France: President Francois Hollande will not seek re-election

French President François Hollande announced on Friday he will not contest the next presidential elections in May 2017, the first president since the second world war not to seek a second term in office.

With a satisfaction rating so low it recently dropped to just 4%, the Socialist president appeared emotional as he said in a live televised address from the Élysée palace that he would not attempt to run for a second term, conscious of the “risks” to the French left.

Hollande’s popularity slumped right from the start of his presidency in 2012 when he was accused of a lack of preparation, zigzagging on policy and being unable to keep a lid on his government’s internal feuding on how to address the economy.

His intitial attempt to style himself as a “normal president”, paying no heed to the superficial trappings of office, backfired and endeared him even less to the electorate.

He was currently polling at only 9% in the first round of the presidential race, behind both his former economy minister and maverick independent candidate Emmanuel Macron and the hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon.

In his address, Hollande said he felt he had achieved many changes in his time in office, including beginning to lower France’s stubbornly high jobless figures after decades of mass unemployment.

The question remains as to whether the prime minister Manuel Valls will now announce he will stand and take part in the Socialist primary race to choose its candidate in January.