EVER since President François Hollande was elected last May, things have not gone right for him. He promised to kick-start growth and create jobs, yet the economy has stalled, factories keep closing and unemployment is over 10%. His scheme to impose a 75% top income-tax rate on millionaires has been ruled unconstitutional by the highest court. Up to 1m protesters have challenged his plans to legalise gay adoption and marriage. As his credibility has drooped, so have his poll numbers, to record lows. Yet in the past week, Mr Hollande has silenced even his critics by revealing an unexpected streak of audacity.First came the decision on January 11th to order French air strikes on an Islamist incursion from northern Mali into government-held territory. With no warning, Mr Hollande sent French fighter jets, based in France and nearby Chad, as well as attack helicopters, to strike a rebel column advancing towards Bamako, the capital. After days of air strikes, in which one French helicopter pilot was killed, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French defence minister, said that the Islamist groups, which have ties to al-Qaeda, had been partially pushed back. By mid-week…