Saint Denis of Paris
Saint Denis, holding his head. statue at the left portal of Notre Dame.
Bishop and Martyr
Born	3rd century AD Italy
Died	c. 250, 258,[1] or 270 Montmartre, Paris, France
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Saint Denis Basilica
Feast	October 9
Attributes	carrying his severed head in his hands; a bishop's mitre; city; furnace[2]
Patronage	France; Paris; against frenzy, strife, headaches, hydrophobia, possessed people, rabies

Saint Denis (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after A.D. 250. After his head was chopped off, Denis is said to have picked it up and walked ten kilometres (six miles), preaching a sermon the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The medieval and modern French name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius.

Life[link]

Beheading of Denis and of his companions, tympanum of the north portal of the Basilica of St Denis.

Gregory of Tours^[3] states that Denis was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred by being beheaded by a sword. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, the "Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii" dates from c. 600, is mistakenly attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, and is legendary. Nevertheless, it appears from the Passio that Denis was sent from Italy to convert Gaul in the third century, forging a link with the "apostles to the Gauls" reputed to have been sent out under the direction of Pope Fabian. This was after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian community at Lutetia.^[4] Denis, with his inseparable companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, who were martyred with him, settled on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine. Roman Paris lay on the higher ground of the Left Bank, away from the river.

Martyrdom[link]

Denis, having alarmed the pagan priests by his many conversions, was executed by beheading on the highest hill in Paris (now Montmartre), which was likely to have been a druidic holy place. The martyrdom of Denis and his companions is popularly believed to have given it its current name, derived from the Latin mons martyrium "The Martyrs' Mountain",^[1] although in fact the name is more likely to derive from mons mercurei et mons martis, Hill of Mercury and Mars.^[5] After his head was chopped off, Denis is said to have picked it up and walked ten kilometres (six miles) from the summit of Mont Mars (now Montmartre), preaching a sermon the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology. Of the many accounts of this martyrdom, this is noted in detail in the Golden Legend and in Butler's Lives Of The Saints.^[6] The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was marked by a small shrine that developed into the Saint Denis Basilica, which became the burial place for the kings of France. Another account has his corpse being thrown into the Seine, but recovered and buried later that night by his converts.^[2]

Veneration[link]

Late Gothic statue of Saint Denis, limestone, formerly polychromed (Musée de Cluny)

Veneration of Saint Denis began soon after his death. The bodies of Saints Denis, Eleutherius, and Rusticus were buried on the spot of their martyrdom, where the construction of the saint's eponymous basilica was begun by Saint Geneviève, assisted by the people of Paris.^[7] Her Vita Sanctae Genovefae attests the presence of a shrine near the present basilica by the close of the fifth century, though the names of Rusticus and Eleutherius are non-historical. The successor church was erected by Fulrad, who became abbot in 749/50 and was closely linked with the accession of the Carolingians to the Merovingian throne.

In time, the "Saint Denis", often combined as "Montjoie! Saint Denis!" became the war-cry of the French armies. The oriflamme, which became the standard of France, was the banner consecrated upon his tomb. His veneration spread beyond France when, in 754, Pope Stephen II, who was French, brought veneration of Saint Denis to Rome. Soon his cultus was prevalent throughout Europe.^[7] Abbot Suger removed the relics of Denis, and those associated with Rustique and Eleuthére, from the crypt to reside under the high altar of the Saint-Denis he rebuilt, 1140-44.^[8]

The feast of Saint Denis was added to the Roman Calendar in the year 1568 by Pope Pius V, though it had been celebrated since at least the year 800. St Denis' feast day is celebrated on October 9.^[2]

In traditional Catholic practice, Saint Denis is honored as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Specifically, Denis is invoked against diabolical possession and headaches^[9] and with Sainte Geneviève is one of the patron saints of Paris.

Companions[link]

Last Communion and Martyrdom of Saint Denis, by Henri Bellechose, 1416, which shows the martyrdom of both Denis and his companions

9 October is celebrated as the feast of Saint Denis and also of his companions, a priest named Rusticus and a deacon, Eleutherius, who were martyred alongside him and buried with him.

Confusion with Dionysus the Areopagite[link]

Since at least the ninth century, the legends of Dionysus the Areopagite and Denis of Paris have been often confused. Around 814, Louis the Pious brought certain writings attributed to Dionysus the Areopagite to France, and since then it became common among the French legendary writers to argue that Denis of Paris was the same Dionysus who was a famous convert and disciple of Saint Paul.^[7] The confusion of the personalities of Saint Denis, Dionysus the Areopagite, and pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the author of the writings ascribed to Dionysius brought to France by Louis, was initiated through an Areopagitica written in 836 by Hilduin, Abbot of Saint-Denis, at the request of Louis the Pious. "Hilduin was anxious to promote the dignity of his church, and it is to him that the quite unfounded identification of the patron saint with Dionysius the Areopagite and his consequent connexion with the apostolic age are due."^[10] Hilduin's attribution had been supported for centuries by the monastic community at Abbey of Saint-Denis and one of origins of their pride. In Historia calamitatum, Pierre Abelard gives a short account of the strength of this belief and the monastery's harsh opposition to challenges to their claim. Abelard jokingly pointed out a possibility that the founder of the Abbey could have been another Dionysius, who is mentioned as Dionysius of Corinth by Eusebius. This irritated the community so much that eventually Abelard left in bitterness. As late as the sixteenth century, scholars might still argue for an Eastern origin of the Basilica of Saint-Denis: one was Godefroi Tillman, in a long preface to a paraphrase of the Letters of the Areopagite, printed in Paris in 1538 by Charlotte Guillard.^[11] Historians today^[12] do not dispute this point.^[4]

Depiction in art[link]

Denis' headless walk has led to his being depicted in art decapitated and dressed as a Bishop, holding his own mitred head in his hands.^[7] Handling the halo in this circumstance poses a unique challenge for the artist. Some put the halo where the head used to be; others have Saint Denis carrying the halo along with the head. Even more problematic than the halo was the issue of how much of his head Denis should be shown carrying. Throughout much of the Middle Ages, the Abbey of St Denis and the canons of Notre-Dame Cathedral were in dispute over ownership of the saint's head. The Abbey claimed that they had the entire body, whilst the Cathedral claimed to possess the top of his head which, they claimed, had been severed by the executioner's first blow.^[13] Thus while most depictions of St Denis show him holding his entire head, in others, the patrons have shown their support for the Cathedral's claim by depicting him carrying just the crown of his skull, as, for example in the mid 13th century window showing the story at Le Mans Cathedral (Bay 111).^[14]

Notes[link]

Further Reading[link]

• Drinkwater, J.F. (1987). The Gallic Empire : separatism and continuity in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire, A.D. 260-274. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden. ISBN 3-515-04806-5. 
• Gregory of Tours (1988). Glory of the martyrs. Raymond Van Dam, trans. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 0-85323-236-9. 
• Lacaze, Charlotte (1979). The "Vie de Saint Denis" Manuscript. New York: Garland. 
• Van Dam, Raymond (1985). Leadership and community in late antique Gaul. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05162-9. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Denis de Paris

• The Life, Miracles and Martyrdom of St. Denis (Dionysius, Dennis, Denys) Bishop & Martyr of the Church
• Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Denis
• St. Denis and Companions provides information about their feast on October 9

Allex
Allex
Location within Rhône-Alpes region  Allex
Administration
Country	France
Region	Rhône-Alpes
Department	Drôme
Arrondissement	Die
Canton	Crest-Nord
Intercommunality	Val de Drôme
Mayor	Gérard Crozier (2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	124–220 m (407–720 ft)
Land area1	20.17 km2 (7.79 sq mi)
Population2	2,472  (2008)
- Density	123 /km2 (320 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	26006/ 26400
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 44°45′53″N 4°55′03″E / 44.7647°N 4.9175°E / 44.7647; 4.9175

Allex is a commune near Crest in the Drôme department in southeastern France. The Drôme River runs nearby.

Population[link]

See also[link]

• Communes of the Drôme department

References[link]

• INSEE

External links[link]

• Town hall website

v t e Communes of the Drôme department Aix-en-Diois Albon Aleyrac Alixan Allan Allex Ambonil Ancône Andancette Anneyron Aouste-sur-Sye Arnayon Arpavon Arthémonay Aubenasson Aubres Aucelon Aulan Aurel Autichamp Ballons Barbières Barcelonne Barnave Barret-de-Lioure Barsac Bathernay La Bâtie-des-Fonds La Bâtie-Rolland La Baume-Cornillane La Baume-de-Transit La Baume-d'Hostun Beaufort-sur-Gervanne Beaumont-en-Diois Beaumont-lès-Valence Beaumont-Monteux Beauregard-Baret Beaurières Beausemblant Beauvallon Beauvoisin La Bégude-de-Mazenc Bellecombe-Tarendol Bellegarde-en-Diois Bénivay-Ollon Bésayes Bésignan Bézaudun-sur-Bîne Bonlieu-sur-Roubion Bouchet Boulc Bourdeaux Bourg-de-Péage Bourg-lès-Valence Bouvante Bouvières Bren Brette Buis-les-Baronnies Chabeuil Chabrillan Le Chaffal Chalancon Le Chalon Chamaloc Chamaret Chanos-Curson Chantemerle-les-Blés Chantemerle-lès-Grignan La Chapelle-en-Vercors La Charce Charens Charmes-sur-l'Herbasse Charols Charpey Chastel-Arnaud Châteaudouble Châteauneuf-de-Bordette Châteauneuf-de-Galaure Châteauneuf-du-Rhône Châteauneuf-sur-Isère Châtillon-en-Diois Châtillon-Saint-Jean Chatuzange-le-Goubet Chaudebonne La Chaudière Chauvac-Laux-Montaux Chavannes Clansayes Claveyson Cléon-d'Andran Clérieux Cliousclat Cobonne Colonzelle Combovin Comps Condillac Condorcet Cornillac Cornillon-sur-l'Oule La Coucourde Crépol Crest Crozes-Hermitage Crupies Curnier Die Dieulefit Divajeu Donzère Échevis Épinouze Érôme Espeluche Espenel Establet Étoile-sur-Rhône Eurre Eygalayes Eygaliers Eygluy-Escoulin Eymeux Eyroles Eyzahut Fay-le-Clos Félines-sur-Rimandoule Ferrassières Francillon-sur-Roubion La Garde-Adhémar Génissieux Gervans Geyssans Gigors-et-Lozeron Glandage Le Grand-Serre Grâne Les Granges-Gontardes Granges-les-Beaumont Grignan Gumiane Hauterives Hostun Izon-la-Bruisse Jaillans Jonchères Laborel Lachau Lapeyrouse-Mornay Larnage La Laupie Laval-d'Aix Laveyron Lemps Lens-Lestang Léoncel Lesches-en-Diois Livron-sur-Drôme Loriol-sur-Drôme Luc-en-Diois Lus-la-Croix-Haute Malataverne Malissard Manas Manthes Marches Margès Marignac-en-Diois Marsanne Marsaz Menglon Mercurol Mérindol-les-Oliviers Mévouillon Mirabel-aux-Baronnies Mirabel-et-Blacons Miribel Mirmande Miscon Molières-Glandaz Mollans-sur-Ouvèze Montauban-sur-l'Ouvèze Montaulieu Montboucher-sur-Jabron Montbrison-sur-Lez Montbrun-les-Bains Montchenu Montclar-sur-Gervanne Montéléger Montélier Montélimar Montferrand-la-Fare Montfroc Montguers Montjoux Montjoyer Montlaur-en-Diois Montmaur-en-Diois Montmeyran Montmiral Montoison Montréal-les-Sources Montrigaud Montségur-sur-Lauzon Montvendre Moras-en-Valloire Mornans La Motte-Chalancon La Motte-de-Galaure La Motte-Fanjas Mours-Saint-Eusèbe Mureils Nyons Omblèze Orcinas Oriol-en-Royans Ourches Parnans Le Pègue Pelonne Pennes-le-Sec La Penne-sur-l'Ouvèze Peyrins Peyrus Piégon Piégros-la-Clastre Pierrelatte Pierrelongue Les Pilles Plaisians Plan-de-Baix Le Poët-Célard Le Poët-en-Percip Le Poët-Laval Le Poët-Sigillat Pommerol Ponet-et-Saint-Auban Ponsas Pontaix Pont-de-Barret Pont-de-l'Isère Portes-en-Valdaine Portes-lès-Valence Poyols Pradelle Les Prés Propiac Puygiron Puy-Saint-Martin Ratières Réauville Recoubeau-Jansac Reilhanette Rémuzat La Répara-Auriples Rimon-et-Savel Rioms Rochebaudin Rochebrune Rochechinard La Roche-de-Glun Rochefort-en-Valdaine Rochefort-Samson Rochefourchat Rochegude Roche-Saint-Secret-Béconne La Roche-sur-Grane La Roche-sur-le-Buis La Rochette-du-Buis Romans-sur-Isère Romeyer Rottier Roussas Rousset-les-Vignes Roussieux Roynac Sahune Saillans Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors Saint-Andéol Saint-Auban-sur-l'Ouvèze Saint-Avit Saint-Bardoux Saint-Barthélemy-de-Vals Saint-Benoit-en-Diois Saint-Bonnet-de-Valclérieux Saint-Christophe-et-le-Laris Saint-Dizier-en-Diois Saint-Donat-sur-l'Herbasse Sainte-Croix Sainte-Eulalie-en-Royans Sainte-Euphémie-sur-Ouvèze Sainte-Jalle Saint-Ferréol-Trente-Pas Saint-Gervais-sur-Roubion Saint-Jean-en-Royans Saint-Julien-en-Quint Saint-Julien-en-Vercors Saint-Laurent-d'Onay Saint-Laurent-en-Royans Saint-Marcel-lès-Sauzet Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence Saint-Martin-d'Août Saint-Martin-en-Vercors Saint-Martin-le-Colonel Saint-Maurice-sur-Eygues Saint-May Saint-Michel-sur-Savasse Saint-Nazaire-en-Royans Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes Saint-Paul-lès-Romans Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Saint-Rambert-d'Albon Saint-Restitut Saint-Roman Saint-Sauveur-en-Diois Saint-Sauveur-Gouvernet Saint-Sorlin-en-Valloire Saint-Thomas-en-Royans Saint-Uze Saint-Vallier Saint-Vincent-la-Commanderie Salettes Salles-sous-Bois Saou Saulce-sur-Rhône Sauzet Savasse Séderon Serves-sur-Rhône Solérieux Souspierre Soyans Suze Suze-la-Rousse Tain-l'Hermitage Taulignan Tersanne Teyssières Les Tonils La Touche Les Tourrettes Treschenu-Creyers Triors Truinas Tulette Upie Vachères-en-Quint Valaurie Valdrôme Valence Val-Maravel Valouse Vassieux-en-Vercors Vaunaveys-la-Rochette Veaunes Venterol Vercheny Verclause Vercoiran Véronne Vers-sur-Méouge Vesc Villebois-les-Pins Villefranche-le-Château Villeperdrix Vinsobres Volvent

This Drôme geographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

François Hollande
Hollande in Nantes (2012)
24th President of France
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 May 2012
Prime Minister	Jean-Marc Ayrault
Preceded by	Nicolas Sarkozy
Co-Prince of Andorra
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 May 2012 Serving with Joan Enric Vives Sicília
Prime Minister	Antoni Martí
Representative	Christian Frémont
Preceded by	Nicolas Sarkozy
President of the General Council of Corrèze
In office 20 March 2008 – 15 May 2012
Preceded by	Jean-Pierre Dupont
Succeeded by	Gérard Bonnet (Acting)
First Secretary of the Socialist Party
In office 27 November 1997 – 27 November 2008
Preceded by	Lionel Jospin
Succeeded by	Martine Aubry
Mayor of Tulle
In office 17 March 2001 – 17 March 2008
Preceded by	Raymond-Max Aubert
Succeeded by	Bernard Combes
Deputy of the National Assembly for Corrèze's 1st Constituency
In office 12 June 1997 – 15 May 2012
Preceded by	Raymond-Max Aubert
Succeeded by	TBD
In office 12 June 1988 – 16 May 1993
Preceded by	Proportional representation
Succeeded by	Raymond-Max Aubert
Personal details
Born	François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (1954-08-12) 12 August 1954 (age 57) Rouen, France
Political party	Socialist Party
Domestic partner	Ségolène Royal (1978–2007) Valérie Trierweiler (2005–present)
Children	Thomas Clémence Julien Flora
Alma mater	School of High Commercial Studies, Paris Institute of Political Studies, Paris National School of Administration, Strasbourg
Signature

Styles of François Hollande
Reference style	Son Excellence (Monsieur)
Spoken style	Monsieur le Président

Styles of François Hollande
Reference style	His Serene Highness
Spoken style	Your Serene Highness

François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa ɔlɑ̃d]; born 12 August 1954) is the 24th President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He previously served as the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008 and as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France for Corrèze's 1st Constituency from 1988 to 1993 and then again from 1997 to 2012. He also served as the Mayor of Tulle from 2001 to 2008 and the President of the General Council of Corrèze from 2008 to 2012.

He was elected President of France on 6 May 2012, defeating the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, and was inaugurated on 15 May.^[1] He is the second Socialist President of the Fifth French Republic, after François Mitterrand who served from 1981 to 1995.

Early life and background[link]

Hollande was born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, to a middle-class family. His mother, Nicole Frédérique Marguerite Tribert (1927–2009), was a social worker, and his father, Georges Gustave Hollande, an ear, nose, and throat doctor who "had once run for the extreme right in local politics."^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The surname "Hollande" is "believed to come from Calvinist ancestors who escaped Holland (the Netherlands) in the 16th century and took the name of their old country."^[7] Hollande was raised Catholic but quietly rebelled against the strict religious brothers chosen by his father to educate him.^[7] The family moved to Neuilly, a suburb of Paris, when Hollande was 13.^[8]

Education[link]

He attended Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle boarding school, then HEC Paris, École nationale d'administration, and the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Paris Institute of Political Studies). He graduated from ENA in 1980.^[9][10] He lived in the United States in the summer of 1974 while he was a university student.^[11] Immediately after graduating, he was employed as a councillor in the Court of Audit.

Early political career[link]

After volunteering as a student to work for François Mitterrand's ultimately unsuccessful campaign in the 1974 presidential election, Hollande joined the Socialist Party five years later. He was quickly spotted by Jacques Attali, a senior adviser to Mitterrand, who arranged for Hollande to stand for election to the French National Assembly in 1981 in Corrèze against future President Jacques Chirac, who was then the Leader of the Rally for the Republic, a Neo-Gaullist party. Hollande lost to Chirac in the first round, although he would go on to become a Special Adviser to the newly-elected President Mitterrand, before serving as a staffer for Max Gallo, the government's spokesman. After becoming a Municipal Councillor for Ussel in 1983, he contested Corrèze for a second time in 1988, this time being elected to the National Assembly. Hollande lost his bid for re-election to the National Assembly in the so-called "blue wave" of the 1993 election, described as such due to the number of seats gained by the Right at the expense of the Socialist Party.

First Secretary of the Socialist Party[link]

As the end of Mitterrand's term in office approached, the Socialist Party was torn by a struggle of internal factions, each seeking to influence the direction of the party. Hollande pleaded for reconciliation and for the party to unite behind Jacques Delors, the President of the European Commission, but Delors renounced his ambitions to run for the French Presidency in 1995, leading to Lionel Jospin's resuming his earlier position as the leader of the party. Jospin selected Hollande to become the official party spokesman, and Hollande went on to contest Corrèze once again in 1997, successfully returning to the National Assembly. That same year, Jospin became the Prime Minister of France, and Hollande won the election for his successor as First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, a position he would hold for eleven years. Because of the very strong position of the Socialist Party within the French Government during this period, Hollande's position led some to refer to him the "Vice Prime Minister". Hollande would go on to be elected the Mayor of Tulle in 2001, an office he would hold for the next seven years.

The immediate resignation of Jospin from politics following his shock defeat by far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round of the 2002 presidential election forced Hollande to become the public face of the party for the 2002 legislative election but, although he managed to limit defeats and was re-elected in his own constituency, the Socialists lost nationally. In order to prepare for the 2003 Party Congress in Dijon, he obtained the support of many notable personalities of the party and was re-elected First Secretary against opposition from left-wing factions. After the triumph of the Left in the 2004 regional elections, Hollande was cited as a potential presidential candidate, but the Socialists were divided on the European Constitution, and Hollande's support for the ill-fated "yes" position in the French referendum on the European Constitution caused friction within the party. Although Hollande was re-elected as First Secretary at the Le Mans Congress in 2005, his authority over the party began to decline from this point onwards. Eventually his domestic partner, Ségolène Royal, was chosen to represent the Socialist Party in the 2007 presidential election, where she would lose to Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande was widely blamed for the poor performances of the Socialist Party in the 2007 elections, and he announced that he would not seek another term as First Secretary. Hollande publicly declared his support for Bertrand Delanoë, the Mayor of Paris, although it was Martine Aubry who would go on to win the race to succeed him in 2008.

Following his resignation as First Secretary, Hollande was immediately elected to replace Jean-Pierre Dupont as the President of the General Council of Corrèze in April 2008, a position he holds to this day. In 2008 he supported the creation of the first European Prize for Local History (Étienne Baluze Prize), founded by the "Société des Amis du musée du cloître" of Tulle, on the suggestion of the French historian Jean Boutier. François Hollande awarded the first prize on 29 February 2008 to the Italian historian Beatrice Palmero in the General Council of Corrèze.

2012 presidential campaign[link]

See also: French presidential election, 2012

Following his re-election as President of the General Council of Corrèze in March 2011, Hollande announced that he would be a candidate in the upcoming primary election to select the Socialist and Radical Left Party presidential nominee.^[12] The primary marked the first time that both parties had held an open primary to select a joint nominee at the same time. He initially trailed the front-runner, former Finance Minister and IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Following Strauss-Kahn's arrest on suspicion of sexual assault in New York City in May 2011, Hollande began to lead the opinion polls. His position as front-runner was established just as Strauss-Kahn declared that he would no longer be seeking the nomination. After a series of televised debates throughout September, Hollande topped the ballot in the first round held on 9 October with 39% of the vote, not gaining the 50% required to avoid a second ballot, which he would contest against Martine Aubry, who had come second with 30% of the vote.

The second ballot took place on 16 October 2011. Hollande won with 56% of the vote to Aubry's 43% and thus became the official Socialist and Radical Left Party candidate for the 2012 presidential election.^[13] After the primary results, he immediately gained the pledged support of the other contenders for the party's nomination, including Aubry, Arnaud Montebourg, Manuel Valls and 2007 candidate Ségolène Royal.^[14]

Hollande's presidential campaign was managed by Pierre Moscovici and Stéphane Le Foll, a Member of Parliament and Member of the European Parliament respectively.^[15] Hollande launched his campaign officially with a rally and major speech at Le Bourget on 22 January 2012 in front of 25,000 people.^[16][17] The main themes of his speech were equality and the regulation of finance, both of which he promised to make a key part of his campaign.^[17]

On 26 January he outlined a full list of policies in a manifesto containing 60 propositions, including the separation of retail activities from riskier investment-banking businesses; raising taxes for big corporations, banks and the wealthy; creating 60,000 teaching jobs; bringing the official retirement age back down to 60 from 62; creating subsidised jobs in areas of high unemployment for the young; promoting more industry in France by creating a public investment bank; granting marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples; and pulling French troops out of Afghanistan in 2012.^[18][19] On 9 February, he detailed his policies specifically relating to education in a major speech in Orléans.^[20]

On 15 February, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he would run for a second and final term, strongly criticising Hollande's proposals and claiming that he would bring about "economic disaster within two days of taking office" if he won.^[21]

Hollande visited Berlin, Germany, in December 2011 for the Social Democrats Federal Party Congress, at which he met Sigmar Gabriel, Peer Steinbrück, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Martin Schulz;^[22][23] he also travelled to Belgium before the United Kingdom in February 2012, where he met with Opposition Leader Ed Miliband; and finally Tunisia in May 2012.^[24][25]

Opinion polls showed a tight race between the two men in the first round of voting, with most polls showing Hollande comfortably ahead of Sarkozy in a hypothetical second round run-off.^[26]

The first round of the presidential election was held on 22 April. François Hollande came in first place with 28.63% of the vote, and faced Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round run-off.^[27] In the second round of voting on 6 May 2012, François Hollande was elected President of the French Republic with 51.7% of the vote.^[1]

President of France[link]

Hollande (right) and outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy at Élysée Palace on inauguration day, May 15.

François Hollande was elected President of France on 6 May 2012. He was inaugurated on 15 May, and shortly afterwards appointed Jean-Marc Ayrault to be his Prime Minister. He also appointed Benoît Puga to be his military chief of staff, Pierre-René Lemas as his General Secretary and Pierre Besnard as his Head of Cabinet.^[28] On his first official visit to a foreign country in his capacity as President of France, the aeroplane transporting him was hit by lightning.^[29] The plane returned safely to Paris where he took another flight to Germany.

Policies[link]

• Foreign policy: supports the withdrawal of French troops present in Afghanistan by the end of 2012.^[30]
• European politics: aims to conclude a new contract of Franco-German partnership and he advocates the adoption of a Directive on the protection of public services. Proposes closer Franco-German partnership: "an acceleration of the establishment of a Franco-German civic service, the creation of a Franco-German research office, the creation of a Franco-German industrial fund to finance common competitiveness clusters (transport, energy or environment) and the establishment of a common military headquarters."^[31]
• Financial system: backs the creation of a European rating agency and the separation of lending and investment in banks.
• Energy: endorses reducing the share of electricity generated by nuclear power in France from 75 to 50% in favor of renewable energy sources.
• Tax revenues above 1,000,000 euros per year at a 75% rate (rates for part of the income below a million not changed).
• Taxation: supports the merger of income tax and the General Social Contribution (CSG), the creation of an additional 45% for additional income of 150,000 euros, capping tax loopholes at a maximum of €10,000 per year, and questioning the relief solidarity tax on wealth (ISF, Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune) measure that should bring €29 billion in additional revenue.
• Education: supports the recruitment of 60,000 civil servants (new teachers), the creation of a study allowance and means-tested training, setting up a mutually beneficial contract that would allow a generation of experienced employees and craftsmen to be the guardians and teachers of younger newly-hired employees, thereby creating a total of 150,000 subsidized jobs.
• Aid to SMEs, with the creation of a public bank investment-oriented SME's and reducing the corporate tax rate to 30% for medium corporations and 15% for small.
• Recruitment of 5,000 judges, police officers and gendarmes.
• Construction of 500,000 state ruled homes per year, including 150,000 social, funded by a doubling of the ceiling of the A passbook, the region making available its local government land within five years.
• Restoration of retirement (paid by the State) at age 60 for those who have contributed more than 41 years.
• Hollande supported same-sex marriage and adoption for LGBT couples, and has plans to pursue the issue in early 2013.^[32]
• The provision of development funds for deprived suburbs.^[33]
• Return to a deficit of 0% of GDP in 2017.^[34]
• Favours ratifying the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, for the recognition of regional languages of France: Alsatian, Lorraine Franconian, French Flemish, Catalan, Corsican, Breton, Gallo, Basque, Langues d'oïl, Franco-Provençal and Occitan.^[35][36]
• Wants to "combine the positions of presidents of the European Commission and of the European Council (currently held by José Manuel Barroso and Herman van Rompuy respectively) into a single office and that it should be directly chosen" by the Members of the European Parliament.^[31]