PARIS (AP) – French President Francois Hollande sought Thursday to stake out a forceful position on international affairs, even as his failures on the domestic stage continue to mount.
Hollande, the most unpopular president in French history according to polls, began his twice-yearly question-and-answer session with hundreds of reporters in the Elysee Palace’s gilded grand hall by announcing the country would soon begin airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq.
Saying he was acting at the request of Iraqi authorities, Hollande’s pledge of airstrikes sought to position France at the forefront of international efforts to combat Islamic extremism.
“France is meeting its responsibilities” by attacking the Islamic State group, Hollande said, inadvertently drawing a contrast with his performance on the domestic economy, where he’s delivered disappointment and broken promises during his first two-and-a-half years in office.
Although Hollande began his more than two-hour news conference with a long preamble focused on France’s fight against international extremism, as soon as the microphone began passing around the estimated 350 reporters present, he was peppered repeatedly with questions about the domestic failures of him and his Socialist Party.