French President Francois Hollande announced on Thursday Dec 01,2016 he would not seek re-election next year as he bowed to historically low approval ratings after a troubled five years in power.
The 62-year-old Socialist leader put a decisive end to speculation in a solemn televised statement from the Elysee Palace in Paris.
"I have decided that I will not be a candidate," Hollande said.
"In the months to come, my only duty will be to continue to lead my country."
French voters will go to the polls in April and May 2017, but Hollande, who has low popularity ratings, says he will not stand for re-election.
"I am speaking to you this evening to inform you of the decision I have taken in view of the forthcoming presidential election," he said. "I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election."
It is the first time since 1958, when France's fifth republic was created, that an incumbent president has not sought re-election.
Francois Hollande's Socialist Party will now have to find a candidate to run against Francois Fillon, of the center-right Republican Party, and Marine Le Pen, of the far-right Front National.
Francois Hollande defeated Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 to become the first Socialist president to win a French election since François Mitterrand's re-election in 1988.
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