Former French President: Trump is a fictional character who became reality

(Patria) - Donald Trump is a fictional character who became reality, stated yesterday the former French President François Hollande at a conference within the European Series Festival in Lille, in northern France.

Asked which films or series would best portray the American billionaire, who returned to the White House in January, Hollande, who led France from 2012 to 2017, said that Trump, before becoming president, "entered the television reality show with The Apprentice where he recruited the best staff profile for his company".

- He played a character, and that's why it's very difficult to know if he's acting or deciding, whether what he says is a provocation like a dialogue in a series or if it's truly a decision. His way of governing the USA poses a great danger - said Hollande, who is now a socialist deputy representing the Corrèze department in southwestern France.

Hollande assessed that being a "populist is like being a character". According to him, populists like Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei, and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson always "have a certain hairstyle to attract attention".

In contrast, Hollande praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "brave statesman and excellent actor", after the screening of a scene from his series "Servant of the People", in which Zelenskyy played the Ukrainian head of state before becoming one in reality.

Hollande noted that series about democracies "have never taken place in the Kremlin, in the palace of (Chinese President) Xi Jinping, or in North Korea", due to a lack of information on how those countries function, while "for democracies, everything is open".

- Democracy has always lived on caricature, satire, and laughter. So, let's be aware that the actions that television series present to you are actually a hymn to our democracy - said Hollande, who received applause from those present at the conference.