On July 14th 1789, a group of French revolutionists stormed into the French Bastille prison. This assault symbolized the Old Regime’s fall, as well as the beginning of a new time period: the French Revolution, which would later lead into an actual Democratic system. July 14th has since then marked the day the French celebrate the Federation Party, in which they commemorate the Bastille Storming.

After Miterrand left the Presidency in 1995, there has not been any socialist President of the French Republic until recently, due to President Hollande, so the Federation Party had the incentive of seeing a left wing President again.

Two months have already passed since Francois Hollande came to power. He reached it with a lot of nice words and promising speeches. Today, these words have not evaporated, and he continues with his positive speeches. On the 14th of July the French President spoke on TV, reminding all that his economic policies will remain different from those that are obliterating the European Welfare State, especially from Spain and Italy. These are countries that keep on taking austerity measures instead of boosting the economic growth. “My mission is to help France recover and give it a future. Jobs are my priority,” said Hollande.

But if anything has marked this July 14th, it has been Peugeot’s announcement of closing their company in France, which will leave 8.000 french workers without jobs. Hollande accused the automobile company of misconduct and said that this restructuring plan cannot be accepted, especially after the company received important financial help months ago. “The plan is not acceptable as it stands and therefore it will not be accepted,” said Hollande on TV.

On the 14th of July celebration, the President also pointed out all of what he has done in the first eight weeks of his term. They have been eight weeks in which he has spent most of his time “defending France interests in the international appointments, and respecting the promises made during the political campaign,” remembering that the pillars are still “justice, growth and employment.”

Hollande seems to face the crisis calmly, without following the manual that Brussels dictates. Social dialogue, justice, common sense and transparency prevail for Hollande over the liberal demands of Europe.

“We owe a debt of 90% of GDP, have 10% of unemployment and a foreign trade deficit of 70,000 million euros,” he said. “We must make a pact to improve competitiveness productive, well-studied labor costs. We will put all our resources into play, imagination and intelligence. And we will make a major tax reform for the rich contribute more, unlike what happened with the previous government.”

On July 14th of 1789 a group of French revolutionaries made a huge step into history. Who knows if Hollande French President policies of boosting economic growth will turn Europe’s tide.

Image Courtesy of  Parti socialiste

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Francois Hollande officially became the president of France in a thundery ceremony at the Arc De Triomphe after his investiture ceremony in Paris on May 15, 2012. The triumph of the Socialists marks the defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s first single-term president, since Giscard d’Estaing in 1958.

The 57-year-old, Hollande, is regarded as an experienced political organizer with 30 years active involvement in the Socialist party, despite never holding a national government office before.

Former president Sarkozy welcomed him on the red carpet steps of Elysée palace before leading him inside. They had a meeting for 40 minutes and Sarkozy handed over France’s nuclear launch codes.

In his inaugural speech to 400 attending guests at the Elysée palace, Hollande pledged to run a “simple, dignified, and sober” presidency. He also fully acknowledged the challenges both France and he will face: “a massive debt, weak growth, high unemployment, degraded competitiveness, and a Europe that is struggling to come out of crisis.”

With the economy in depth of crisis he said, “My mandate is to bring France back to justice, open up a new path in Europe, contribute to world peace and preserve the planet.” He promised to temper German-inspired austerity and ensure measures to boost economic growth. “We have to find solutions together so that austerity does not become our only fate, so that growth returns and so that we can find solidarity over the concerns we have over Greece.”

On May 16, Mr. Hollande had the first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss eurozone dominated issues and the political situation in Greece. The president’s first trip was delayed by a minor incident: his plane was hit by lightning and he had to turn back, forcing him to use another plane and arrived about an hour later than scheduled.

Both parties were aware of their responsibility for Europe and the two nations had to cooperate effectively. They did not hide their differences but they said they would try to overcome the problem. While the conservative Merkel advocated austerity by reducing debt and government spending, the socialist French leader said he would submit his proposals to stimulate economic growth in Europe in the upcoming European summit.

“I am serious about the budget, but also for growth,” said Hollande. He believes economic growth is a more effective way to reduce debt and deficit reduction.

The two leaders also expressed their desire to keep Greece in the EU. “I believe we agree that Greece belongs in the EU and in the eurozone, and we want to promote this,” Merkel said. Both were willing to consider some measures to support the country in the tense political situation and in upcoming new elections.

Athens must hold new parliamentary elections in June amidst unstable political conditions as the result of heightened fears surrounding Greece’s possible removal from the EU. “I hope we can say to the Greeks that Europe is ready to add measures to help growth and support economic activity so that Greece can return to growth,” added Hollande. 

After the meeting, Merkel and Hollande were determined to show their harmony on Greece’s maintenance in Europe but still acknowledged some differences on economic growth.

In the early evening, president Hollande was greeted with great military honor. Then he and Merkel had an interview where they exchanged handshakes in front of a crowd of journalists and photographers. Before he was elected, Merkel refused to meet with the socialist candidate and strongly supported his rival, conservative Nicolas Sarkozy.

At the moment, the German leader recognizes the need of “working together” for Europe and maintaining the longstanding stable relationship between France and Germany.

Image Courtesy of   Francois Hollande

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On May 7, the new French President was elected. Socialist François Hollande won 52 percent of the votes, thus becoming the new head of the French state. The former leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, lost the elections by only 4 percent but despite the small difference, the events from the beginning of May 2012 show that the majority of the French people have supported the political change in the European republic.

Hollande’s political career turned out to consume his life. For eleven years between 1997 and 2008, he was the First Secretary of the Socialist Party as well as Deputy of the National Assembly of France. From 2001 to 2008, he was a Major of Tulle, and until the elections in 2012, President of the Corréze General Council.

However, some would agree that his personal life is much more interesting, especially for the tabloids. The French media kept a sharp eye on him for a long time, but in contrast to his predecessor, Hollande’s life has been less intriguing for several decades. Hollande spent more than thirty years together with his former wife Ségoléne Royal, so it was quite the surprise when only a month after his party lost the 2007 presidential elections, they announced their divorce.

Royal is a prominent French politician and a member of the Socialist party, just like Hollande. Only a few weeks after, the tabloids finally found their story on Hollande when the French media reported rumors about his relationship with a journalist, Valérie Trierweiler. The news was confirmed later in 2007 by Trierweiler personally.

Is it a problem that the new President of France is an unmarried divorcee? Maybe in other countries, but not in his, where most of the people believe that marriage and celibacy do not factor in success. However, as president and representative of his nation around the world, Hollande will face the same problem as Nikola Sarkozy, who married his third wife, Carla Bruni, only three months after they met. The reason – his better half was not allowed to accompany him as a First Lady of France because officially she was not his wife.

The situation of the former head of the European country was slightly different and more complicated. During Sarkozy’s presidential campaign and into the beginning of his office in 2007, Sarkozy was still married to his second wife, Cecilia Attias. Although 92 percent of the French people declared that the divorce did not change their attitude towards their leader, some specialists in this field claim that the personal problems of Sarkozy definitely affected his first and last presidential mandate.

For the time being, Valérie Trierweiler insists on being called Hollande’s companion. The couple announced publicly that they will not hastily wed. Yet, Trierweiler cannot become First Lady of France if she is not married to François Hollande. However, it looks like that she is not very interested in this title, which has more obligations than it seems.

But whether François and Valérie will follow the example of Nicolas and Carla remains a mystery for the French nation. Even the local media is not able to make exact predictions for their future.

Image Courtesy of  Matthieu Riegler, Wikimedia Commons [CC-BY-3.0 or CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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