Against the continuing backdrop of the economic crisis, 2013 had been dominated by President François Hollande’s declining popularity (see Startin 2014: 124). The year 2014 would prove to be another challenging year for the French President. It began with damaging allegations surrounding an ‘affair’ with actress Julie Gayet and was followed by heavy defeats for his ruling Socialist Party in the March municipal and May European elections. In the latter contest, the Front National (FN) added salt to the wound by topping the poll – the first time the party had been victorious in a national election. Hollande reacted to the municipal election defeat by replacing PrimeMinister Jean-Marc Ayrault withMinister for the Interior Manuel Valls. The change of government appeared to have no immediate effect on the President’s personal rating. With his principal electoral promise of reducing France’s stubbornly high unemployment showing no sign of fruition, and with the French economy remaining sluggish, his 12 per cent approval rating in the monthly YouGov survey represented an all-time low for a French President in the history of modern-day polling.

In Estonian politics, the year 2014 was marked by a change in Prime Minister and governing coalition in March. It was followed by fairly quiet European elections in May, and preparations by political parties for the March 2015 parliamentary elections. In terms of issues, the year was dominated by security concerns raised by the conflict in Ukraine and increasing antagonism with Russia, as well as heated debates around the legalisation of same-sex partnerships.