France's Hollande has tight window to step up reform pace

French President Francois Hollande waits for guests at the Elysee Palace in Paris, January 9, 2014. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

PARIS (Reuters) - The coming weeks will tell whether Francois Hollande can pick up the pieces of his accident-prone presidency and start to pull the euro zone's second-largest economy out of decline. It may be his last chance to do so.

The new year could hardly have started worse for the French leader, who failed to keep a promise to the nation to halt the rise in unemployment by the end of 2013 and is now dealing with media allegations of a secret love affair.