AVIGNON: Former French president Francois Hollande made the first tentative step into what may or may not be a second career this weekend when he trod the boards at one of the world’s biggest theatre festivals.

The Socialist leader — who was forced from political stage by his one-time acolyte Emmanuel Macron in 2017 — appeared for 15 minutes in a play at the Avignon theatre festival in the South of France.

With acting skills often cited as one of the key qualifications for a career in politics, Hollande acquitted himself rather well in his 15-minute surprise appearance in a sprawling meditation on the state of Europe by one of France’s most acclaimed novelists, Laurent Gaude.

All the more so since he was playing himself and had to face a residual scepticism that saw him struggle with the lowest approval rating in French political history at the end of his mandate.

Hollande, 64, known for his sense of humour even in the gravest circumstances, managed to make the audience laugh with a quip at the expense of his party, which has gone into a precipitous decline since his presidency.

Hollande’s great rival, Nicolas Sarkozy — whom he condemned to early retirement after beating him in the 2012 presidential election — has carved out a career for himself as a writer as well as the kingmaker of the divided traditional French right.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2019