PhotoBlog - francois-hollande

14
Jun
2012
8:17am, EDT
French president honors soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Francois Mori / AP
France's President Francois Hollande, left, attends a funeral ceremony for four French soldiers killed in Afghanistan at Les Invalides in Paris on June 14, 2012.
Msnbc.com news services report — France's President Francois Hollande paid his respects during a solemn funeral ceremony for four French soldiers killed in Afghanistan in Paris on Thursday.
In the courtyard of the site of Napoleon's grave, the domed Invalides, Hollande decorated each of the coffins with a starred medal on a red ribbon, honoring the four posthumously as Knights of the Legion of Honor, France's highest award.
Veiled suicide bomber kills four French soldiers in Afghanistan
Offering condolences to the soldiers' families after they were killed on Saturday, Hollande restated his plan to withdraw all French combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012.
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Martin Bureau / AFP - Getty Images
Francois Hollande places a Legion d'honneur medal on one of the coffins in the Invalides courtyard in Paris on June 14, 2012.
Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads
Baz Ratner / Reuters
More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
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1111!!!!!
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15
May
2012
5:34am, EDT
Exit Sarkozy, enter Hollande: Socialist sworn in as French president
Laurent Cipriani / AP
French President Francois Hollande waves from his car as he drives down the Champs Elysees in Paris after his inauguration on May 15, 2012.
Christophe Ena / AFP - Getty Images
French President-elect Francois Hollande arrives for his inauguration on May, 15, 2012 at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Reuters reports — Francois Hollande became French president on Tuesday in an official handover ceremony that makes him the country's first Socialist leader since Francois Mitterrand.
Outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted Hollande on the steps of the Elysee presidential palace, and took him inside to transfer nuclear codes and other secret files ahead of a short swearing-in ceremony attended by around 400 guests.
Hollande was due to fly to Berlin later in the day for his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
'Monsieur Normal' takes office ... unmarried
French economy stalls, posing challenge for new president
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Fred Dufour / AFP - Getty Images
Hollande is awarded "Grand Maitre" in the Order of the Legion of Honor, from chancellor of France's National Order of the Legion of Honor, General Jean-Louis Georgelin.
Mehdi Fedouach / AFP - Getty Images
Hollande, right, walks on the red carpet towards his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy prior to the start of the investiture ceremony.
Lionel Bonaventure / AFP - Getty Images
Sarkozy, left, welcomes his successor Hollande upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace.
Jacques Brinon / AP
Hollande's partner Valerie Trierweiler, right, shakes hands with Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy before the presidential handover ceremony.
Jacky Naegelen / Reuters
Journalists work as a man sweeps the red carpet in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace.
Patrick Kovarik / AFP - Getty Images
Sarkozy and his wife leave the Elysee Palace after the formal investiture ceremony.
Reuters
Hollande stands up in his car as he rides in the rain up the Champs Elysees.
The current First Lady of France, Valerie Trierweiler, and the former, Carla Bruni, have captivated the world. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

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With France electing its first socialist president in over twenty years, I guess that leaves Germany as the only adult in the union. France will be joining Greece soon.
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8
May
2012
8:08am, EDT
Après vous: Nicolas Sarkozy prepares to hand power to François Hollande
Lionel Bonaventure / AP
Outgoing French president Nicolas Sarkozy, left, walks with president-elect Francois Hollande at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on May 8, 2012, during a ceremony marking the end of World War II in Europe.
Reuters reports — Outgoing French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged his divided conservative UMP party on Monday to pull together quickly after his election defeat to fight off a double challenge from the left and far-right in parliamentary polls next month.
Sarkozy, who lost Sunday's presidential election to Socialist François Hollande, told senior UMP members to "play hard" and warned against splitting into factions that would weaken the party's standing in parliament.
France's flashy, fiery Sarkozy is ousted by unassuming Socialist
Sarkozy, who is due to hand over power to Hollande on May 15, said he would not campaign for the legislative elections to held in two rounds on June 10 and 17, preferring to take a break with his family.
But he seemed to back away from his promise to withdraw from politics if he lost the presidency, telling his allies that he would "still be around" and that they could "count on him". Read the full story.
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Eric Feferberg / AFP - Getty Images
In his first official function since defeating Sarkozy in Sunday's election, Hollande took part in ceremonies to mark the anniversary at the Arc de Triomphe along with the outgoing president.

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6
May
2012
4:02pm, EDT
French President Sarkozy admits defeat in presidential bid
Michel Euler / AP
Outgoing French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves after addressing supporters at his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party headquarters after the the preliminary results of the second round of the presidential elections were announced in Paris, France, May 6.
Christophe Karaba / EPA
Supporters of 'Union pour un Mouvement Populaire' (UMP) party candidate Nicolas Sarkozy react after learning their candidate lost the Presidential election in Paris.

Sarkozy faced voters' anger over austerity Sunday in a presidential run-off expected to replace him with Socialist rival Francois Hollande, with far-reaching consequences for efforts to fight Europe's debt crisis.

The election outcome could also have an impact on how long French troops stay in Afghanistan and how France exercises its military and diplomatic muscle around the world.

-- Reported by the Associated Press
Read the full story.
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23
Apr
2012
4:59am, EDT
French far right holds balance after Francois Hollande edges Nicolas Sarkozy
Laurent Cipriani / AP
A supporter of Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande celebrates after the results of the first round of the French elections were announced at the party's headquarters in Paris, France, on April 22, 2012.
Reuters reports — Far-rightist Marine Le Pen threw France's presidential race wide open on Sunday by scoring nearly 20 percent in the first round -- votes that might determine the runoff between Socialist favorite Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Hollande got 27.5 percent, compared to Sarkozy's 26.6 percent, and the two will meet in a head-to-head decider on May 6.
A 4-month presidential race? Welcome to France
But Le Pen's record score of 20 percent was the sensation of the night, beating her father's 2002 result and outpolling hard leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon, in fourth place with 10 percent. Centrist Francois Bayrou finished fifth with nine percent. Continue reading.
Jean-Pierre Muller / AFP - Getty Images
Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande adjusts his glasses on stage after the announcement of the estimated results of the first round put him in first place.
Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP - Getty Images
France's President and Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy is pictured following the announcement of the estimated results, which put him in second place.
Philippe Desmazes / AFP - Getty Images
Far right Front National (FN) candidate Marine Le Pen celebrates after a strong performance gave her the highest ever score for her anti-immigrant party. She finished third.
Jeff Pachoud / AFP - Getty Images
Ballots are displayed on a table in a polling station in Lyon during first round voting.
In this year's U.S. presidential campaign, more than $100 million has already been spent on TV ads. As Rock Center Special Correspondent Ted Koppel reports, the system is very different in France, where the candidates disappear from TV in the run-up to voting.

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Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads