Thu | May 28, 2026

Thousands criticise Hollande in protest

Published:Monday | January 27, 2014 | 12:00 AM
In this Sunday, May 6, 2012 file photo, French president-elect François Hollande embraces his companion Valérie Trierweiler after greeting crowds gathered to celebrate his election victory in Bastille Square in Paris, France. A French news agency has reported that President François Hollande has ended his relationship with his companion of seven years, Valérie Trierweiler. - AP

PARIS (AP):

About 17,000 people marched through central Paris on yesterday to criticise President François Hollande.

Carrying banners saying "The French are angry!", the demonstrators from about 50 organisations cited France's struggling economy and high unemployment, its taxes, their housing needs and lack of personal freedoms.

Police, who provided the estimate of the size of the march, said it went from Place de la Bastille to Les Invalides.

The protesters did not mention the biggest international news event surrounding Hollande, the secret affair that led him to announce on Saturday that he's ending his seven-year relationship with Valérie Trierweiler, France's first lady.

"Today they are taking our money from all sides. There are new taxes all the time. We have had enough!" said protester Johan Bonnain.

With Hollande's approval rating in France standing at about 30 per cent, Trierweiler was traveling to India yesterday on a long-scheduled humanitarian mission.

In an interview published yesterday but conducted a day earlier before he'd announced the end of his relationship, Hollande renewed his plea for his privacy to be respected.

He told Time magazine that "private life is always, at certain times, a challenge. And it has to be respected".