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FRANCE VOTES
From 1925 to 1935, the Eiffel Tower was a huge advertisement for Citroen cars:
Some 125,000 lightbulbs spelled out the brand every night; take that, illumination haters! Sadly, times change:
A giant yellow banner was unfurled in the centre of Paris last week, bearing portraits of Lenin and Stalin. “Only socialism can save the world” it proclaimed in black ink.
Er, yeah. Oddly, of the two slogans, the bright Citroen sign seems more modern; it could stand as a symbol for Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign:
He would like to make the notoriously grumpy French feel better about themselves in the epoch of globalisation, raising wages and productivity, reducing unemployment and restoring a sense of pride in la belle France and her history.
Early voting is enormous:
By mid-day, 34% of France’s 44.5 million eligible voters had cast ballots for a successor to President Jacques Chirac who is stepping down after 12 years in office.
This was the highest midday turnout since 1974 and underscored the strong interest in the left-right battle for the Elysee palace.
One group is paying particular attention:
Afghanistan’s Taliban has said it will wait until France’s presidential election is completed on Sunday before deciding the fate of a French hostage and three Afghans abducted more than a month ago.
How considerate of them. The French hostage, by the way, is an aid worker representing A World For Our Children.
The left here is very scared of a Sarko victory. How scared? Last night 2000 ballots for Sarkozy were stolen so as to make the voting for him all but impossible in one French village. Luckily, it only slowed down the voting there for a short time.
My fiancee voted this morning and she - like most in our particular arr. of Lyon - voted for Sarkozy. She thinks there will be a few parties here tonight if Sarko gets up as the polls suggest.
On the other hand, she also thinks that the predicted riots in the suburbs if Sarko wins won’t take place as the Leftists keep telling us. It will more likely be just a regular two or three CarBQ per city night like most nights.
Posted by Villeurbanne on 2007 05 06 at 10:28 AM • permalink‘Right wing’ is still relative. The French Right don’t really believe in the market:
his [Sarkozy’s] grand reform amounts only to the right to two extra paid hours tacked on to the 35-hour week.
[he] promises a continuation of France’s robust protection of its national industrial champions against European and global competition.
The French economy will be in the toilet for a long time yet…
Posted by Art Vandelay on 2007 05 06 at 10:38 AM • permalink“The French hostage, by the way, is an aid worker representing A World For Our Children.”
Well, hell, then - he’s obviously an enemy of everything the Tallibubbies stand for (since they don’t want one). Wonder why they haven’t killed him already?
Posted by Barbara Skolaut on 2007 05 06 at 10:53 AM • permalinkI remember being in Paris with my girlfriend the night Mitterand won his first election (1982?). Of course, being green, young Brits, we were totally unaware of what was happening. We were staying in Place San Germain and heard hootin’ and hollerin’ outside our hotel window, we went down to find out what the excitement was all about and all the French ‘youts’ were telling us they were so excited a Socialist had won the Presidential election.
La 10 H.P.?
Even a 1911 Ford Model T was rated at 22 1/2.
Posted by Bruce Rheinstein on 2007 05 06 at 12:41 PM • permalinkWoo Hoo! Sarko gets up and we open the champagne! :)
Posted by Villeurbanne on 2007 05 06 at 02:01 PM • permalinkA giant yellow banner was unfurled in the centre of Paris last week, bearing portraits of Lenin and Stalin. “Only socialism can save the world” it proclaimed in black ink.
And on the other side of the sign it said, “...by killing enough people to underpopulate it.”
It’s watermelons people! Google it!
Posted by charles austin on 2007 05 06 at 02:05 PM • permalinkFor online people see http://www.france24.com and it is live, in english and covering Sarko’s speech…
Posted by Villeurbanne on 2007 05 06 at 02:40 PM • permalinkCongrats to the people of France for showing some good old-fashioned, dare I say it, Anglo common sense.
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2007 05 06 at 03:06 PM • permalinkThe BBC gently requests that you not refer to them as “hostages.” They are “unexpected receipents of famously generous Middle Eastern hospitality.”
Posted by Matt in Denver on 2007 05 06 at 03:49 PM • permalinkThere are violent crowds and “skirmishes with riot police” in Paris on news of Sarkozy win.
Posted by daddy dave on 2007 05 06 at 05:40 PM • permalinkEver notice the irritating trend of the MSM to label EVERY conservative politician as ultra conservative? George Bush, Angela Merkel of Germany and now, apparently, Sarkozy!
So glad to see that spouting all kinds of anti-American nonsense wasn’t enough to get Royal over the line, like it was with Germany’s Gerhardt Schroeder in 2002. Boy, didn’t the Germans have to learn the hard way!
I guess Royal’s disgusting last-minute attempt to use the fear of violence as a pathway to power sealed her fate once and for all.the MSM to label EVERY conservative politician as ultra conservative
and divisive.
(But left-wing politicians are never divisive, right?)Posted by daddy dave on 2007 05 06 at 09:44 PM • permalinkHow depressing for us frogbashers, that Johnny Crapeau showed some good sense for a change. There I was, all set with the popcorn to watch France swirl down the ol’ flusher once and for all, be done with the bleating arrogant jerks as pretenders to a nation of consequence, live off the schadenfreude for the next eight years and now… this. Sigh.
I guess we can all go on cheering for Belgium’s self-destruction, but it’s really not the same.
sadly, Sarkozy has the global warming bug, and even mentioned it in his victory speech.
Ah well, nobody’s perfect…Posted by daddy dave on 2007 05 07 at 11:59 AM • permalinkCount me among the skeptics. “Right-wing” in France is still to the left of George McGovern.
Posted by Tommy Shanks on 2007 05 07 at 10:57 PM • permalink#31: I thought Belgium already self-destructed from all of the European Union bureaucrats living there.
Elizabeth
Imperial KeeperPosted by Elizabeth Imperial Keeper on 2007 05 08 at 01:24 PM • permalink
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Go Sarkozy!