Former French president Francois Hollande made the first tentative step into what may or may not be a second career this weekend when he trod the boards at one of the world's biggest theater festivals. He appeared for 15 minutes in a play at the Avignon theater festival in the south of France.

With acting skills often cited as one of the key qualifications for a career in politics, Hollande acquitted himself rather well in his 15-minute surprise appearance in a sprawling meditation on the state of Europe by one of France's most acclaimed novelists, Laurent Gaude. 

Hollande, 64, known for his sense of humor even in the gravest circumstances, managed to make the audience laugh with a quip at the expense of his party, which has gone into a precipitous decline since his presidency. 

Hollande's great rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, whom he condemned to early retirement after beating him in the 2012 presidential election, has carved out a career for himself as a writer as well as the kingmaker of the divided traditional French right. 

The first instalment of Sarkozy's memoirs, "Passions", tops France's summer bestseller list.

It was passion and another bestselling memoir that undid Hollande – that by his former lover Valerie Trierweiler.

The journalist eviscerated him in her tell-all "Thank You For This Moment", torpedoing his presidency after the paparazzi caught him paying nocturnal visits on a scooter to his present partner, actress and producer Julie Gayet.

(Cover image via VCG)