The Hollande-Sarkozy re-match France doesn't want

[ucrdem]

French President Francois Hollande (R) descends the steps of the Elysee Palace to greet former president and current UMP conservative political party head Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris January 11, 2015.

Tue Jun 2, 2015


Nicolas Sarkozy vs Francois Hollande: the re-match. With both having tightened their grips on their parties in recent days, a 2017 repeat of France's 2012 presidential election now looks like the most likely scenario.

The snag is that three quarters of the French do not want either the current president or his predecessor to run again, polls show -- a fact that could boost the protest vote for the far-right National Front while making for a low turnout that would give any mainstream victor a weak mandate for reforms.

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Sarkozy consolidated that comeback at a weekend convention, with grassroots members chanting "Nicolas! Nicolas!" after he won more than 80 percent approval for his plan to re-name the party "The Republicans". Two months earlier, he steered the party to victory in mid-term local elections.

A few days earlier, Hollande -- the most unpopular French president on record and challenged within his Socialist party just a few months ago -- saw party members overwhelmingly back his policies in a vote before a June 5-7 party congress.

Even critics on the left of the party acknowledged that a rebellion against his increasingly centrist line had run out of steam, combined with signs that the stagnant economy has started to turn around.

"It's time to move on ... grassroots supporters have made clear they don't support the backbenchers," said Karine Berger, a Socialist lawmaker associated with the party's left wing.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/02/us-france-politics-idUSKBN0OI0F120150602