LONDON – One of the prominent supporters among the French entertainment industry lauded new French president Francois Hollande Sunday night after his defeat of incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.
Actor Michel Piccoli, who supported Hollande during the election campaign, said the success at the polls reminded him of the first socialist victory in French presidential elections in 1981 when Francois Mitterand came to power.
“I was there 30 years ago,” the 86-year-old Piccoli told Agence France Press. “I think about Francois Mitterand a lot.”
Of Gods and Men director Xavier Beauvois was also among the big industry supporters of Hollande.
Meanwhile, Gerard Depardieu, singer Charles Aznavour and other celebrities are poised to be disappointed. They had supported Sarkozy and made a last-minute plea over the weekend, or invitation as they had called it, to voters to keep the conservative president, known in France as Sarko for short, in office.
They argued media excesses had painted Sarkozy in a particularly negative light.
Email: Georg.Szala@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
