French President Francois Hollande announced Thursday that he would not seek a second term in next year’s presidential election, saying he hoped to give his Socialist party a chance to win “against conservatism and extremism” by stepping aside.

“I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election,” Hollande said in a somber address on French television that recapped his achievements since taking office in 2012.

The 62-year-old president - the country’s least popular leader since World War II - said he was “conscious of the risks” entailed in him running, alluding to his historic lack of support since coming to power.

The Socialist party has been deeply divided over Hollande’s policies, with rebels within the party openly criticizing his pro-business strategy and calling for more left-leaning policies. Two of his former cabinet ministers, Arnaud Montebourg and Benoit Hamon, already have announced they would run in next month’s Socialist primary, alongside other low-profile candidates.

Hollande repeatedly had said he would seek re-election only if he were able to curb the unemployment rate in France, which for years has hovered around 10 percent. The latest figures showed a slight decrease in the jobless numbers, but didn’t seem to quell the criticism.

Hollande was expected to say in the coming weeks whether he would seek to run again but Thursday’s announcement came just a few days after his No. 2, Prime Minister Manuel Valls, said he was “ready” to compete in the Socialist primary.

Valls, who polled slightly higher than his boss, is widely expected to jump into the primary field.

Whoever is chosen by the Socialists will face former Prime Minister Francois Fillon, who won France’s first-ever conservative presidential primary on Sunday after promising drastic free-market reforms, along with a crackdown on immigration and Islamic extremism.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party, is expected to be a major competitor in the two-round presidential election in April and May. </s> PARIS – The Latest on France's presidential campaigns (all times local):

French President Francois Hollande says he decided against running for another term because he wants to give his Socialist party a chance to win "against conservatism and extremism."

Hollande said on French television Thursday that he was "lucid" about his chances of getting wide backing within the party, which remains deeply divided over his policies.

The historically unpopular president said the unexpected announcement: "Today, I am conscious of the risks that such a move would have if it doesn't get widespread support."

The 62-year-old Hollande also used his somber address to recap what he viewed as his achievements since taking office in 2012.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls is widely expected to jump into the Socialist primary field.

France's Socialist President Francois Hollande says he will not seek re-election next year.

Hollande's announcement Thursday on French television network TF1 came just a few days after his No. 2, Manuel Valls, said he is "ready" to compete in the left-wing Socialist primary in January.

Hollande said: "I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election" and that he remained "lucid" about his chances of getting wide backing within the party.

The deeply unpopular Hollande was expected to say in the coming weeks whether he would run again.

The French president — the most unpopular of France's modern history — repeatedly said he would seek re-election only if he was able to curb the unemployment rate, which has hovered for years at 10 percent.

Former French economy minister Arnaud Montebourg has formally entered the country's presidential race.

Montebourg announced his candidacy Thursday in the presidential primary France's Socialist party has scheduled for January.

The 54-year-old Montebourg's politics are firmly left-leaning. He lost his cabinet position in 2014 because he denounced president Francois Hollande's pro-business shift.

During a speech in Paris, Montebourg says he favors a strong state to protect France's industry from "foreign interests."

Another former economy minister of Hollande's, centrist Emmanuel Macron also is seeing the presidency but without taking part into a primary. Macron advocates free market policies.

Hollande must say whether he will stand for re-election before a Dec. 15 deadline.

The French conservatives have chosen former prime minister Francois Fillon as their nominee for the April-May presidential election.. </s> • Seven left-wing candidates are vying for the ruling Socialist Party’s nomination, approximately three months before France’s two-round presidential election on April 23 and May 7.
• In a surprise move in December, French President François Hollande announced he would not seek re-election, leaving the race wide open.
• The primary includes four former ministers and Socialist Party members: Manuel Valls, Arnaud Montebourg, Benoit Hamon and Vincent Peillon. It also includes three candidates from satellite left-wing parties: Jean-Luc Bennahmias, François de Rugy and Sylvia Pinel.

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Mobile users can view this live blog by clicking here. </s> PARIS: French President Francois Hollande dramatically announced Thursday he would not seek re-election next April at the end of his five-year term as he bowed to historic low approval ratings.

The withdrawal means the 62-year-old Socialist will be the first president of France’s fifth republic, founded in 1958, to quit after just one term.

“I have decided that I will not be a candidate,” Hollande said in a solemn televised address from the Elysee Palace in Paris.

He conceded he had failed to rally his deeply divided Socialist party behind his candidacy and keep a promise to slash unemployment, which hovers at around one in 10 of the workforce.

“In the months to come, my only duty will be to continue to lead my country,” he said.

The Socialist leader has some of the lowest approval ratings for a French president since World War II.

His term has been marked by U-turns on major policies, terror attacks, a sickly economy and embarrassing revelations about his private life.

A new poll on Wednesday predicted he would win just seven percent of votes in the first round of next year’s election — strengthening Socialist party critics who view him as a lame duck.

Voter surveys currently tip rightwing Republicans party candidate Francois Fillon to win the election, with the far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen seen as the closest challenger.

But the full range of candidates remains unknown and the role of independents such as 38-year-old ex-economy minister Emmanuel Macron are difficult to predict.

Hollande’s decision flings open the door to others vying to be the Socialists’ champion.

The party began accepting candidates on Thursday for its primaries, due on January 22 and 29. The presidential elections are due on April 23, with a runoff on May 7.

Arnaud Montebourg, a leftist former economy minister, has already submitted his name while ambitious Prime Minister Manuel Valls would also be expected to stand.

Valls, unfailingly loyal until recently, upped pressure on Hollande at the weekend to step aside when he hinted he might run against his boss in the primaries.

He also spoke out against Hollande in October after the publication of a devastating book called “A President Shouldn’t Say That” featuring interviews with the president.

The best-seller was the last straw for many loyalists, for Hollande was seen as sniping at judges, the national football team and even his own government’s policies.

“It’s the choice of a true statesman,” Valls said in a statement after Hollande’s announcement.

Hollande took office in 2012 promising to be “Mr Normal” after the flamboyant and mercurial Nicolas Sarkozy, who married supermodel Carla Bruni while in office.

But his tenure has been anything but normal.

France has faced three major Islamist-inspired terror attacks — firstly against Charlie Hebdo magazine in January 2015, then in Paris the following November and in Nice in July.

On economics, Hollande started with a leftist programme that included a wealth super-tax of 75 percent on top-earners but he shifted course mid-way through his term to embrace pro-business reforms.

And his colorful personal life has never been far from the headlines, leading his opponents to claim he has demeaned one of the most powerful political offices in Europe.

In January 2014, celebrity magazine Closer published pictures of him arriving on a scooter at an apartment near his official residence for secret trysts with a French actress, Julie Gayet.

The revelations led to the break-up of Hollande’s relationship with partner Valerie Trierweiler who went on to write an eviscerating book which claimed the president mocked poor people as “the toothless”.

Hollande listed his achievements on Thursday night, saying he had worked to “get France back on track and make it more fair” through reforms to the economy, social security and education.

He pointed to a global accord on climate change signed in Paris last year as part of his legacy, as well as his handling of the terror attacks when he had sought to heal and comfort a wounded country.

He also brought in gay marriage in 2013.

On unemployment — which Hollande had promised to roll back before the election — he admitted that “the results are coming, later than I had promised them, but they are there.”

Hollande’s decision came on a day when the left-leaning Le Monde newspaper delivered a withering assessment of his time in office.

Le Monde wrote in an editorial that he had “not given a meaning to his time in office, occupied the job with authority or imposed himself as the legitimate candidate for his party.” AFP </s> French president Francois Hollande said on Thursday he would not seek a second term in next year’s presidential election, a surprise move that clears the way for an alternative left-wing candidate.

It is the first time since France’s fifth Republic was created in 1958 that an incumbent French president has not sought re-election. Hollande is the most unpopular president in French polling history, a fact he tacitly acknowledged in a speech from the Elysee Palace.

“I am aware today of the risk that going down a route that would not gather sufficient support would entail, so I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election,” a sombre-looking Hollande said in his televised address.

All recent polls have predicted that neither Hollande nor any other Socialist candidate would make it past the first round of the election next spring. They predict a run-off battle between centre-right candidate Francois Fillon and the leader of the far-right National Front, Marine Le Pen.

After Britain’s Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as US president, the contest will be another key test of strength between mainstream politicians and a charismatic populist.

“I have for over four and a half years served the country with sincerity and honesty,” a black-suited, stony-faced Hollande said as he detailed the reforms he has achieved since his election in May 2012.

There has been tension between Hollande and his prime minister Manuel Valls, who raised the possibility in a weekend interview that he could be a candidate in the election. His staff said he would not comment on Hollande’s announcement.

Hollande said he would now focus on leading the country in the months until the two-round presidential election on April 23rd and May 7th.

The Left is deeply divided as it approaches the election. Several other Socialists, including former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, have said they will take part in the party’s primaries in January.

Another of Hollande’s ex-ministers, Emmanuel Macron, and leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon have said they will run in the presidential election but without taking part in the primaries.

Francois Fillon, who on Sunday became the centre-right candidate for the presidential election, immediately reacted to say that Hollande had been “lucid” about what he called “his clear failure”.

“Those five years (of the Hollande mandate) end in political shambles and decay,” Fillon said in a statement.

Hollande beat conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in an election in May 2012 after a classic leftwing campaign in which he targeted big business and pledged to raise taxes for high earners.

But his popularity soon began to decline with a perceived lack of leadership and flip-flops on key issues, particularly tax reform, which dismayed many on the left. His popularity has been undermined by stubbornly high unemployment and anaemic economic growth.

Grassroots supporters were further alienated by a pro-business switch in 2014, a wavering over security reforms, and by labour laws that brought thousands out onto the streets in protests early this year.

Hollande’s image was also hit by a series of communication mis-steps, including a very public split with his ex-partner Valerie Trierweiler and pictures of him going to visit his new partner on a scooter.

The last straw for some of his closest supporters was the publication of a book by two Le Monde journalists in October. In interviews with them, Hollande criticised several of his allies and others from judges to footballers, in comments that were widely criticised as indiscreet and ill-befitting a president. He also disclosed that French secret services had carried out four targeted killings on his orders. </s> Surprise move not to stand for a second term in upcoming presidential election throws selection of a Socialist candidate wide open

François Hollande, the least popular French president since the second world war, has announced he will not run for a second term in office.

With a satisfaction rating so low it recently dropped to just 4%, the Socialist president appeared shaken and emotional as he said in a live televised address from the Élysée palace that he would not attempt to run for a second term, conscious of the “risks” to the French left if he did so.

“Today I am aware of the risks that going down a route that would not gather sufficient support would entail, so I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election,” a sombre-looking Hollande said.

He said his only concern was “the superior interest of this country” and that he could not stand for “the break-up of the left”. He said his time in power had taught him “humility”.

France: government in turmoil as Socialist infighting grows Read more

He is the first French president since the war not to attempt to run for re-election.

François Fillon, the right’s presidential candidate and the favourite to win next spring, said Hollande had “admitted with lucidity that his obvious failure stopped him going any further”. Fillon, who last week called Hollande’s presidency “pathetic”, said Hollande’s presidency was ending in a “political shambles”.

Hollande’s decision leaves the way open for a bitter Socialist primary race in January to decide who will run in his place. Manuel Valls, the ambitious prime minister who is a tough law-and-order voice and pro-business reformist on the right of the party, could now decide to run to become the Socialist candidate.

If he does run, Valls will face opposition from several former government ministers who are part of a leftwing rebel movement, including the ambitious former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, who is fiercely critical of Hollande’s pro-business line.

Hollande’s popularity slumped right from the start of his presidency in 2012. He beat the rightwing Nicolas Sarkozy after a classic leftwing campaign in which he targeted big business and pledged to raise taxes for high earners.

He began his presidency with a leftist programme that included a wealth super-tax of 75% on top earners but he shifted course midway through his term.

François Hollande labour reforms protests Read more

Grassroots supporters were further alienated by a pro-business switch in 2014, a wavering over security reforms, and labour laws that brought thousands out onto the streets in protests early this year.

Hollande was accused of a lack of preparation, zigzagging on policy and being unable to keep a lid on his government’s internal feuding on how to address the economy. His initial attempt to style himself as a “normal president” – paying no heed to the superficial trappings of office – backfired and endeared him even less to the electorate.

Accused of lacking authority and coherence, dithering over policy decisions from tax increases to pro-business reform, failing to kickstart the sluggish economy and failing to protect France from a series of devastating terrorist attacks, he was eventually abandoned by his own core of Socialist party voters who felt betrayed by his muddled, stop-start pro-business reforms.

One recent poll by Odoxa put him at only 7.5% in the first round of the presidential race, behind the right’s Fillon, the far-right Marine Le Pen, his former economy minister and maverick independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, and the hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

In his televised address, Hollande said he felt he had achieved many changes for France in his time in office, including introducing same-sex marriage and beginning to lower France’s stubbornly high jobless figures after decades of mass unemployment.

But he admitted that the drop in the number of unemployed had come too late and “unemployment is still too high”.

Hollande said he was pleased he had led France to intervene against Islamists in Mali, in west Africa. He said his biggest regret came after the Paris terrorist attacks of November 2015 when he planned to strip French citizenship from dual-nationality citizens convicted of terrorism. The plan caused havoc and division on the left and right, and Hollande was forced to abandon it.

Hollande’s complicated personal life in office only served to reinforce his image as indecisive and distracted. In January 2014 he was photographed by paparazzi going by scooter to a flat near the Élysée where he was conducting an affair with actor Julie Gayet.

His partner, the political journalist Valérie Trierweiler, then wrote a tell-all book about their tumultuous relationship, in which she described their relationship breakdown in excruciating detail and, most seriously, accused Hollande of mocking poor people as “toothless”. The fallout was disastrous for his image.

A recent 600-page book, A President Shouldn’t Say That, in which Hollande shocked even those in his close circle by regularly confiding in two journalists with the private details of his presidency and personal life – including openly discussing state secrets such as details of plans for an airstrike on Syria in 2013, or paying ransom for abducted French journalists – served to damage him further.

More than any other French president, Hollande attempted to play the transparency card, confiding in journalists and inviting documentary crews into the Elysée, yet there was a communication gap in which he was never able to build a relationship with the French people in which they understood his goals and felt he understood them.

Hollande’s family, including his ex-partner and mother of his children, Ségolène Royal, a government minister, is said to have advised him not to stand again and risk being humiliated.

The French presidential election takes place next April and May. </s> French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday he would not seek a second term in office in the presidential election in 2017, an unprecedented move that leaves the way open for other left-wing candidates.

It is the first time in decades that an incumbent French president has not sought re-election. Hollande is the most unpopular president on record.

“I am aware today of the risk that going down a route that would not gather sufficient support would entail, so I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election,” a somber-looking Hollande said in a televised address.

All recent polls have predicted that neither Hollande nor any other Socialist candidate would make it past the first round of the election. They predict a run-off battle between center-right candidate Francois Fillon and the leader of the far-right National Front, Marine Le Pen.

The Left is deeply divided as it approaches the election. Several other Socialists, including former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, have said they will take part in the party’s primaries in January.

Another of Hollande’s ex-ministers, Emmanuel Macron, and leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon have said they will run in the presidential election but without taking part in the primaries.

There has been tension between Hollande and his prime minister Manuel Valls, who raised the possibility in a weekend interview that he might run in the primaries against his boss.

Hollande beat conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in an election in May 2012 after a classic leftwing campaign in which he targeted big business and pledged to raise taxes for high earners.

But his popularity soon began to decline with a perceived lack of leadership and flip-flops on key issues, particularly tax reform, which dismayed many on the left. His popularity has been undermined by stubbornly high unemployment and anemic economic growth.

Grassroots supporters were further alienated by a pro-business switch in 2014, a wavering over security reforms, and by labor laws that brought thousands out onto the streets in protests early this year.

Hollande’s image was also hit by a series of communication mis-steps, including a very public split with his ex-partner Valerie Trierweiler and pictures of him going to visit his new partner on a scooter.

The last straw for some of his closest supporters was the publication of a book by two Le Monde journalists in October. In interviews with them, Hollande criticized several of his allies and others from judges to footballers, in comments that were widely criticized as indiscreet and ill-befitting a president. He also disclosed that French secret services had carried out four targeted killings on his orders. </s> France’s governing Socialist Party will choose between Benoit Hamon and ex-prime minister Manuel Valls for its presidential candidate after five other contenders were eliminated in the first-round of the party’s primary contest on Sunday.

Mr Valls, who quit as premier last month, qualified for next weekend’s decider but was trailing in early counting to Mr Hamon who performed well in debates leading up to the poll.

Whoever wins next Sunday’s contest, however, will face an uphill task in trying to maintain occupancy of the Elysee Palace for the party with France’s current head of state Francois Hollande having decided not to seek a new mandate after a first term blighted by terror attacks that forced him to call a state of emergency.

Current polling suggests the official Socialist candidate could come fifth in the first round of the presidential contest in April which whittles the field down to two contenders for the deciding round on May 7 where the victor claims the keys to the Elysee Palace.

Mr Valls has found it hard to disassociate himself with the policies of Mr Hollande having been in charge of delivering them until a few weeks ago.

Early results put Mr Hamon on around 35% of the vote with Mr Valls close behind on 32%.

The third-placed candidate in the field of seven, Arnaud Montebourg, was back on 18% and he, Vincent Peillon, Francois de Rugy, Sylvia Pinel, Jean Luc Bennahmias are now eliminated. Mr Montebourg, conceding defeat, immediately endorsed Mr Hamon for the second round.

Between 1.5 million and two million votes were cast on Sunday, a lower turnout than the 2011 primaries which saw Mr Hollande emerge as the Socialist candidate against deeply unpopular centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, whom he defeated in 2012.

That win saw the Socialists end 17 years of centre-right rule at the Elysee.

Current polling suggests far right leader Marine Le Pen and the centre right’s Francois Fillon will contest the presidency on May 7.

However, with former Socialist and now centrist Emmanuel Macron polling well in third place overall, closing in on Ms Le Pen and Mr Fillon, and leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon also outperforming the Socialists there could still be a left wing presence in the second round if enough voters coalesce behind one candidate in the first round on April 23.

Mr Macron, 39, is proving popular with younger voters in the big cities although is yet to make an impact in the countryside where Mr Fillon, a 62-year-old married to Welshwoman Penny Clarke, has his core support.

Polling suggests Mr Fillon, whose victory in the centre-right primaries shocked the pollsters, or Mr Macron would beat Ms Le Pen in the second round even if she wins the first round.

Mr Hollande was in Chile visiting a solar project in the Atacama desert during Sunday’s voting.

Apart from Georges Pompidou, who died in office in 1974, he is the first president under France’s Fifth Republic system not to seek a second term. </s> French voters will go to the polls in April and May 2017, but Hollande, who has been beset by low popularity ratings, says he will not stand for re-election.

"I am speaking to you this evening to inform you of the decision I have taken in view of the forthcoming presidential election," he said. "I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election."

Hollande, 62, defeated Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 to become the first Socialist president to win a French election since François Mitterrand's re-election in 1988.

He cited achievements under his watch, including opening up marriage to all couples, strengthening women's equality and fighting against discrimination. He said unemployment had declined since the beginning of the year, but conceded "it remains at too high a level." France has been hit by several major terrorist attacks, in Paris and Nice, during his presidency, events that he touched on during his address. "The world, Europe and France went through particularly severe tests during my term in office. "In these terrible circumstances, I wanted national cohesion to be maintained, so that we could avoid division and stigmatization ... I took the necessary measures."
François Hollande, the President of France, announces that he will not run in next year's presidential election. This leaves the selection of a candidate for the French Socialist Party wide open.