Francois Hollande, the leader of France's Socialist party, is widely tipped to be the country's next president.
Since early on in his career, Hollande has cultivated a stolid, unpretentious image - an appearance that he has put in contrast with that of Nicolas Sarkozy, the incumbent, who has had what the French media refer to as a "bling bling presidency".
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Correze, in southwestern France, where Hollande first built his political career.
