Hollande: "I leave France in a better state than I found it"
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Having handed the keys of the Elysee to his successor Emmanuel Macron, former president Francois Hollande headed straight for the headquarters of the French Socialist Party.
Hollande’s plans for his post-presidential life remain unclear but he has not completely turned his back on politics.
During a speech, he told the party he has led for 11 years to “invent and imagine the future” and be ready to adopt “new forms, other types of organisation and different structures to today.”
“I wanted to come back here because without you, without this movement, without the strength you embody, I would never have led France. I am leaving the country in a much better state than I found it in,” Hollande told the crowd.
The 62-year-old has not announced his retirement from political life.
A new suite of offices is being set up in the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, which Hollande will occupy after a few days of holiday in France.
By his own admission, there is no project in the pipeline.
Une nouvelle page s’ouvre avec un nouveau président et vous devez être dans un esprit de réussite, de réussite de notre pays
— François Hollande (@fhollande) 14 mai 2017
Nous avons cette satisfaction, je laisse un pays dans un état bien meilleur que celui que j’ai trouvé
— François Hollande (@fhollande) 14 mai 2017