Before becoming President of the Republic, François Hollande missed a train at Metz station and had to return to Paris by car… Here is this story.
We are January 17, 2012. François Hollande is in the middle of the campaign for the presidential election. He returned from a tiring trip to Guyana and all his advisers invited him to ease off, because in five days, he had to deliver a key speech in his race for the presidency of the Republic: that of Le Bourget (during which he would say in particular: “My enemy is the world of finance”). But on the agenda for this January 17, there is a trip that he highlighted in yellow on his agenda a long time ago. He is expected in Moselle, Metz, Thionville, but above all in Gandrange, land of a broken promise by Nicolas Sarkozy.
Besides, 160 journalists are accredited to cover the displacement of the candidate already at the top of the polls. He did not come to tell them that he will reopen the factory. His speech is more careful than the one he will say to Florange , on the dispatch rider, a month later. To Gandrange, he is satisfied with these words: “I am not saying that everything will be possible, but I have come here to say that everything will be done …”
This is enough to gain the confidence of the steelworkers present. François Hollande takes the time to shake hands, to take pictures. Then go to Thionville, to Akers. A factory which will also close during its five-year term.
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In Metz, the last stop on his Moselle visit, we are getting impatient. Dominique Gros organized a reception in the large rooms of the town hall. Several hundred socialist activists are gathered. They know that François Hollande is already far behind. While waiting for the candidate, Dominique Gros, Aurélie Filippetti, Christian Eckert and Michel Dinet heat the room. And then François Hollande finally arrives, three quarters of an hour after the scheduled time. He will only be able to stay a few minutes, because the last TGV to Paris is about to leave Metz station.
François Hollande takes the microphone, and begins to attack the record of his opponent Nicolas Sarkozy. His advisers pat their watches, signal to him that he must go, invite him to conclude. François Hollande then pauses and says: “I will stay with you for a while, I will take the car and not the train.” I have too many important things to tell you. I can’t leave you like this… ”
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