France country expert, university lecturer, political consultant
“Is she really going to get elected?” “What he’s going to do as president?” “Will my business thrive or die?” Have you ever found yourself wondering about political risks in France, about the security of your investments, or simply about Read More …
The editorial staff of Aujourd’hui en France / Le Parisien decided that they would simply stop commissioning opinion polls ahead of the 2017 French presidential election. They say – inter alia – that polls and surveys failed to predict the results of Read More …
Earlier, I suggested in some of my analyses and interviews that the FN was a divided organisation, as internal power struggles are routinely present within the party. In recent days we have seen many evidence of this, since a nasty Read More …
For an analysts like me, it is kind of obligatory to consider the passing year. Whose year was it? What was the year about? I could easily say that 2016 was the year of the Fillon-surprise, but in fact, it Read More …
So far, when people asked me about the French presidential elections, I have always answered that whosoever won the Republican primary on 27 November, was likely to become the next French president. In this sentence, the keyword is “so far”. Read More …
A book based on about 100 hours of interviews with François Hollande was published by two Le Monde journalists, Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme. The title “A President Shouldn’t Say That…” practically tells all. I do not know what Hollande’s Read More …
Sarkozy’s “affairs” and Hollande’s book are certainly interesting and entertaining for those interested in French politics. The “big issue” of September, though, is the planned closure of Alstom’s TGV industrial plant in Belfort in 2018. The announcement of Alstom has Read More …
Economic success would be necessary for President François Hollande to reduce unemployment and to legitimate his 2017’s re-election bid (and people also want that growth badly – for obvious reasons). But outstanding economic growth remains a mere dream. As it Read More …
Parliament extended the state of emergency until 2017. Six more months. Meanwhile, the situation have become more complicated, because more and more concrete anti-terrorism proposals come to light. The debate about political responsibility after Nice goes on.
