France on the world stage: the Hollande factor

This week, French president François Hollande took a much-needed break from depressing economic news at home and jetted off to New York to address world leaders for the first time at the UN General Assembly. It's an opportunity to find out who this self-styled "normal" president is and whether there is a Hollande style, or perhaps even a Hollande doctrine, when it comes to foreign policy.

POLITICS

By FRANCE 24

On the set:

Bernard Guetta, Journalist at France Inter radio and columnist at Libération;
Philippe Gélie, International editor, Le Figaro;
Douglas Yates, Professor of political science, American University of Paris.

Watch the first part.

Marc Perelman

French Politics Editor

06/12/2012 - POLITICS

François Hollande: a Social Democrat?

After six months of Socialist rule in France, it is time to figure out exactly which left is in power. Is François Hollande a traditional leftist or a Social Democrat? Is the government thinking first and foremost about social justice or listening to the wishes of the financial markets? This is not just a theoretical debate, but crucial to understanding where France is heading in the midst of a prolonged economic crisis.

06/12/2012 - FACE-OFF

France's Gaullist Party: Leadership war continues

On the menu today, the UMP saga continues. It's still Copé versus Fillon, but it's now happening behind closed doors after two weeks of very public onslaught. Meanwhile, the government is shaking as its Green Party ministers are fed up with a series of environmentally-unfriendly decisions, and as its budget minister is under fire for an alleged hidden bank account in Switzerland.

29/11/2012 - POLITICS

France's Conservative Party: from bad to worse

Who said politics was no fun? The surreal fight for the Conservative party leadership has kept us hypnotized, baffled and bemused for the past 12 days. The two rivals to succeed Nicolas Sarkozy are locked in a vicious standoff: both Jean François Copé and François Fillon claim victory and accuse the other of cheating. No one, not even Sarkozy himself, has been able to bridge a compromise.

22/11/2012 - POLITICS

Conservative party: the nightmare scenario (part 2)

The election of the president of France's conservative UMP party was supposed to be a straightforward affair. Former PM François Fillon was supposed to cruise to victory against Jean-François Copé. But the race turned out to be much closer than expected. More importantly, it has morphed into an ugly fight between both camps, with each claiming victory and accusing the other of cheating.