How the French press reacted to Hollande's announcement

No surprises on this morning's French front pages.

Self-styled Monsieur Normal - otherwise known rather unkindly as "Flanby" - after a wobbly French caramel custard pudding - or - to give him his full name - François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande - the President of France - announced on television last night that he will not seek a second term in the Elysée Palace.

Naturally, the papers go to town on this news.

The communist daily l'Humanité states the obvious.

With current voting intentions relegating him to fifth or sixth position, behind François Fillon, Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, François Hollande had little choice, the paper says.

Left-leaning Libération gives over its front page to a poignant shot of Hollande, seemingly exiting a room, with the banner headline "Without Me."

"Taking note of his unpopularity - Hollande abandons his candidacy for a second term - a first," the paper tells us.

On its front page, the popular daily le Parisien has some fun with the Mr. Normal tag with the headline - "Hollande throws in the towel - Normal".

The message again is that he could do little else. He is the least popular French President since the second world war. One recent opinion poll put his approval rating at 4 per cent.

His Socialist party is divided between the traditional left and reform minded centrists. Hollande said repeatedly he'd only run for a second term if he brought down unemployment. This he has failed to do. 10 per cent of the workforce is jobless - much the same number as when he was elected in 2012.

"The left sheds a tear - the right rejoices," le Parisien tells us. Though I'm not convinced that's the case.

Right-wing le Figaro contents itself with two words "the End."

"To the right as to the left, praise for the "lucidity" of Hollande," says the paper. "Lucidity" is the capacity to perceive the truth directly. It's one of the few compliments le Figaro has ever made about the President or anyone else to the left of centre.

"Lucid" is the word half a dozen politicians choose to describe Hollande's decision.

Some go a little further. "It's a lucid decision and an admission of failure. It is the bankruptcy of a wasted five-year term, " said Republican Party Senator Bruno Retailleau.

Nice Matin opts for "the Balance Sheet". Presumably meaning that the President of the Republique has crunched the numbers and found that he's a day late and a euro short - so to speak.

A couple of papers, la Nouvelle Republique and Courrier Picard, go with "the Chief"s Surprise." Not really, to anyone who's been paying attention.

Ouest France - the country's best selling paper - is more considered - reminding readers that Hollande's decision not to run again is unprecedented in the history of the Fifth Republic and that it paves the way for the Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls who immediately welcomed what he called "the choice of a statesman".

The announcement came too late for the print edition of centrist le Monde but they've caught up with the story on-line.

"Will the defection of François Hollande benefit Manuel Valls?" wonders le Monde. "Hollandism is dead, long live valleyism?"

"After the defection of the head of state, all eyes are turned logically towards the prime minister," the paper says. "The script, which he would not have dared to dream of a few months ago, is being written before his eyes," it opines.

In fact, most observers doubt that Valls or any other candidate of the left will make it beyond the first round of voting in the election next Spring.

Hollande - maybe we should christen him - Mr. Lucid - knew which way the wind is blowing here in France and, by falling on his sword, has done the decent thing.

He wasn't a popular leader. But, those who've met him will tell you he's a very nice bloke.

And, of course, all political careers end in failure.