The unlucky president

Francois Hollande, president of the French Republic has once again had a bad week, a very bad week. It all began with the arrest early last week of Roma school girl Leonarda Dibriani, she was arrested on a class trip and deported to Kosovo with her family that has been illegally residing in France since 2009.
The arrest caused an uproar in the country from liberal supporters of the Parti Socialiste (PS) could not believe their party would do that, and mostly young students who could not believe that the government could arrest a teenager in such a brutal way. On Wednesday, highschoolers were rioting in the streets of Paris, members of the PS in parliament were publicly scolding him,  something had to be done.

The Minister of the Interior, Manuel Valls, whose department enforces such laws and who has a rightist strike, said that nothing was done that is contrary to French laws, after all he has everything to gain in the weakening of Hollance. But with his left flank and militants base clamoring for something, an 48 hours inquiry was called upon by the Prime Minister, Jean Marc Ayerault. On Friday the inquiry came out and specifically said that the officers who had arrested Leonarda had done so according to the laws, they were just tactless in accosting her on a school trip. With his militants out for blood, Hollande called a press conference to try and soothe things. Leonarda would be allowed to return to France to finish her studies but she would come alone without her family.

By trying to please everyone Francois Hollande ended up pleasing absolutely no one. The members of his own party (PS) and their leader Harlem Desir, called on his publicly for such cruelty on only allowing a 15 years old girl to come alone and separating her from her family. The french public whose attitude on immigration has been undergoing a rightist shift (some of it due to Valls), saw that as the president pandering to his base, making his abysmal approval ratings even worse. Now Hollande is attacked on both sides and is unable to do much more. Were he to allow the Dibriani family to return to France, he will be accused of pandering completely to his base, reneging his entrance deal to Leonarda would weaken him greatly in the PS and definitely open the road for a strong primary challenger in 2017.

Time and time again Francois Hollande has continued to show incredible weakness of character and indecision. This does not serve him well anyways as he is always seen as pandering to his base but still not foregoing the general public. He has not develloped a character in the eyes of the French,  and presidents who are as bland as him never do well. His bad luck, coupled with his indecision make him look less likely to survive the bloodbath that will be the 2017 election.