
Hollande — hope for the European Left?
In May, Nicolas Sarkozy lost the presidential elections in France. One can say, he deserved it, as he had implemented many reforms that were either unfair or not well thought-over. He restricted, for instance, civil liberties by implementing, back in 2009, the HADOPI law, which is based on the same principles as ACTA. He unreasonably […]

Brussels’ knot
The victory of Francois Hollande who has been sworn in as President of France on May 15 signalled the end of a continent-wide consensus around policies to confront the economic crisis. Mario Monti, Manuel Barroso, Mario Draghi, similarly to Socialist President Francois Hollande, start stressing the need to promote growth instead of German austerity measures. Herman Van Rompuy announced a special summit […]

Too leftist left-wing, too rightist right-wing
Presidential elections in France may be analyzed in their ideological context – by way of asking a question who should the moderate electors vote for. Unfortunately, the answer is not that easy. For the French had to deal with a classical dilemma for the modern politics, which is yet unknown to the Polish voters. In […]

France – elegant or not that elegant country?
Last year, a dispute over a cross at Presidential Palace marked the period of a holiday heat wave in Poland, pushing aside such political ‘trivialities’ like the Perennial State Finances Plan or the completion of operations of gambling commission. In order not to develop a complex or to get frustrated by how things are in […]

„Buy French!” … and a look at the causes of stagnation
Nicolas Sarkozy, coming into the home straight of the presidential campaign, is urging the French to spend their money on locally manufactured goods. His rival, Francois Hollande, also spoke in similar vein recently, albeit in a less nationalistic tone. But in essence they are both saying the same thing – that Europe must protect its markets both by encouraging […]

Super popular but centrist candidate
François Bayrou is an extraordinary candidate in every respect. Brought up in a small village, he was a farmer and a country teacher and is a practicing Catholic as well as father of a numerous family. On public meetings he recites poetry and shines with erudition; he doesn’t feel abashed while conversing with foreign journalists […]

Hollande apologises to the plumbers
Although François Hollande, for a few weeks, has been soliciting the support of European leaders or governments with perseverance, the doors of the main political offices remain closed to him. The same could have happened in Warsaw if it had not been for the Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski. The latter met the French presidential candidate […]

What next after Toulouse?
It has always been said about Nicolas Sarkozy that he is a good president for the time of crisis. And that this is mainly why he still fights for re-election, despite the fact that many do not like him in France – in quiet times his hyperactivity and impulsiveness labelled him as a troublemaker. The […]

The Left at Bastille
The far left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon is well on the road to become the greatest revelation of the election. In a few weeks he has doubled his support, today it already amounts to 10-11 percent and it keeps growing. The dynamics of this increase resembles the one of 2007, when the centrist François Bayrou reached […]

The most important European elections of 2012
April 22nd and May 6th are those days when French will be choosing their next president. Two words are going to be prominent during the 2012 election campaign – crisis and style. French will expect from the candidates to have formulas for overcoming the economic stagnation and the improvement of living conditions. Immigration and security, […]