The President's New Spectacles

François Hollande's new glasses have come in for a lot of media scrutiny recently. Some have expressed shock at the steep price of the frames - $1300 each - and there has been disappointment that the President disdained to choose a French manufacturer. Personally, I find the new frames make the President look like Sergeant Bilko,, but sources close to François Hollande take a different view. A member of his entourage told me that they made him look more  residential, more like a  resident should look. They confirmed that the frames were part of an exclusive range not available to the general public. I was told that they were for residents only.

We know very little about the  residential lenses themselves, apart from the fact that they are progressive.

Here is M. le Résident wearing his new "Bilko" glasses.

And here he is sporting his old rimless ones.