Hollande’s term marked by terror, protests & scandal

Paris, May 14: Dogged by France’s stubbornly high unemployment throughout his presidency, Francois Hollande also faced an unprecedented wave of jihadist attacks, violent protests over labour reforms and public airing of his tangled private life.

A series of deadly jihadist attacks has killed more than 230 people since January 2015, mostly the work of French radicals acting in the name of ISIS or other extremist groups.

Mr Hollande won praise for rallying a shocked nation after the first attacks in January 2015 on the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket.

Around 50 heads of state joined him on a march against terror that saw 3.7 million people take to the streets of France.

Ten months later, he reacted quickly when ISIS massacred 130 people in Paris at the Bataclan concert hall, at cafes and bars, and outside the national stadium.

Mr Hollande announced a state of emergency, declaring that France was “at war” and deploying troops to patrol the streets.

In July, when 86 people enjoying Bastille Day festivities in Nice were killed in a truck rampage, accusations mounted that Hollande’s government was failing to tackle the extremist threat.

Before taking office Mr Hollande took aim at the romantic antics of his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy — who married supermodel Carla Bruni while President — vowing that on personal matters, he himself would be “exemplary”.

But cracks began to show in Mr Hollande’s relationship with long-term partner Valerie Trierweiler, and the couple split after it emerged he was having an affair with Julie Gayet, an actress nearly 20 years his junior.

Ms Trierweiler published a bestselling memoir that proved deeply embarrassing to Mr Hollande, not least with its claim that the Socialist leader disdained the poor. To make matters more complicated, Hollande has four children from an earlier relationship with environment minister Segolene Royal.

Hollande took power on a leftist platform, including a top tax rate of 75 per cent, but later shifted towards business-friendly policies, notably trying to tackle France’s rigid labour laws.

His government suffered months of violent protests in 2016.

Hollande took power on a leftist platform, including a top tax rate of 75 per cent, but later shifted towards business-friendly policies, notably trying to tackle France’s rigid labour laws