In the Media: The French Election

I feel I should comment on today’s presidential election in France, but I have nothing to say. The honest truth is that I don’t like France—I never did. Every visit to the country has been a disappointment, and I find the French culture, attitude, and people dull and arrogant. Apart from a few really good films, I cannot think of a single thing that impresses me about the country. I even find Paris ugly. France is, nonetheless, one of the major players in European politics, and as such, it is an important country that elects its new president. The two candidates that will go on to the second round of the election are conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and socialist Segolene Royal. From The Times:

Mr Sarkozy, 52, who is promising radical reform to haul France out of stagnation, led with 30 per cent of the votes cast on a glorious spring day, according to estimates from the TF1 television network.

Ms Royal, 53, whose unorthodox campaign unsettled many on the left, won solid endorsement from her own camp with a respectable 25.5 per cent.

Some people are less than pleased about front-runner Sarkozy:

• ”If Sarkozy wins, this place is going to explode again. There’ll be riots here in the suburbs all over France,” says loony French socialist who openly prefers Jean-Marie Le Pen’s fascism to Sarkozy’s moderate conservatism.
• Doug Ireland doesn’t like Sarkozy either.

That’s it for now.