Reports indicated he had put pressure on the president not to go for re-election. But even the outspoken politician from the Essonne region must have been uncertain at the outcome right until the last minute. “Unlike his predecessors, he’s more addicted to politics than he is to power,” he underlines. Michalski judges Hollande’s tenure a failure because the PS leader was convinced France’s economy could recover without “major reforms” that would not touch the welfare state. But with growth remaining obstinately stuck at under 1% he could not make good his promise to bring jobs.

Source: Forbes December 05, 2016 18:30 UTC