in that situation, they'd have taken a backseat and left the crises as they were, or at least took recklessly unfavourable approaches. But Hollande, who is seen as centre-left, stood proudly alongside Merkel, seen as centre-right - so therefore, naturally, possessing contrasting political views - and made decisive, difficult decisions, putting European citizens at heart. Together, they formed a great partnership and while many French people never really appreciated his attention to the EU, honestly, they'll soon realise he was doing it for the benefit of the French people.
But Hollande's best intentions are soon to be thrown out of the window as we look to next year. 2017 is going to be a significant year for France and Germany as they both have general elections. Hollande isn't running while Merkel is seeking re-election for her fourth term. She has a good chance of winning which I hope she does judging by the alternative options the poor German public have to choose from. But if the polls are right to suggest the French Socialist Party haven't a chance in hell to win, then we are either going to see Francois Fillon or Marine Le Pen as the next President.
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| Marine Le Pen at a rally (Image: IBTimes UK) |
Either candidate will throw away Hollande's hard work in Europe - that's a given. Both are famously Eurosceptic, particularly Le Pen who has built her campaign to urge her supporters to vote to leave the Union at the earliest available opportunity. It's pretty damning if any French individual would want to consider that, considering France was a founding member. The entire point of creating the Union was to ensure peace between European countries after World War II.
Unfortunately that can change dramatically now we're seeing comparisons of Le Pen, notoriously anti-immigration and anti-globalisation, with the dark 1930s days when Second World War kicked off. Hollande's legacy - and all his predecessors' post-1945 - will be thrown out of the window. Many Eurosceptics may be pleased to see the back of the EU, but seriously, for France to throw it away, leaving the other 26 member nations on the edge, will be seriously damaging. UK leaving is bad enough but if I had to choose between UK or France in the EU, I'd want the latter.
I have to say, I know more about Fillon's Welsh wife, Penelope, than about Francois himself. All I've read is that he admires Margaret Thatcher. Take that as you will. But with the choice of a centre-right and a right-'wing' frontrunner, one has to wonder whether France will ever wish Hollande actually was running again. Trust me, the French will miss him - they may not realise this now, but he's the best compared to the current crop of French politicians.
For more, read my post back in 2012 when Hollande was elected French President.
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