Sauce Hollandaise
On the back of a resounding Socialist primary victory, François Hollande starts as favourite to win the French presidency
WHEN France's Socialist Party last won a presidential election, in 1988, Margaret Thatcher governed Britain, Ronald Reagan occupied the White House and Barack Obama was a mere 26-year-old. When it last triumphed at a parliamentary election, in 1997, Tony Blair had just won office for the first time. But there comes a moment when any political party that has been condemned to a long spell in opposition wakes up and does whatever it takes to seize back power. Have the French Socialists reached that point?
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Sauce Hollandaise”
From the October 22nd 2011 edition
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