All eyes were on France this week as world leaders and monarchs travelled to the wide beaches of Normandy to remember those who plunged into a bloodstained sea under Nazi fire on D-Day 70 years ago. It is a solemn moment for President Francois Hollande to mark his country's respect for allies who died to liberate France, as well as for former foes who have since been reconciled. But the unpopular Mr Hollande hopes it may offer him a political occasion to show the French that, at least on the world stage, he still counts. For at home Mr Hollande has not just got problems: he is himself turning into one. His poll rating has dropped to 18%, the lowest recorded for a president of the Fifth Republic, leaving baffled pollsters with no precedent to refer to. Mr Hollande's centre-right predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, also suffered a sharp fall two years into his term, but only to 32%. Even Francois Mitterrand, who dismayed Socialist voters with a policy u-turn in favour of budgetary rigour after two years in office, at that point dropped no lower than 49%.
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