Despite a public yearning for political renewal, the 2017 vote for France's top job is shaping up as a contest between faces that, to many, are drearily familiar. Sarkozy fired the gun on Monday for what may be a deja-vu denouement in the two-round race in April and May. The Socialist Party has been adrift for months over the 2017 elections, but Sarkozy's re-emergence seems to have given it a jolt of energy. To many on the left, Sarkozy is a bogey figure, reviled for his "bling-bling" lifestyle and hawkish policies. Like Sarkozy, Hollande has delayed any announcement of whether he will run again.

Source: The Local August 24, 2016 09:00 UTC