Hollande all over media this month

PRESIDENT Hollande is to embark on a packed schedule of public appearances and interviews in January as his advisors attempt to keep him in the media spotlight and move attention away from his rivals.

After his televised message to the French public on New Year's Eve, the president will be visiting all corners of France this month for the traditional series of voeux - new year wishes - to everyone from business leaders to diplomats.

Alongside these ceremonies will be a range of Q&A sessions with the public and local and national media interviews.

One of his aides described the schedule as a media "offensive" aimed at occupying a maximum amount of TV and radio airtime and press column inches.

The gruelling tour begins on Monday at 7.00 when Hollande will spend more than an hour on radio station France Inter being interviewed by journalists and listeners.

An Elysée source told Le Figaro: "One of the lessons learnt in recent months is that when he stays quiet for too long, he soon has to end up on the defensive. This time round, it's him who'll be setting the agenda."

Three weeks of wall-to-wall visits are programmed, including a trip to Kazakhstan on January 15 for a new meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko.

The media offensive ends with the president's routine six-monthly press conference in the week of January 19.