Hollande elected as president of France - CNN

Not many people realize this but in spite of polling anywhere between 16% and 22% in recent election polls, Marine Le Pen might not be included on the French presidential ballot. The reason is Le Pen needs 500 signatures by elected official supporting her campaign. Le Pen says she only has 350. I had been aware of this for some time but figured she could scrape up 500 signatures from a pool of 47,000 or so bureaucrats eligible to sign. Perhaps not.

PARIS — The French president’s complex personal life — and what it means to be the first lady in modern society — may get a full airing on Tuesday as Francois Hollande answers questions for the first time since a tabloid reported he was having an affair with an actress. Hollande’s partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, has been hospitalized since Friday, when the tabloid Closer published photos it said proved Hollande’s liaison with Julie Gayet. The pictures included one of a man it said was Hollande being ferried by motorcycle to an apartment where Gayet waited.

PARIS (Reuters) - Francois Hollande has become the most unpopular French president on record, an opinion poll showed on Monday, with the Socialist leader hit by anger over tax hikes, unemployment and rows over the government's immigration policy. Hollande's popularity has sunk to 26 percent of those surveyed, the first time the BVA poll has seen a French president's approval ratings fall below 30 percent.

Saint-Denis de la Reunion (AFP) - Francois Hollande's spurned girlfriend turned poison pen has skipped France for the Indian Ocean isle of Madagascar, a day after dropping a bombshell with her best-selling kiss-and-tell about life with the president.

As if there is not too much government and too many meetings already, Hollande Calls for the Creation of a Euro Zone Government. French President Francois Hollande called on Sunday for the creation of a euro zone government and for citizens to renew their faith in the European project, which has been weakened by the Greek crisis.

Wolf Richter   www.wolfstreet.com   www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter