President François Hollande of France Won’t Seek Re-election (original) (raw)
Europe|President François Hollande of France Won’t Seek Re-election
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Hollande Will Not Seek Re-election
President François Hollande of France said he was “aware of the risks” of a candidacy that would not rally enough people behind him.
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President François Hollande of France said he was “aware of the risks” of a candidacy that would not rally enough people behind him.CreditCredit...Eric Feferberg/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
- Dec. 1, 2016
STRASBOURG, France — Battered by months of dismal approval ratings and a stubbornly high unemployment rate, President François Hollande of France announced Thursday night that he would not compete in next year’s election.
The unprecedented decision opened up and energized France’s presidential race even as it added further turmoil to the country’s unsettled politics. It also injected new uncertainty into the political dynamic of Europe as far-right and populist forces are gaining strength across the Continent, as well as in the United States.
Mr. Hollande had kept France in suspense for months over whether he would seek another term, turning his choice into a kind of national guessing game.
His surprise decision — he had been expected to run — was the latest in a series of shocks to French and European politics, which have been upended throughout the year by voter discontent with establishment governance, Mr. Hollande’s included.
The announcement — issued by the Élysée Palace, the seat of the presidency — was greeted across the political spectrum as a courageous and dignified decision that, as Mr. Hollande himself made clear, was intended to place the interests of the country above his own.
“As a Socialist, because that is my life’s commitment, I cannot accept, I cannot come to terms with the dispersion of the left, with its splitting up,” Mr. Hollande said in a somber statement. “Because that would remove all hope of winning in the face of conservatism and, worse yet, of extremism.”
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