>> the path that does not bring people together. i've decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election and not to seek a second term. >> the far right wants us to with draw, to leave europe and the world, and it uses what happened in the united states as an example. i say this clearly, frankly. the greatest danger is protectionism, closing ourselves off. and it will be foremost a zastryzny forefrench workers. as french president, my wish is for french labor to be supported and valued. >> once again, that was a

bombshell announcement frorom t french president. we have been saying it, but i want to go back to the moment again. i was sure he was going to say he was running for the presidency next year. they said first sitting president not to seek re-election. >> yes, first time in the fifth republic, which has been going on since 1958, hasn't it? so it is a first in 60-odd years. it is true that it was a very sort of shocking twist, and it sounded like he was going to say after doing this victory lap as he put it earlier, that he was going to say all this means is that i am going to continue my good work into a second five-year term. then suddenly it all fell away. but to understand the she said and earlier this is a bit

humiliating of course. there is no question about it. but it could have been even worse if he had said i am going to go for it and then he is knocked out of the first round of the socialist primary in january. opinion polls were showing that he would be beaten by at least two candidates in that socialist primary. so imagine a sitting president knocked out of the first round of his own party primary will stephen a. smith four months to go in the presidential palace with the election -- still four months to go in the ention palace before the election. >> more grace sensing the tide of disconsent from the socialist voters in the socialist party. also there is a chance he could have gone to the primary and had some high profile lawmakers say they witness going to

support him, as they did with donald trump in the u.s. reiterating this all night long, a split within the part. perhaps keeping the party more solidified. >> that must be the hope. but then with six candidates vying for the first round, there is really no party unity in sight right now, to be franc. ut it is true that now that he has said he is not running, i think the big question is going to be what does the prime minister do next? and also what happened behind the scenes? there is going to be a lot of speculation the next few days about was it really his own decision, or did a lot of people actually try to persuade him, saying look, you have no chance. you really should give it a rest? what happened in that lunch between the prime minister and

the president? that will be some interesting things to watch if they filter through on. >> i would like to cross over to professor david lee. thank you for joining us here on "france 24." whatat did you make of francois hollande's announcement? >> in many ways shocking, in many ways unsurprising. you like to hear from francois hollande before the socialist primaries, and equal acrcross france. different political parties will take this in quite a happy way. they will be quite celebratotor there will be those who elected francois hollande on a platform of changee and have failed to see any y change whatsoever. for the socialists, a very posisitive mood. it is not particularlrly surprising that nevertheless,

it is stitill a quite shocking sleant in this build-up to the 2017 presidential elections. >> you mentioned it is a positive move for the socialist party, but wouldn't some say this is a sign that the socialists are perhaps accepting failure? this is the first time e a sitting french president isn't seeking re-election? >> i think francois s hollande has done the socialiststs and france a favor. had he tried to stand in next year's election, you would have seen socialist party wiped out. as he with taurasi, he pavaves he e way as he withdraws, he paves the way for other candidates. it talks to people on the far left. they may see their chances increase n n that hollande is

gone. i think hollande was popular for many years. economically and socially. i think it was a very pot tiff thing to do by stoning down totoday. >> the perform, if he does decide to run in the socialist prprimary in janunuary, would h tarnished asas serving as hollande's prime minister? >> i think in many ways he will be, yes. i i think what we are seeing is wave of anti-establishment fefeeling. that manifested itself in particular with donald trump in the u.s.a. but also with brecksiment in the u.k. so we weren't seeeeing a lotot different feelings. i think what we will see, he ill be morere towards the righ. now he will shift even further to t the right, and i think we will really see a whole wave of

this kind of anti-social feeling towards him. e is going up against francois theon. the e only one who really stand ut of any significant is a different candidate. she is by her very nature a very much santa establishment figment >> we have a former economy minister who split from hollande's government, and he has started a political movement here. it is not clear how far he might go with it. but one thing he has is he has a pro business agenenda that ca fromom a socialist b background? >> obviously, he is a big hreat to the sociaialists. he did well l in 2012. was riding on n the back of n

anti-austeririty and anti-i-cri sentiment back then. he was also resesponsible for t new working laws in france. we saw a while wave of student and worker protests in the summer. so in many ways, while he is youthful and dynamic, he is also an establish yiment figure. while he is a threat, i think nevertheless both candidates are largely in the same bought with regards to being seen as socialist figures. really it is going to be very interesting to see which one will push to the right to compete with those two. >> any presidential election would be closely watched, but next year's is particularly so because a lot of people were worried it coulddom down to francois hollande and sarkozy . rkozy -- and nicolas sarkozy

sarkozy lost in the conservative primary. hollande bows out this evening with his shock announcement. stayeding, there is lapenn on the far right, and if another wins the socialist primary, how them? fehehr against >> i think it is likely he would emerge third. had francois hollande stayed, he may have been in danger of coming in fourth. nevertheless, i think he will emerge united states he can push further to the right. i think islam and radical islam in particular is a particularly t topic in this presidential campaign. other fees will be like imfreight law and order.

if came down to it, if france was able to do so, i think he could see off lapenn and we would see a split in the second round of the elections next year. ut in any case, i think lapenn can stand apart and say the center right and center left over who the candidates are. it is clear that she can set out our place early on. there is an international element here. by the time we get to the election carmelo anthony pain next year, donald trump will have had at least five months of power. if he let's down a huge swath of his own electric tortse, then they will say how the that in america feel, donald trump may have let them

down. >> a bit of a litmus test possibly ahead of the french election. that was david lee. thank you u very much foror joi us here on "france 24." p next we are going to speak o guionne. he is on twitter. i imagine the social media with a flurry? >> yes. hit start with the biggest winner of the evening so far. he is very much welcoming this piece of news, saying it is about time that francois failure recognizes the of his government the last few years. i think he is now looking to who is going to be his pony, and he is very glad that francois hollande is out of the way even though hollande, as

most people recognize in france, didn't have much of a chance at running. next stop, let's look at juan luke. >> he is on the leftist side of franchise politics. he is not running in the primary of the socialist party. he thinks the primera is not for him. he doesn't have a spot in it. in the past few years, a huge failure. then he goes on a bit of a twitter rant, presenting all of his ideas. he thinks this is good news for him as well. he is very much running. owe doesn't have to go through a primary. a politician that sees himself as an anti-candidate.e. > here is a frant -- friend.

he is basically the guy who runs the socialist party in frant, a very tough job. he is basically saying look, francois hollande did a good job as president, and he recognized that tonight. burr he also recognizes that with a certain elegance that there is no way he can win, no way he can run for president. very much of a tribute here to francois hollande by the head of the french socialist party. >> this kind of striking language that we are seeing here. speaking en we were of it earlier, it almost seems like an owe obituary. so many people are stancing themselves. >> if you look at the tone of the reactions on twitter. it has been an hour. everybody is basically

recognizing this is the end for francois hollande in politics. he is going to run the country for the next five or six months, but that is pretty much it for him. everybody is pretty much eagler to "sportscenterer's." >> record low approve ratings, been that way for the last two years. >> a sinking feeling this is the end of an era. a lot people of resigned, have left for other jobs. they have known for months it is not going anywhere. i think francois hollande recognizing this tonight is welcome news for a lot of them. i don't know if we have time for a few more. >> yes. >> the foreign press is still very much reacting. they probably didn't expect it as much as we did here in france. , socialist guardian infighting grows. recognizing what is going to happen that all these people

that were waiting to run, are now preparing the next step. emanuel, the prime minister of france is one of the favorites to take the lead. >> have we seen anything from him? >> i think he has not row acted yet. i haven't chected in the past five minutes. >> probably appropriate for him to be quite -- quiet? >> you may hear something in the among. twitter is not his way of communicating. french newspaper very much on the left recognizing. this is the very first sign, first time since the fifth republic that a confident president has decided not to run. he is not ded that

running. >> we would like to tell your go ers quick that you can to our website. we are live blogging on francois hollande's surprising announcement not to stand for the socialist primary and seek re-election. u can find that story on our website right now. right now only one thing, the turmoil in the socialist party. >> yes. we have time for one more? >> yes. this is from a.p. it is upside down. but the associated press tonight prepared two scenarios. francois hollande will and francois hollande won't seek for re-election, and they forgot to update that story before sending it on the wire. >> oh, no.

>> they sale he will/won't seek re-election. >> as journal itses we hope to make this job look geez. it is one of the risks of job. have we sfeen a lot of reaction from users? we saw some of the official reaction. has there been widespread support of hollande, or more condemnation of his presidency on t twitter? >> i have beenen checking facebook for that. the general tone here is more recognizing it is about time for him to move on again. he has very few supporters left, even in people who traditionally vote for the left. they seem to have given up on him quite a long time ago. the tone in frons among people i fall mother, one of relief and eagerness to move on. >> we were discussing this earlier, the rides of the far

right, la pen. it has been a trent as we mentioned, across europe. donald trump gaining some popularity ahead of the u.s. ormer president. is he a victim of not being far enough left, rising populism or being a poor leader? >> that would be a tough assessment. francois hollande has had a hard time defining his position in the socialist ranks. he has been trying to find a middle way. is he going to be the new tony blair of france, sort of being more on the center or left wing. he hasn't been able to decide. he has always been going the other way. he is a prime minister who was more of a centrist.

there is a lot of infighting that francois hollande as a leader was not capable of putting an end for. in result, he has almost between in trying and failing to figure it out so far. >> in the run-up to the primary, we know one will be there. we can guess that emanuel volz might be there. which person better suited to carry the mandate? >> it is going to be an existential fight for the uture of france. one is a bit of a protectionist. he is fighting for the heart of the socialist party with traditionally the trade unions and you will a the people who are more on the left of the party.

emanuel, is it he does run, is more of a send terrorist. e is ready to -- he is a centrist. he wanted to change the look of the party. he said the word socialist should be dropped. he is not talking about that anymore at this people. t that tells you the direction he wanted to go.. the primary is at the end of january. so we have two months debate that. you have to keep in mind that he is ready to go. they have been united and h hav no in-fighting. whoever runs for the socialist party is going to have a heart time this year no matter what. but maybe it is the right time to have a discussion about what the party is and what its future might be. >> will they be able to recover

head of the vote next april? >> well, you have some commentators tonight suguggesti that it is going to be extremely tough to recover not only because of the tone that francois hollande set for the presidency. he was very much criticized for not being enough of a president, sort of touch nurebbing the status. if you look at the french economy, it has not performed as well as it might have or could have. so you might not be alarmed. it might be someone else. but you were part of this and unning with this legacy is not easy. having worked with hollande and his legacy, it is one that is tough to defend. >> thank you, there our online media desk. let's go to our reporter,

katherine norris trent outside. i don't know if you heard our discussion, but discussing the existential crisis in the socialist party. is there any chance they wiwill cheeks ahead of the cohesion? >> that is a tough ask. but that is what they will be trailing to do. we know that the french prime minister had hinted in a newspaper better view this sunday that he was ready to run, perhaps putting pressure on the president, francois hollande. the two men met for a dinner to try and iron out their differences, and now a decision has been made. we will have to wait and see whether he forward. but he is by no means the man who can you nymex the socialist party. he has been criticized not o oy

by numbers of his own party, we have had rebell conference in the parliamentary party and protestors on the street. the government has been pushing forward with plans to try and reform the labor force here in front. so controversial working that increased unpaid overtime allowed the negotiations t to take place in the work place. that was highly unpopular with the socialist left party. if he puts himself forward as candidate, then that will be rd for the party could rally around him. the former economy minister who broke away from social its government, that is wasn't demar enough to the left. his name is in ring. he put himself forward to join

why the socialist party candidate. we have a battle there. then we have another former economy minister. he is running as an independent. >> he has been putting forward a platform of economic liberalism over the economy, but being socially liberal. we will have to wait and see what kind of score he gets. backing of the come niths party and other leftft-wing parties. e is sure to put up a fight as well. there is a united front. the work is really ahead now for the french left to come together and put forward a

credible candidate. >> a question real quick. it is hard to know who benefits from this most, who the winners and losers are. clearly hollande not standing. whether the cons tiftstiffs -- seeing fioni reacting to this. moving forward to the april polls, who do you think it like benefits? >> that is a very interesting question, will. we will have to wait and see how this plays out. his political opponents on the right have already come forward and said this is an admission f the five years he spent in power. you can believe his opponents will benefit. they will say he didn't even

see anything happen. whoever comes out of the socialist party, we are hoping this will give them a new lesion life. >> katherine norris trent reported out of the palace. moments ago, francois hollande, the socialist president making a surprise announcement saying that he will not stand for re-election. he served a five-year term, elected in 2012 on the back of the socialist mandate, but he ffered all-time loe aproor ratings. the president said he would stand for re-election if he could reverse the trend of employment. he was looking to find socialist party cohesion. we will have more on that story coming up. stay tuned to "france 24." o#qñ

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