And as the date of the French presidential elections approaches, the current government is being constantly blamed for its apparent inability to ensure safety of the country and its citizens, according to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
Both former French president Nicholas Sarkozy and head of the National Front political party Marine Le Pen are busy criticizing the president and his policies, and revelations of Nice police officials following the terrorist attack of July 14 do little to help improve Hollande’s standing.
Sandra Bertin, Nice police department representative, has declared that the Interior Ministry forced her to alter the report about the security measures in the city during the attack, in order to conceal the fact that police readiness was worse than the ministry claims.
And even as the elections loom closer, Francois Hollande has yet to announce his candidacy, which means that for the first time in French history an acting president may have to compete with rivals within his own party to be nominated for election, Aftenposten remarks.
An IFOP poll published on July 24 shows that only 17 percent of French citizens believe that Hollande is doing a good job. And the problems plaguing the French economy, growing unemployment and an extremely unpopular labor law, further diminishes the president’s popularity, the newspaper remarks.
According to a recent poll by Reuters, 73 percent of French voters don’t want Francois Hollande reelected "under any circumstances." At the same time, 66 percent of respondents display a similar attitude towards Nicholas Sarkozy, while 63 percent of voters have no desire to see Marine Le Pen as their president.
