Jarnac, France: French President Francois Hollande on Friday visited the tomb of one of his most illustrious predecessors, Francois Mitterrand, to mark the 20th anniversary of his death.
Mitterrand, the enigmatic Socialist who was president from 1981 to 1995, is laid to rest in his native region of Jarnac, in the southwest.
His daughter Mazarine Pingeot, whose existence was only revealed to the public towards the end of Mitterrand's life, and one of his two sons, Gilbert Mitterrand, accompanied Hollande to the tomb, along with veteran Socialist minister Jack Lang.
Other wellwishers left a handful of red roses -- the symbol of France's Socialist Party -- on the tomb as well as the flag of the European Union, in a nod to Mitterrand's role as one of the architects of today's EU.
Early in his career, Hollande worked for Mitterrand as an economics advisor.
Mitterrand, who died in 1996 at the age of 79, remains a relatively popular figure in France two decades after his death with two-thirds saying in a recent opinion poll that they thought he had been a good president.
"Mitterrand allowed the left to rule for a prolonged period, which had never happened in the 20th century," said Alain Bergounioux, a historian who specialises in the French Socialist Party.
AFP
