Francois Hollande

About Francois Hollande

The French President from 2012 to 2017. Hollande was an unremarkable president who campaigned as a normal candidate after the hyperactive Sarkozy. He initially pursued socialist economic policies but reversed course after business criticism and economic stagnation. Hollande sent French troops to Mali in 2013 to fight Islamist militants. His personal life, including an affair with an actress discovered by paparazzi on a scooter, made him a figure of ridicule. Hollande had the lowest approval rating of any French president, reaching 4 percent. He chose not to seek reelection in 2017, the first president to do so.