Photo: Stéphane de Sakutin /AFPFrench President Francois Hollande vowed Saturday to spend the final months of his presidency fighting to protect the rights of the most vulnerable in society and the world. "My decisions as president have been based first and foremost on protecting," Hollande said, adding that he had always sought to look out for the "most vulnerable" and "civilian populations threatened by wars andterrorism". Hollande took issue with a campaign pledge by conservative frontrunner Francois Fillon to shed 500,000 public sector jobs if he becomes president. Hollande was in the United Arab Emirates capital to attend a conference on protecting the world's cultural heritage against the threats of extremism and conflict. Story continues below…Faced with record low approval ratings, Hollande announced on Thursday that he would not put his name forward to stand as socialist candidate in next year's presidential election.

Source: The Local December 03, 2016 11:40 UTC