Today's Edition
PARIS (AFP)
Former French Socialist president Francois Hollande on Saturday said he will run for parliament again, the latest political twist after his successor Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly called snap legislative elections.
Macron's dissolving of parliament after the French far right's victory in European parliamentary elections has swiftly redrawn the lines of French politics.
A new left-wing alliance has emerged, and the main right-wing party's leader has announced he is prepared to back an alliance with the far right, sparking in-fighting within his party.
On Saturday, police estimated that a quarter of a million people protested across France against the prospect of the far right coming to power.
But it is far from sure that the fortunes of the far right will diminish in the legislative elections.
Hollande, France's president from 2012-2017, left office with record levels of unpopularity. He is hated by parts of the radical left and even the Socialist leadership regards him with suspicion.
He said he would stand as an MP for the southwestern Correze department for the New Popular Front, a left-wing grouping formed for the elections that includes the Socialists, hard-left, Greens and Communists.
'Be of Service'
"An exceptional decision for an exceptional situation," Hollande told reporters in the department's main town of Tulle, explaining his surprise comeback.
"I am not seeking anything for myself," he insisted, after a flurry of recent media appearances sparked speculation, he might be eyeing a return to the Elysee Palace itself.
"I just want to be of service." Hollande has already backed the new broad left-wing alliance, saying that we "must all do everything to make sure the far right does not come to power in France".
Officially, the Socialist Party reacted coolly to the move with the head of its election commission Pierre Jouvet simply saying that it "takes note" of the candidacy.
But one senior party figure, asking not to be named, said they were "devastated" by the news while conceding: "We said we wanted the broadest possible left wing."
The elections were called by Macron after the far-right National Rally (RN) trounced his own centrist ruling party in last week's European elections, recording more than double its vote.
The first round is set for June 30 and the second on July 7.
