French President Hollande won't seek reelection
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France's Socialist President Francois Hollande says he will not seek re-election next year.
Hollande's announcement Thursday on French television network TF1 came just a few days after his No. 2, Manuel Valls, said he is "ready" to compete in the left-wing Socialist primary in January.
Hollande said: "I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election" and that he remained "lucid" about his chances of getting wide backing within the party.
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The deeply unpopular Hollande was expected to say in the coming weeks whether he would run again.
The French president -- the most unpopular of France's modern history -- repeatedly said he would seek re-election only if he was able to curb the unemployment rate, which has hovered for years at 10 percent.