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| Francois Fillon mixes French sang-froid and radicalism | Francois Fillon mixes French sang-froid and radicalism |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| How can a man whose hobbies include motor-racing, mountaineering and the bullfight be so impassive, impeccable and grave? | How can a man whose hobbies include motor-racing, mountaineering and the bullfight be so impassive, impeccable and grave? |
| That is the central mystery behind France's possible president-to-be, Francois Fillon. | That is the central mystery behind France's possible president-to-be, Francois Fillon. |
| Detractors say that behind the mask of taciturnity lies a retiring personality ill-suited for the task of head-of-state. | Detractors say that behind the mask of taciturnity lies a retiring personality ill-suited for the task of head-of-state. |
| Mr Fillon, they say, is one of nature's lieutenants, a born second-in-command, a would-be leader without the guts to lead. | |
| Far from it, reply his supporters. | Far from it, reply his supporters. |
| If the former prime minister is reserved, they say, that is because he has a rich interior life - and personal convictions that do not need the reflected affirmation of the media machine. | If the former prime minister is reserved, they say, that is because he has a rich interior life - and personal convictions that do not need the reflected affirmation of the media machine. |
| And his path to the top may have been slow. But along the journey he has acquired a wealth of experience. The bid for the presidency, they say, comes from a man finally ready to assume the responsibilities of the office. | And his path to the top may have been slow. But along the journey he has acquired a wealth of experience. The bid for the presidency, they say, comes from a man finally ready to assume the responsibilities of the office. |
| MP at 27 | MP at 27 |
| Mr Fillon's political career has certainly been a long one. | Mr Fillon's political career has certainly been a long one. |
| It was in 1981, aged 27, that he was first elected as a member of parliament, becoming the National Assembly's youngest member. | It was in 1981, aged 27, that he was first elected as a member of parliament, becoming the National Assembly's youngest member. |
| His party was the Gaullist RPR of Jacques Chirac. Gaullism features a strong centralised state with conservative and nationalist policies. | His party was the Gaullist RPR of Jacques Chirac. Gaullism features a strong centralised state with conservative and nationalist policies. |
| Mr Fillon's parents, a history professor mother and lawyer father, were also Gaullists, and he was brought up in comfortable circumstances near the western city of Le Mans. | Mr Fillon's parents, a history professor mother and lawyer father, were also Gaullists, and he was brought up in comfortable circumstances near the western city of Le Mans. |
| He studied journalism and then law. In 1974 he met his future wife Penelope Clarke. She is Welsh and they have five children, the last born in 2001. They live near Le Mans, in the Sarthe department which remains Fillon's powerbase. | He studied journalism and then law. In 1974 he met his future wife Penelope Clarke. She is Welsh and they have five children, the last born in 2001. They live near Le Mans, in the Sarthe department which remains Fillon's powerbase. |
| Mr Fillon's first ministerial post, higher education, came in 1993 under Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. He went on to hold five other cabinet posts, before serving as prime minister for five years until 2012 under Nicolas Sarkozy. | Mr Fillon's first ministerial post, higher education, came in 1993 under Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. He went on to hold five other cabinet posts, before serving as prime minister for five years until 2012 under Nicolas Sarkozy. |
| For nearly all of this time, Mr Fillon was identified with the movement known as "social Gaullism". | For nearly all of this time, Mr Fillon was identified with the movement known as "social Gaullism". |
| Shift to the right | Shift to the right |
| His friend and mentor was the late Philippe Seguin, who believed in strong state intervention in the economy and society. Mr Fillon also shared Seguin's Euroscepticism, and in 1992 both men voted against the Maastricht Treaty that ushered in the euro. | His friend and mentor was the late Philippe Seguin, who believed in strong state intervention in the economy and society. Mr Fillon also shared Seguin's Euroscepticism, and in 1992 both men voted against the Maastricht Treaty that ushered in the euro. |
| Later as social affairs minister under Jacques Chirac, Mr Fillon had the image of an honest dealer prepared to put in the hours during long negotiations with trade unions. | Later as social affairs minister under Jacques Chirac, Mr Fillon had the image of an honest dealer prepared to put in the hours during long negotiations with trade unions. |
| All of which sits rather oddly, some would say, with the policies of Francois Fillon the presidential candidate, which are avowedly those of a radical economic liberal. | All of which sits rather oddly, some would say, with the policies of Francois Fillon the presidential candidate, which are avowedly those of a radical economic liberal. |
| In speech after speech in recent weeks, Mr Fillon has spoken in cataclysmic terms of France's "broken" social model, and the need for drastic cuts in state spending. | In speech after speech in recent weeks, Mr Fillon has spoken in cataclysmic terms of France's "broken" social model, and the need for drastic cuts in state spending. |
| "Sometimes you need to tear the whole thing down," he says. | "Sometimes you need to tear the whole thing down," he says. |
| For Gaspard Koenig, of the free-market think tank Generation Libre, the explanation is that since leaving office in 2012 Mr Fillon underwent "a Damascene conversion". | For Gaspard Koenig, of the free-market think tank Generation Libre, the explanation is that since leaving office in 2012 Mr Fillon underwent "a Damascene conversion". |
| "He spent the last three years travelling up and down the country. He came to see the exasperation of ordinary people and how they wanted more than anything to get the state off their backs," he says. | "He spent the last three years travelling up and down the country. He came to see the exasperation of ordinary people and how they wanted more than anything to get the state off their backs," he says. |
| Mr Fillon's "virage liberal" (liberal U-turn) is a bold strategy in a country where fans of Margaret Thatcher, as he says he is, are not exactly thick on the ground. | Mr Fillon's "virage liberal" (liberal U-turn) is a bold strategy in a country where fans of Margaret Thatcher, as he says he is, are not exactly thick on the ground. |
| And as his opponents seek to portray Mr Fillon as a dangerous right-winger, another weapon will also be to hand: his Catholicism. | And as his opponents seek to portray Mr Fillon as a dangerous right-winger, another weapon will also be to hand: his Catholicism. |
| He is a practising Catholic. He is personally opposed to abortion, but says he would never seek to repeal the law. Nor would he seek to ban adoption by gay male couples - though he wants the law changed so that a child can trace its birth mother. | He is a practising Catholic. He is personally opposed to abortion, but says he would never seek to repeal the law. Nor would he seek to ban adoption by gay male couples - though he wants the law changed so that a child can trace its birth mother. |
| For the left, these are signs of worrying ambiguity on matters that are central to a progressive society. The left-wing newspaper Liberation headlined last week on fears of a return of clerical power. | For the left, these are signs of worrying ambiguity on matters that are central to a progressive society. The left-wing newspaper Liberation headlined last week on fears of a return of clerical power. |
| But it is not just left-wingers who see a link between Mr Fillon's Catholicism, his character, and his policies. | But it is not just left-wingers who see a link between Mr Fillon's Catholicism, his character, and his policies. |
| For Henri Guaino, a former Sarkozy adviser, Mr Fillon "believes in redemption through pain, the idea that you need to suffer in order to be saved. He believes the country has lived too luxuriously for too long. | For Henri Guaino, a former Sarkozy adviser, Mr Fillon "believes in redemption through pain, the idea that you need to suffer in order to be saved. He believes the country has lived too luxuriously for too long. |
| "So now it needs to make sacrifices. It's like a purge." | "So now it needs to make sacrifices. It's like a purge." |
| The same Catholic conviction could explain Mr Fillon's famous taciturnity, a refusal to be ruffled, that can come across as either old-world courtesy or a cold reluctance to engage. | The same Catholic conviction could explain Mr Fillon's famous taciturnity, a refusal to be ruffled, that can come across as either old-world courtesy or a cold reluctance to engage. |
| And it might also shed light on one of the big questions over his career: why for five years as prime minister he suffered the constant humiliations inflicted by his boss, the man he came to loathe, Nicolas Sarkozy. | And it might also shed light on one of the big questions over his career: why for five years as prime minister he suffered the constant humiliations inflicted by his boss, the man he came to loathe, Nicolas Sarkozy. |
| But whoever seeks to caricature Mr Fillon as an emotionless masochist must accept that that is at best only part of the picture. | But whoever seeks to caricature Mr Fillon as an emotionless masochist must accept that that is at best only part of the picture. |
| This is a man who fell in love with motor-racing as a child when the Austin Healey team stayed in his village during the Le Mans 24-hour race. He could have become a professional driver. | This is a man who fell in love with motor-racing as a child when the Austin Healey team stayed in his village during the Le Mans 24-hour race. He could have become a professional driver. |
| He says he has "always had a problem with authority" and as a boy was briefly expelled from school for leading a demonstration against a teacher. | He says he has "always had a problem with authority" and as a boy was briefly expelled from school for leading a demonstration against a teacher. |
| He despises politicians who "think of nothing but politics day and night: they are obsessed and unbalanced". Among his other hobbies are mountaineering and piloting drones. | He despises politicians who "think of nothing but politics day and night: they are obsessed and unbalanced". Among his other hobbies are mountaineering and piloting drones. |
| His friend and ally, former minister Roselyine Bachelot, admits the frigid exterior. But she says: "Under the ice there is fire." | His friend and ally, former minister Roselyine Bachelot, admits the frigid exterior. But she says: "Under the ice there is fire." |