PARIS, March 30 (UPI) -- Liberals and conservatives in France say President Francois Hollande's remarks in a TV interview show he is not up to handling France's economic troubles.
About 9.16 million people tuned in to watch Hollande's interview Thursday, Radio France Internationale reported.
Government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem praised what she called Hollande's "quiet authority," saying it was "what the French were expecting, what they needed."
Right-wing politician Jean-Francois Cope criticized Hollande's reference to his economic policies as a "toolbox."
"What is the president of the republic now? Someone in a garage repairing the bodywork?" Cape said.
Right-wing former Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Hollande is "not a president who's fighting the crisis but a president who's making it worse."
Jean-Luc Melenchon of the Left Party said Hollande "made a completely mistaken diagnosis" of France's economic situation, which shows "he doesn't understand the mechanisms of finance at all."
