Most French people do not want Francois Hollande to seek a second term in the country’s 2017 presidential election, a poll showed, in the latest blow to the president whose popularity is already at record lows.

European leaders face calls to take direct action against the Islamic State, including in Syria, after the beheading of US journalist James Foley, but politicians are reluctant to take the lead after previous missteps in the region.

When even their president is being caught sneaking around behind his partner’s back, it is perhaps not surprising to find that the French top a poll for infidelity, alongside the equally hot-blooded Italians.

French president François Hollande’s approval rating declined for the sixth month in a row in November, a poll has showed, as he wrestles with a sickly economy and rising unemployment.

As post-election euphoria wanes, French President François Hollande returns from holiday under pressure to show that beyond dismantling the legacy of his predecessor he can act decisively at home while grappling with recession in Europe.

President Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party, bolstered by left-wing allies, is poised to take control of France’s lower house of parliament so he can revamp a country his partisans see as too capitalist and push to save the eurozone through growth.

Francois Hollande, a mild-mannered French Socialist who wants to take better care of the jobless and the poor, is heading to a presidential run-off election against tough-on-immigration Nicolas Sarkozy in a vote that could alter Europe’s political and economic landscape.

President Nicolas Sarkozy pulled ahead of his Socialist rival for the first time in France’s election race yesterday, according to a poll held after the right-winger took a strident anti-EU turn.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a personal Twitter account and geared up for a prime-time TV appearance amid expectations he will at last announce his re-election bid.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy will announce his bid for re-election tonight, setting the stage for what he hopes will be a dramatic comeback against his poll-leading Socialist rival, a source in his office said.

THE former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn has maintained that his sexual encounter with a New York hotel maid did not involve violence, constraint or aggression, but still constituted a moral failing on his part.

French voters have shrugged at politicians’ infidelities for decades but now some wonder if their tolerance has allowed criminal acts by one of the country’s best-known public figures to go unpunished.

Allegations of sexual assault in a New York hotel have torn France’s presidential race asunder and savaged the reputation of the suave and self-assured Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The French government today claimed they were winning the battle against strikers causing countrywide disruption with protests against pension reforms.

A new poll suggests French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest level yet amid pension protests that have sparked gas shortages, travel chaos and school closures.

FRANCE voted yesterday in regional polls forecast to punish Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling party, the last ballot-box test of his popularity ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called today for “restraint” in Tibet, and offered France as a go-between in any new talks between China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama.

The first round of French local elections today is being seen as a tough test for conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose popularity has plummeted during 10 months in office.

Cecilia Sarkozy, newly divorced from France’s president, insisted she and her ex-husband did not lie about their relationship to smooth his election campaign.

Cecilia Sarkozy, newly divorced from France’s president, insisted she and her ex-husband did not lie about their relationship to smooth his election campaign.

Segolene Royal began her campaign to become France’s first woman president in style, decisively beating two rivals to wrap up the nomination for the main opposition Socialist Party in a single round of voting.

DESPITE that famous World Cup headbutt — or perhaps because of it — retired soccer star Zinedine Zidane is France’s favourite celebrity, a poll said.

A French MP will today submit to parliament a proposal to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places.

Germany has become the ninth country to approve Europe Union’s new constitution, but Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder did not stick around to celebrate after the vote: He hopped on a jet to rally voters in France.

The French would approve the EU constitution if the referendum scheduled for May 29 were held today, but the numbers of those opposed are rising, a poll to be published tomorrow suggests.