The woes of M. Hollande

Poor François Hollande. What a rentrée he's having!

His finance minister rebels against the austerity plans and forces a government reshuffle.

He gets caught referring to homeless people as the sans-dents (the toothless), perhaps from a proverb, "A man without money is like a dog without teeth".

The woman he lived with while entertaining his famous scooter affair with an actress publishes a book called "Thanks for the moment", in which she chronicles their break-up and his attempts to get her back.

Another government minister is forced to resign over tax-dodging, as is the chairman of the committee that was convened to look into it.

Some are asking if Hollande is on the slippery slope.

I don't think so. We're quite used to having a president who says funny things and whose life is like a comedy script. Witness M. Sarkozy and his foul-mouthed retorts.

I don't think for a moment he'll get re-elected. We'll probably have M Juppé for the next president, and he'll probably be a very good one.

But I think Hollande will stay out his term.


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