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Audacity of Truth
French elections: Conservative Sarkozy versus Socialist Segolene Royal
The first round of the French elections are over, and the top two vote getters are heading to the May 6 run-off election:
Centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy will face Socialist Segolene Royal in the run-off of France’s presidential election on 6 May, results indicate.
With most votes counted in Sunday’s first round, Mr Sarkozy had nearly 31%, with Ms Royal, bidding to be France’s first woman president, on 25%.
Centrist Francois Bayrou got 18%, and far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen almost 11%.
Voting throughout the day reached record numbers, with turnout put at 85% – the highest for nearly 50 years.
On a bright spring day, disillusionment with politicians and their promises did not translate into apathy, reports the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt in Paris.
Instead, young and old alike queued at the polling booths at schools and town halls, although in their choices they remained as divided as ever.
Voters turned out in such high numbers that the authorities decided to allow more time for people who were still queueing.
Of the main candidates, Mr Sarkozy, a former interior minister, promised a “rupture” with the past and real economic reform, while Ms Royal has pledged a fairer society.
Both are controversial figures who have divided the French.
Mr Sarkozy is hated by the left as a reformer who many fear would change the French way of life by making the nation work harder and longer and by cutting back on its generous welfare state.
Ms Royal is also regarded with suspicion, seen as too authoritarian and conservative by some Socialists.
It’ll be interesting to see if Sarkozy wins the election, because he’s made a few enemies in France because he doesn’t hate America, nor President Bush. Ms. Royal, on the other hand, despises Bush.
The Associated Press, perhaps sensing a Sarkozy win next month, has an “analysis’ which suggests, according to the writer, that Sarkozy may not be a US “lapdog” which you can read here.
The BBC posted a profile of Sarkozy back in January, which is well worth the read.
Pajamas Media has a link round-up of French election coverage.
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If Sarkozy wins the runoff, it will be official – even the French have more backbone than the Democrats.
@Great White Rat: I’m not quite sure about that… Sarkozy, on a European point of view, is rather dangerous. Of course you would not know, since you elected an even more dangerous president…
As usual, I agree with Great White Rat, oh wouldn’t it be loverly, loverly, loverly.
Sarkozy, on a European point of view, is rather dangerous.
Most of western Europe is bogged down with the high unemployment and low productivity that naturally spring from socialism. And between the low birth rates of the native-born Euros and the uncontrolled islamic immigration, the caliphate looms closer every day.
So I can understand how people who are cluelessly transitioning from the welfare state to sharia law would consider someone who champions a free, vibrant economy, the principle of hard work, and preserving the heritage of western civilization to be “dangerous”.
Except for a few men and women of vision like Sarkozy and Merkel, it’s looking more and more like the only hope left for Europe is in the old Warsaw Pact nations.
“With most votes counted in Sunday’s first round, Mr Sarkozy had nearly 31%, with Ms Royal, bidding to be France’s first woman president, on 25%. Centrist Francois Bayrou got 18%, and far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen almost 11%.”
One assumes the Le Pen votes will go for Sarkozy, or else they’ll just stay home. Let’s say most show up to vote for Sarkozy, which would bring him up to, oh make it 39% right there. That means he needs only slightly more than half of Bayrou’s centrist votes to prevail.
Will this happen? Well, let’s see . . .
“Ms Royal is also regarded with suspicion, seen as too authoritarian and conservative by some Socialists.”
So I presume many of the votes for the centrists were voters who viewed Royal with suspicion. But exactly how many? We’re about to find out.
You must all be kidding?
What works in the US does not necessarily work outside of the US.
It is not because you’ve an all out capitalist system that it is the best any human can get… Sarkozy is not only a capitalist, but French people can deal with this; he is, morevoer, very scary and bears very specious and fallacious ideas (such as gay and paedophile genes).
Leslie – you think Le Pen voters are going to go for the son of a Hungarian immigrant and Jewish mother?
It is no more likely that right-extremists in the NDP would vote for the Christian Dems, given a choice between them and the Social Dems.
Interesting turn-around though, if Sarkozy wins while Blair steps down, two of the friendliest adminstrations to the US will be in “Old Europe”- France and Germany.
Good timing for R. Gates to enter the scene as Defense Sec., saying that such terminology is a thing of the past.
To Neil:
As I said, I believe the Le Pen voters will vote for Sarkozy or simply stay home. I’ve no idea in what proportion.
What is key, however, is that they will surely not vote for Royal.
I’ll make a guess–and that’s all it is–that no matter which is elected, relations between the U.S. and France will improve. More under Sarkozy, I’d imagine. But improve in either case.
From Ginzu:
Interesting. If anything, those ideas should have you on the left embracing him. For years, the left has been looking for a “gay gene” to explain homosexual behavior. It would, after all, absolve the individual for their behavior, which falls in line perfectly with the left’s disdain for the concepts of personal responsibility.
Other than that, however, your description of him as “very scary” seems to stem more from the idea that he might try to get the French off their soft year-long vacation schedule and back to work. That’s such an “American” idea, you know.