Sunday, May 06, 2007
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.