Former French president, member of French left-wing Socialist Party (PS) and candidate for the left wing coalition Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) in the Correze department Francois Hollande meets local residents during a campaign visit, ahead of the upcoming legislative elections, in Ursel, central France on June 22, 2024. (Photo by Pascal LACHENAUD / AFP)
Ussel, France: French President Emmanuel Macron's ascendancy is "over", former head of state Francois Hollande told AFP Saturday, after his former protege called a snap election likely to hand massive gains to the far right.
"I have no scores to settle at all. That's all in the past," Hollande said on the campaign trail in his native Correze department in central France, where he is standing to be an MP.
Suffering at the time from abysmal poll ratings, Socialist Hollande did not himself stand for a second term at the 2017 election.
Running as a pro-business centrist, his former economy minister Macron pulled off a surprise win that shattered traditional governing parties on the left and the right.
Now just two years into the younger man's second term, "Macronism is over, if indeed it ever existed. But it's over, I say it with no special hostility," Hollande said.
"I don't mean that his presidential term is coming to an end, that's something different. But what he may have represented for a time is over," he added.
Re-elected in 2022 for a second five-year term, Macron lost his absolute majority in parliament in legislative polls the same year.
His party has limped on in minority government, passing hard-fought and controversial reforms including raising the pension age and toughening immigration law.
But a heavy defeat at June 9's European Parliament election prompted Macron to dissolve parliament in hopes of breaking the deadlock.
A new chamber will be elected on June 30 and July 7 with the far-right National Rally (RN) looking set to win the most seats.
