Talk Elections

SOCIALIST Francois Hollande has been sworn in at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

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Outgoing president Nicolas Sarkozy greeted Hollande in the courtyard of the presidential palace and after shaking hands the two went into a private meeting for the handover of France's nuclear codes.

Hollande, 57, was then officially sworn in following that meeting, having defeated right-winger Sarkozy in an election on May 6 with 51.6 percent of the vote.

The ceremony itself was relatively simple, with no other heads of state invited, and Hollande accompanied only by his partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler.

Afterwards, Hollande was due to take an open-topped ride up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, with crowds gathered along the route.

In separate ceremonies, Hollande will then pay tribute to 19th-century educational reformer Jules Ferry - father of France's free, secular education system - and to Marie Curie, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist.

Later today Hollande will fly to Berlin, where he faces an uncertain reception from Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Hollande has vowed to refocus European economic policy on growth by re-opening talks on a fiscal pact agreed in March that aims to control European debt by enshrining greater budget discipline.

The deal was Merkel's brainchild and she has repeatedly insisted since Hollande's election that the pact, signed by 25 of the 27 EU countries and already ratified in some, is not open to renegotiation.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/francois-hollande-sworn-in-as-president-of-france/story-e6frg6so-1226356620133

Congratulations, Phil!

The old and the new President:

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The old and the new First Lady:

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:D

Sarko certainly looks a bit grumpy in that pic.

It was really moving. I can't get myself to fully realize...

Any word what the retiree will do now ? Head some organisation ? Giving speeches ?

:'(

No Soviet tank in sight so far. ;)

Oh, I almost forgot, but this makes Hollande the co-prince of Andorra now, too!

Big f-ing deal !

Don't forget Honorary Canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran!

Pretty fun considering he's an atheist. :P

Pretty much as Mitterrand.

Oh, in Andorra Francois is now styled "His Serene Highness", lol.

Andorra is truly the greatest nation in the world. It was at war with Imperial Germany until 1957 since they weren't invited to Versailles.

Then his plane got struck by lightening.

Sarkozy's rage has probably turned into electricity.

Legend has it the bolts sometimes arc from his fingertips!

Wait, what? Isn't he a Socialist (specifically a member of the French Socialist Party)? Does that mean that there's a socialist monarch in the world right now?

If you've heard what I have about some of the positions of European Monarchs... there are more than you'd realise.

Indeed, and it's not the first time.

In 1278 the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix solved a dispute they had over Andorra and signed a paréage, declaring them to rule the territory jointly. The Count of Foix's descendants, inheriting their portion of control over Andorra, eventually became kings of France, and when France became a Republic the title passed to the French President.

So this is actually the fourth time, IIRC, a Socialist President has been His Serene Highness, Co-Prince of Andorra. :)

Third time. Millerand doesn't count.

Unless you meant Felix Gouin :P

Isn't Prince Charles a Greenie or something?

Yesterday certainly was a slow news day here: "New President of France is Sworn In" along with a fairly large picture of Hollande greeting a crowd was the center story (not quite a major headline. There wasn't one) on the front page of today's Philadelphia Inquirer.

They do actually know there is a new French President out there ? Wow, surprising. ;)

More Roger Scruton than Caroline Lucas/

Was Sarko Catholic?

Yes.

I wonder what would happen if the Republic were ever to elect a jewish or muslim president?

Let's hope the old adage about France sneezing and Europe catching a cold holds true :)

Was he not raised Jewish? I know his family was Jewish.

Sarko's father was jewish but converted to catholicism to marry his mother. Also, I seem to recall Sarko being mainly raised by his maternal grandfather, but I'm sure our French posters know more about that.

Well, the period where it has been sufficient to simply be against Sarkozy and whatever he proposes has come to an end. Now it's time to deliver.

I guess the French Socialist Party should officially thank the New York State Police for avoiding this happening right now:

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Right, I checked it on wikipedia and it was the maternal grandfather who started out as a Jew and later converted to catholicism.

The fun thing is that Sarko and his buddies have probably spent much more time criticizing Hollande's proposals than the opposite.

Of course, Hollande has spent a lot of time criticizing Sarko's record. But, barring a few cases, nobody has given a sh*t of Sarko's proposals.

By the way, it's interesting that Sarko showed far more class while welcoming Hollande to the Elysee than Giscard did, while welcoming Mitterrand in 1981.

Well, at least I can console myself saying he won't be much worse than Sarko.

LOL

Was? Is he dead now?

For all intents and purposes.

I was actually thinking the same thing when I chose not to correct the error tense. Atheist, Catholic, Wiccan, who cares anymore?

Well, Blum was Prime Minister.

Fabius was, too.

But we must keep in mind that in France religion doesn't nearly mean what it means in the USA.

Blum's background was (disgustingly) not exactly a non-issue...

Mendes-France also experienced vicious anti-semitic attacks.

Also:

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Lol google search

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lol

Just dont "Nicolas Sarkozy est" and "Segolene Royal est" on GoogleFR and they all reference judaism. Weird. The Lepenistes have taken Google.

I guess it's worse than that. It's probably some kind of sectarian crazies ala Libertas.

Or maybe it's because they all are secretly Jewish. >:D

France’s Hollande Begins Presidency With 61% Approval Rating

Francois Hollande, who was sworn in as president of France on May 15, had a 61 percent approval rating in the first Ifop poll of his presidency.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who was sworn in a day after Hollande, had a 65 percent approval rating.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy had a 65 percent approval rating in the first poll after his election five years earlier, and ended his term at 36 percent, lower than that of any other French president since 1958 at a similar point.

The monthly survey, for the newspaper Journal du Dimanche, questioned 1,879 people and was carried out May 18-25. No margin of error was given.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-27/france-s-hollande-begins-presidency-with-61-percent-approval-rating

Considering the lack of enthusiasm behind Hollande throughout the campaign and the general disillusion of French people regarding their future, these numbers are quite good.

No worries, it'll change soon enough ;)

As long as it lasts until the legislatives, I don't care. ;)

Until 2017, I presume?

Duh.

But at this point, Hollande's approvals will be only his responsibility.

Ah well, just to put in a personal feeling, what some pleasant fresh air to see all those poor clowns leaving, and now each time I see Sarkozy I'm like 'oh lol, how come he could have been Président??', but in the same time, each time I see Hollande I'm like 'lol, that's the Président??'. For the latter feeling I had indeed the same one for Sarkozy in 2007, but in a less pleasant way.

Well, will be very interesting now to see if that PS, which remains less annoying than UMP in 90% of cases, will be less pitiful at governing than they were at being opponents. So far, they lean toward trying all most pragmatic solutions at trying to take up challenges we're facing, so this isn't unpleasant, this might even be needed before people consider actual change. That being said, 2 weeks to judge them is a bit short, and one of the 1st criticism I'd do, is that they really will have to do more than most of what they announced so far since the new govt 'we'll cancel this law! and this one! and that one!', that might work during a few months, but in the end people would wait actual proposals I guess, and overall actual results.

And the fact Hollande does everything to do 'look! look! I'm so normal! so modest! the total opposite of Sarkozy!' is amusing, but I guess he will also have to be more than that to be convincing. Either by fully inhabiting the suit of Président of the Vth French Republique (maybe the strongest executive suit all over West), or by clearly establishing a new kind of Presidency, more democratic, with more delegation, anyways something stronger than 'I'm more normal than he was!'.

In case, Hollande/PS doesn't have a clear success in about 2 years, then the electoral headache could be tough for France, and I don't speak of a come back of the UMP...

Let's see, so far, so good, or at least, so far, better than before...

This nightmare has been a recurring staple of late French political discourse... How feasible It is, beyond pan-romance speaking tendency for dramatic expectations?

The FN will never access to political power in itself. However, the perspective of it becoming a French DFP is already bleak enough (and perfectly expectable, considering the pace at with the UMP is radicalizing its stances).

...yes, this, and also the pace at which UMP, a machine done by and for Sarkozy, could be totally crumbling on the very short term with his defeat. The classical Right in France always had a champion, and worked with a strong leadership mindset. The problem being that the last champion just won by burning everything around him, and this without having enough time to raise a strong 'new generation', that champion also discredited his camp thanks to his shallowness, and made an insane campaign in which he more than ever excited the Far-Right mindset. That's a dangerous cocktail, when the Far-Right is in momentum both electorally, thanks to Présidentielles and regardless Législatives, and in term of 'mood'. Even PS felt forced to flatter that Far-Rightist mood in the last campaign, their attitude regarding the debates on immigration were rather telling.

UMP might very well go back to a small RPR base led by Fillon and/or Juppé, this in autumn or after a very eventual Coppé lead till next elections, with maybe a small UDF wing embodied by people like Raffarin. It all belongs to Marine Le Pen being able to take the space offered to her. Let's see, as I said in an other thread, next important elections about it would be Européennes, and overall Municipales.