Hey, these French socialist men-of-the-people sure know how to live in style:
France’s new Socialist president [Francois Hollande] owns three holiday homes in the glamorous Riviera resort of Cannes, it emerged today.
The 57-year-old who ‘dislikes the rich’ and wants to revolutionise his country with high taxes and an onslaught against bankers is in fact hugely wealthy himself.
His assets were published today in the Official Journal, the gazette which contains verified information about France’s government.
I wonder if this means that French conservatives who are against taxing the rich therefore live in Motel 6s? Or do they have 8 French Riviera homes versus three? And I wonder if he’s planning for a car elevator in any of his? MORE:
To the undoubted embarrassment to the most left-wing leader in Europe and a man who styles himself as ‘Mr Normal’, they are valued at almost £1million.
It will also reinforce accusations that Hollande is a ‘Gauche Caviar’, or ‘Left-Wing Caviar’ – the Gallic equivalent of a Champagne Socialist.
Among other assets are three current accounts in French banks – two with global giant Societe Generale and one with the Postal Bank – and a life insurance policy.
But it is the fabulous property portfolio which is causing the greatest stir among millions of ordinary French people who voted for Holland over the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy last Sunday.
Hollande regularly attacked the ‘Bling-Bling’ presidency of Sarkozy, whose multi-millionaire lifestyle with Italian-born heiress Carla Bruni contributed to his humiliating election defeat after just one term in office.
It’s comforting to see that political hypocrisy isn’t only an American trait.
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Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.