SOCIALIST PARTY CANDIDATE FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE
*** FRENCH POLITICS AND CULTURE PING LIST ***
Posted on 01/23/2012 1:43:01 PM PST by Cincinna
The Socialist Party candidate for the presidency of France, François Hollande, formally opened his campaign on Sunday with a passionate speech calling for change, equality and justice.
“We are here, dear friends, to change the destiny of our country,” Mr. Hollande told an estimated 20,000 party supporters and officials in Le Bourget, just outside Paris, in a speech lasting nearly 90 minutes.
Mr. Hollande, who calls himself “a normal man,” is ahead in the polls with three months to go before the first round of voting on April 22. But his lead over the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, has been slipping as Mr. Hollande, 57, has been criticized for being bland and vague.
Marine Le Pen, the candidate of the National Front on the far right, has been running third in many polls, while a centrist candidate, François Bayrou of the Democratic Movement, has been gaining ground, taking support from Mr. Hollande.
In general, recent polls suggest that Mr. Hollande would get around 29 percent of the vote if the first round were held now, while Mr. Sarkozy would get around 23 percent. Ms. Le Pen’s support is around 19 percent, and Mr. Bayrou, who also ran for president last time, is at about 13 percent.
These are early days, but Mr. Hollande’s numbers have been eroding.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Are you absolutely sure that is NOT Kelsey Grammer wearing glasses?
Oh my! He looks as arrogant and as fruity as The Won!
Dude, watch your mouth, this is a, uhm, religious caucus!
They want change? Maybe throw in some hope, too? Have we got the guy for them!
Thanks for the ping. Well, this French presidential election is going to be interesting, to say the very least :-)
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