This year I get to experience two presidential
elections as both France and the US will hold elections this year! The French have their
elections in the Spring and it usually consists of 2 rounds. There are ten candidates for the first round
and a final two for the second round. The
winner of the second round becomes the President-elect and takes office almost
immediately for a 5 year term. To catch you up to speed here are five things to know about this year's election.
On April 22nd the premier tour, or first round,
of the French elections started. I was
in Nice and as Alice and I were eating dinner in a trendy bistro the premier
tour results came out. The place had a
TV behind the bar so we could see how each candidate did: Nicolas Sarkozy
(UMP), the current President, and François Hollande (PS) were the
top two candidates: Sarkozy gaining 27.18% and Hollande gaining 28.63%. An alarming aspect of the premier tour was
that the Front National (FN)’s candidate, Marine Le Pen, gained a 17.9% which was a
record high for the party. (This is alarming because the Front National makes up the extreme right in France's politics boasting anti-Europe/anti-immigration policies that make the American extreme right look left.)
Once the premier tour results were in the remaining candidates, Sarkozy and Hollande, had just one televised debate, on May 2, before the seconde
tour. (Check out this BBC article article to read more on the debate.)
 |
| French election ballot |
Today, on May 6, French citizens voted to either re-elect Sarkozy or
change it up by electing Hollande. It was my last night in Dijon and the few of us still here decided to
watch the results and go to Place de la Libération as Hollande was the predicted
winner and there were to be celebrations there.
We got drinks and sat outside at one of the cafés at Place de la Lib and
watched as everyone celebrated Hollande’s win. (Hollande won 51.62%; Sarkozy 48.83%) The atmosphere felt quite similar to the general feeling in the U.S.
when Obama was elected: peaceful, happy, excited. (Hollande even had a similar slogan “Le
changement, c’est maintenant”.)
There was a stage set up for a band to play songs so everyone could celebrate the new President! “Hollande Président !” was chanted over and over in
a similar way to hearing the crowds chant “Yes we can” when Obama won in 2008.
For me it was so perfect for the second tour to take place on my last
night in Dijon; experience two of my passions (politics and France) simultaneously!
Word of the Post: la politique -- politics
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