Hollande's Bastille Day clouded by family spat
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2012, Sunday
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MILITARY jets trailing smoke in the red, white and blue of the French flag opened Francois Hollande's first Bastille Day parade as president yesterday, and parachutists gliding in with parachutes in the same patriotic colors ended it, landing on the Champs-Elysees in front of the new French leader.
Under an overcast sky, the pomp celebrating the 1789 beginnings of the French revolution began with bagpipes, dressage and several renditions of the Marseillaise national anthem. Warplanes then flew past in formation, before a stream of military units and tanks began rolling down the Champs-Elysees.
Fierce gusts of wind blew one parachutist off course at the parade's finale, sending him a few meters away from his target. Hollande swung by after the parade to check in on the wayward jumper as he recovered by a fountain, and he told the French leader he had sprained his knee but was otherwise fine.
The sun struggled to shine, but the weather was a vast improvement on Hollande's last trip down the avenue: Pouring rain soaked his suit and clouded his glasses as he waved from his open-top car on the day of his inauguration.
A family feud involving Hollande's current partner, his former partner, his son and an apparently vindictive tweet also clouded the day. First lady Valerie Trierweiler watched the parade from the first row - but she and other companions of dignitaries sat separate from their partners, as in years past.
Hollande tried to defuse the affair in an interview later yesterday, saying that he wanted to keep his public and private lives separate and that he had asked those close to him to do the same.
The feud may have tarnished the new leader's carefully cultivated image as "Mr Normal" - credited with helping him win the spring election among a populace weary of his flashy predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.
It began with a tweet sent out by his companion Valerie Trierweiler during last month's legislative elections. The tweet expressed support for the political opponent of Hollande's ex-partner Segolene Royal, the mother of the president's four children, who was defeated in her bid for a parliamentary seat.
Under an overcast sky, the pomp celebrating the 1789 beginnings of the French revolution began with bagpipes, dressage and several renditions of the Marseillaise national anthem. Warplanes then flew past in formation, before a stream of military units and tanks began rolling down the Champs-Elysees.
Fierce gusts of wind blew one parachutist off course at the parade's finale, sending him a few meters away from his target. Hollande swung by after the parade to check in on the wayward jumper as he recovered by a fountain, and he told the French leader he had sprained his knee but was otherwise fine.
The sun struggled to shine, but the weather was a vast improvement on Hollande's last trip down the avenue: Pouring rain soaked his suit and clouded his glasses as he waved from his open-top car on the day of his inauguration.
A family feud involving Hollande's current partner, his former partner, his son and an apparently vindictive tweet also clouded the day. First lady Valerie Trierweiler watched the parade from the first row - but she and other companions of dignitaries sat separate from their partners, as in years past.
Hollande tried to defuse the affair in an interview later yesterday, saying that he wanted to keep his public and private lives separate and that he had asked those close to him to do the same.
The feud may have tarnished the new leader's carefully cultivated image as "Mr Normal" - credited with helping him win the spring election among a populace weary of his flashy predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.
It began with a tweet sent out by his companion Valerie Trierweiler during last month's legislative elections. The tweet expressed support for the political opponent of Hollande's ex-partner Segolene Royal, the mother of the president's four children, who was defeated in her bid for a parliamentary seat.
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