FRANCE: Voters are confident that Francois Hollande is the right man to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential elections

Record ID: 1534461

  • Title: FRANCE: Voters are confident that Francois Hollande is the right man to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential elections
  • Date: 18th October 2011
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 17, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGE SHOWING SOCIALIST CANDIDATE FRANCOIS HOLLANDE IN VICTORY POSE NEWSPAPER HEADLINE READING: "THE LEFT CHOOSES HOLLAND FOR 2012" HEADLINE SHOWING: "AUBRY 43%" HEADLINE READING: "THE NAME OF THE ROSE" NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGE WITH PHOTO OF HOLLANDE
  • Embargoed: 2nd November 2011 04:25
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5J9IQL5IDNPHIIJOKUNCWFB95
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: French voters said on Monday (October 17) that they are confident that Francois Hollande, set to run as the French Socialist candidate in a presidential election next April, has what it takes to unseat, conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy.
    Hollande's dream came one step closer to reality on Sunday, when the 57-year-old beat Martine Aubry in a Socialist primary contest.
    "I am ecstatic, I am very, very happy, I voted for him in both rounds, and I am ecstatic that it is him, and I hope that we will win and that in 2012 and Francois will be president," said Marie-Dominique Denegre.
    Head of the Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008, Hollande has cut a down-to-earth and unflagging figure on the campaign trail this year since officially announcing in March he would run, one of the first among six Socialist candidates to do so.
    Party veteran, yet relatively unknown outside France, he has consistently topped opinion polls in recent months as the most likely next French president.
    "He obviously has the chance yes, there were enough arguments for him to reach quite a few voters, almost 3 million I think, so it's not bad, there might be an interesting upwards spiral for him and maybe the chance to win next year," said another voter, Khader.
    He has pledged to be a "normal" president, in contrast to the flashy, impulsive style that rapidly earned Sarkozy the name "President Bling Bling" after he won power in 2007. Hollande has nurtured a sharper look with a drastic weight-loss diet, new spectacles and his face is more frequently tanned than in the past, but his CV has holes.
    Critics say he is a party apparatchik and note that while he is a seasoned local politician -- he is a member of parliament for the south-western department of Correze -- he has never held a national government post or run a corporation.
    But he has steadily built up a strong following among party loyalists and paints himself as a modern thinker who is a touch more moderate than some other party grandees.
    "He is a good candidate for the presidential elections, because quite simply I think he can unite everybody," said another Parisian.
    Polls have consistently shown Hollande beating Sarkozy in a presidential showdown, saying voters reckon he may do a better job of steering the country though economic difficulty at a time when the euro zone debt market crisis has prompted governments to reduce spending and raised fears of a further economic slowdown.
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