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Royal and Sarkozy

With an impressive 75 percent turnout by 5pm Paris time, and projections expecting a whopping 87 percent by the end, the French have determined who will face whom in a May 6th runoff for the presidency.

I noted the promise of Sarkozy, the “center-right” (read “not-socialist”) last year. He sees the problems of immigration and non-assimilation and isn’t afraid to articulate what France needs to do to survive. he is also fond of the United States. Obviously, I have been hoping the French would turn to someone not as extreme as Le Pen while also rejecting the physically attractive but moonbattery of Royal.

I realize that if Sarkozy wins, we still have to see how he will govern, but am I too optimistic to suggest that we should lighten up on the French boycott if the pro-U.S. Sarkozy does win? In all honesty, I miss the French and French products. Am I alone in this?

The runoff does indeed give France a chance to reject the policies that have so isolated them in the past. Will they have the courage to do what the Germans did in electing Merkel, their own center-right candidate? I hope so. Once this is done, perhaps we Americans can finally start getting serious about finding our own legitimately conservative candidate for president, following the lead of those two nations.

French voters propel Royal, Sarkozy into presidential run-off

PARIS – Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal appeared headed Sunday to a presidential runoff, preliminary results showed, setting up a stark choice between one of France’s most intensely ambitious politicians and a liberal who would be the country’s first female leader.

Sarkozy appeared to hold a clear advantage. Preliminary results from the Interior Ministry, based on a count of 21 million votes – or more than 50 percent – had him leading with 30 percent, followed by Royal with 24 percent.

In the May 6 runoff, Sarkozy should be able to count on votes from the far right, whose champion, Jean-Marie Le Pen, suffered one of his worst showings in the five presidential elections he has contested. Preliminary results had him at 11 percent.

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11 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. Bachbone says:

    So far, I haven’t missed any French products. I just replaced the Michelin tires on my car with the Yokohama brand. When traveling, I refuse to stay in Accor hotels. I never bought French wines. If I know a product is French, I won’t buy it. However, this didn’t begin with 9/11.

    I was stationed in Poitiers, France in the late 1950s and saw first-hand that many French disliked U.S. Army members. Older French citizens who remembered WW II were less likely to sneer at us. And little kids who hadn’t been taught to dislike us were friendly. But many, perhaps most, French were haughty and arrogant. Perhaps they were so to any foreigner. Eventually, DeGaulle withdrew France from NATO, so our armed forces didn’t need to be there any longer.

    Personally, I saw enough of France and the French long ago. They are free to treat Americans any way they choose. I am free to remember our treatment and respond by not buying French products. Nor ever visiting France again. I’m not angry. I just have a good memory.

  2. Talkin Horse says:

    Keep in mind that current president Jacques Chirac is the “conservative”, and he’s been mixed at best, and largely an outright enemy of the good guys. As far as boycotts go, I’m more concerned about supporting domestic producers than I am about avoiding foreigners. We’re running a horrendous accounts deficit, and China holds something like a trillion dollars in foreign reserves. We’re going to have to deal with that one day. Obviously it’s not practical to avoid imported goods and foreign-owned services, but I try not to contribute to the problem excessively. As a heterosexual male, there’s nothing I need that comes from France. Tammy, are you gonna tell us you can’t get by without their silly wines and body lotions? That stuff don’t matter, as long as you got the right person to share the booze with who will then tenderly massage the scented oils into your quivering gooseflesh as the soft music plays and the candles flicker and burn low…

  3. Lib85 says:

    This is a good start for the French. They may not admit it outwardly, but a growing percentage of their population is probably understanding that too much appeasement, too much welfare and too little work is not creating the Utopia they had envisioned. They’ve lived with multiple riots in the past couple years, their unemployment rate is high and their economy stagnant. If they turn hard left in the run-off that will be surprising and disappointing.

  4. ltlme says:

    It would be nice to visit Paris someday without feeling so dirty about it.

  5. RagingBullmoose says:

    Meh…regardless of the outcome, I’m not betting the house on any real change from France.

    Personally, I don’t need anything from France and I have no intrest in going there. Then again, I’m also trying to “buy American” more often nowadays, or at the very least “buy Friendly”.

    Besides, my grandfather spent some time there back in ’44 and he said it wasn’t all that great anyway…

  6. Kimj7157 says:

    French minister under fire for “scum” comment

    “You’ve had enough of this gang of scum, haven’t you?” said Nicolas Sarkozy to residents in a Paris suburb affected by rioting. “Well we’re going to get rid of them.” The words used by the French interior minister last week illustrate his policy of zero tolerance when it comes to violence.

    Imagine referring to the “youthful rioters” as a “gang of scum”. The nerve.

    Very promising indeed.:)

  7. Doug K says:

    Royal is pretty much a babe. Wish she were a) a little younger b) Not a Socialist idiot (said in the French way) and c) not French

    [LOL!–ed.]

  8. helpunderdog says:

    The most conservative French politician is still a socialist, and the French people will continue to despise Americans no matter who they elect.
    France is a beautiful country, but I will NEVER visit there again. I avoid French products, though I love Brie, Boursin, and other French cheeses. Why the U.S. doesn’t expose their imperialistic presence in Africa I do not understand. While America fights to end world terrorism at great personal sacrifice, France fights in Africa to secure it’s own selfish business goals. France sucks.

  9. helpunderdog says:

    Buy wine from California and Australia and support the coalition of the smart, noble, and willing.

  10. Mwalimu Daudi says:

    Sarkozy is called “center-right”. My question is: center-right compared to what? Royal and most of the EUcrats – her real constituency – are several light-years to the left of 99% of humanity. “Center-right” might cover a huge amount of political real estate.

  11. pat_s says:

    Au contraire. If Sarkozy loses, we should hoard all the French delectables we can get our hands on.

    Immigrant groups are threatening violence if Sarkozy wins. If Sarkozy wins this place is going to explode again. There’s a French proverb, “Everything passes, everything breaks, everything wearies”. If the French are too weary to stand up to intimidation, this election will mark the beginning of the end of European France. Then grab what you can while you can.

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