Les Elections Francaises

Well, the polls are in- Nicolas Sarkozy is the new French president. I was puzzling out what I thought, which candidate I’d support, and it was a very difficult decision to make. I believe I would have voted for Segolene Royal; I was not a big supporter of hers, nor do I agree with all of her plans. In fact I find more of Sarkozy’s to be good, feasible ideas- her proposal for compulsory education from the age of 3 I found a bit worrying. I wasn’t ready for school till I was nearly six, and I think this would have been very bad for the development of children. I also did not get any impression from Madame Royal that her economic policies were either wise or what the citizens of France wanted (nobody, it seems, wants to be stuck in a 35 hour work week).

My vote for Royal would have been a vote against Sarkozy, because, despite whatever I might like in his policies, he is too divisive- he will never have a great deal of support, despite his win (53% is not a comfortable margin). His track record is also poor- his policies and public statements have lead to riots and discontent among both students and the poorer sections of the country. This election saw 80% voter turnout in the banlieues, largely people inspired to do what they could to keep him out of office, and those people must be losing hope of the changes they need to improve their lives.

If he delivers on his promises, he may be very good for France’s economy and therefore could help the people he has driven against himself. He will not endear himself to the rest of Europe because he is apparently very pro-American (oh, the horror, apparently). If he does not, I worry for whoever comes after him to pick up the pieces.