About: François Hollande Archives

François Hollande, who has so far avoided commenting on France’s presidential campaign, broke his silence on Wednesday (1 March) to condemn Republican candidate François Fillon’s attacks on the police and judiciary. EURACTIV France reports.

Journalists accused of bias. Judges said to be taking orders from the president. The country in a state of "near civil war".

The French are known for their laissez-faire attitude toward speaking English and political leaders are no exception to this cliché. The French presidential hopefuls' familiarity with the language of Shakespeare also varies from the capable to the shambolic.

French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron won the support of a key centrist yesterday (22 February), hailing it as a turning point in his campaign, as an aide to his far-right rival Marine Le Pen was charged in a fake jobs scandal.

French President François Hollande said yesterday (20 February) there would be a summit in Versailles with the leaders of Germany, Italy and Spain on 6 March to prepare reforms for the European Union ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome on 25 March.

France’s biggest business group has sent its “blue book” to all the presidential candidates, summing up the economic and social demands it says must be met to relaunch economic growth and rebuild business “confidence”. Euractiv’s partner La Tribune reports.

The Kremlin yesterday (14 February) denied that it was behind media and internet attacks on the campaign of French presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron, though his camp renewed the charges against Russian media and a group of hackers operating in Ukraine.

Lawmakers clashed today (14 February) as they sought to brush out a vision for the 27-country bloc after Brexit, opening a breach between those wanting to maintain a united and integrated club and those who prefer moving towards a two or multi-speed Europe.

Macron winning the French presidency would be more than just a breath of fresh air for the European Union: it would an undeniable victory of Enlightenment values against the populist threat, argues Beatriz Becerra.

France faces a week of political uncertainty with François Fillon, the rightwing presidential candidate, under mounting pressure to quit the race because of an employment scandal and divisions over whether, and how, to replace him.

Transatlantic relations are an absolute priority insisted European Council President Donald Tusk at the end of the informal summit in Malta where EU leaders today (3 February) discussed US President Donald Trump's comments on Europe and NATO. 

François Fillon’s involvement in an employment scandal has his supporters on edge as the looming threat of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, and the presidential election itself, draw closer. EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel.

The clear victor in France’s Socialist primary, Benoît Hamon represents the left fringe of his divided party. Fearing a decline into eternal opposition and irrelevance, some Socialist MPs will instead back Emmanuel Macron. EURACTIV France reports.

French President François Hollande urged Europe to form a united front and provide a "firm" response to US President Donald Trump, at a gathering Saturday of southern European Union leaders.

Centre-left leaders could try to oust Donald Tusk as chair of the European Council and key broker of Brexit negotiations with Britain and will have their first discussion on the issue next week before an EU summit in Malta, their party president said.

During a TV debate yesterday evening (25 January), both contenders for the Socialist ticket in the French Presidential election said they would loosen the country’s purse strings, with Benoît Hamon going a step further by promising to end the EU's “3% deficit dogma”. EURACTIV France reports.

As France's presidential election looms nearer, French NGOs have asked the candidates to put development policies, which are currently notable in their absence from the debate, at the heart of their foreign policy proposals. EURACTIV France reports.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order formally withdrawing the United States from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal yesterday (23 January) as Europe sniffed a chance to pick up the free trade the US is turning its back on.

Leftwing outsider Benoît Hamon will fight former prime minister Manuel Valls for the French Socialist presidential nomination next Sunday (29 January) after winning the first round of the party's primary.

François Hollande does not want to chair the European Council when he steps down as French president in May, aides said yesterday (19 January), denying a report that he hoped to succeed Donald Tusk in overseeing negotiations on Britain's exit from the EU.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed peacemaking efforts in Ukraine and Syria during a conference call yesterday (18 January), a Kremlin statement said.

After queueing in the dark for more than an hour, hundreds of voters who had turned out in winter rain to see France's fast-rising presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron faced disappointment.

A leading French newspaper said Tuesday (3 January) it had decided to stop publishing political polls, which have been widely criticised for failing to predict the biggest shocks of the last year.

Former prime minister Manuel Valls promised to avoid draconian public spending cuts in a pitch for traditional leftwing voters as he laid out his bid on Tuesday (3 January) to become the ruling Socialist Party's candidate in France's presidential election.