This Saturday, François Hollande announced his candidacy for the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7, 2024 in the first constituency of Corrèze, where he was elected deputy in 1997, 2002 and 2007. The former President of the Republic is launching the campaign for the New Popular Front, he was this Monday the guest of France Bleu Limousin to discuss his choice and the campaign that is beginning.
Seven years after leaving politics at the end of his presidential mandate, François Hollande is returning to the forefront, a decision he said he “the first surprised” this Monday. The former president felt he was “faced with a responsibility which was mine a long time ago, but which is now that of a citizen who was, certainly, a former president and who wants to block the extreme right and offer a solution to our country”. Adding that he had “no other ambition than to serve the country, but above all to ensure that our country resembles the idea we have of it basically”.
Faced with the weight of the RN, François Hollande pleaded this Monday for unity and action, “there is a moment when we must come together widely, very widely to prevent the worst from happening and to ensure that there can be, at least in the first months, emergency measures taken to the purchasing power of households, for the French economy, to give it a little breathing space, and then to ensure that social justice can be re-established. For the former deputy of Corrèze, “it is very important that there are personalities who can have a sense of the general interest” in a turbulent political and democratic context, “because there will undoubtedly be decisions to be made in the coming weeks.”
Emergency measures in case of victory
Asked about the priority measures that should be put in place after the legislative elections, François Hollande estimated that “the first measure is the revaluation of low salaries and also of salaries above the minimum wage (…)” but also “everything that relates to helping students, young people, because I know that they are in very great difficulty. So, in the Popular Front program, there are all these emergency measures and I finds it particularly grounded in the period we are going through” he pleaded.
Among the priorities, the former president also mentioned the return to retirement at 60 for long careers, but also the withdrawal of pension reform and the initiation of discussions with the social partners, who are “themselves mobilized, aware of the financial issues and know very well what needs to be done. And therefore, social dialogue is always the right approach for me” he added.
While the reform of unemployment insurance must be enacted by decree by the government on July 1, François Hollande specified that“another government that can undo it, it’s not even a legislative decision”. He felt that he is “totally inappropriate to make such a decision in the middle of a legislative campaign” and “if there is a left-wing majority, and even if this majority has to deal with others, it is absolutely necessary to repeal this decree.
“Give reasons to hope”
The former President of the Republic has already started his campaign, especially this weekend on the Tulle marketin contact with voters, citizens whom he felt “very lost, worried about their personal situation, because there we are in a deterioration of the economy. There is a rise in interest rates, there will be even additional difficulties. They want to ‘get out of it, they want to find solutions’. François Hollande concedes, “we are in a period of instability, a period of concern. It is true that there is a form of radicalism which has taken hold and with an extreme right which is now coming in openly. So at one point we must bring back strength, we must bring back serenity, we must put a barrier in place and we must give reasons to hope” he concluded.
