Socialists not set for landslide victory in parliamentary elections, yet a lesser triumph should still permit France's left-wing leader to rule effectively.
French President François Hollande pledged during his election campaign to clean up French political governance, blighted by years of recurrent scandals and conflicts of interest. Among the promises he made was that anyone who had been convicted of crimes would be excluded from government. Yet Hollande’s first act after he was sworn in was to appoint Jean-Marc Ayrault as his prime minister who, when mayor of Nantes in 1997, received a suspended prison sentence for favouritism in the allocation of a city hall contract, described by a court of audit as “a serious infringement of the rules governing public contracts”. While Ayrault insists that “my personal integrity was never in question”, his lawyers argue that he has been legally rehabilitated and have threatened to sue those who engage in “character defamation” by publicly raising the affair. Mathilde Mathieu and Michel Deléan report.
The five years of the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy were hallmarked by his unprecedented involvement in the day-to-day running of government, from policy announcements to public appearances, leaving his prime minister, François Fillon, in a backstage role. It became dubbed as the ‘hyper presidency’, a dramatic change from that of his predecessors, who perceived their role as a more lofty, behind-the-scenes management of the major affairs of state while their prime ministers were placed at the political frontline. The arrival of François Hollande, self-styled as ‘Mr Normal’, is expected to herald an abrupt rupture with Sarkozy’s media-conscious and agitated presidential style. But just what will be the power balance in his relationship with Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, a longstanding friend and political ally? Stéphane Alliès reports.
France’s new socialist government was unveiled Wednesday evening, after an afternoon of prolonged talks between newly-elected President François Hollande and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The list of 34 ministers – including 17 junior ministers – met Hollande’s promise to form a government with gender parity, and includes the creation of new ministries that announced the task ahead in tackling the economic crisis, like that of Productive Recovery. But the first surprise of the day was the news that Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry, once tipped for the post of prime minister, would not be included in Ayrault’s cabinet. Graham Tearse reports (a full list of the new government is presented on page three).
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