Word: royall
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...most passionately fought French Presidential election in recent memory wasn't even close: Conservative standard-bearer Nicolas Sarkozy handily beat Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal 53.2% to 46.8% to succeed Jacques Chirac in the Elysée. The win also gives Sarkozy's ruling Union for a Popular Majority party (UMP) a considerable boost ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 10 and 17, where victory would give the right the power necessary to push through the vast modernization and liberalization program promised by Sarkozy...
...Across the Seine, however, Royal backers remained strangely upbeat despite the defeat, reflecting an optimism born of the renewed engagement with politics among France's citizens reflected in the near-record 85% turnout. "Ségolène has changed the way a lot of us look at politics, and convinced us we can all make a difference," explained Royal voter Teddy Benam, 22, as 5,000 mostly young people danced in front of Socialist Party headquarters after Royal conceded defeat. "Sarkozy won tonight, but we'll be there for the rematch of legislative elections in June. If the left...
...Royal, herself, is a curious mix of charisma and seeming amateurism. She may ultimately be a more attractive personality than the sometimes abrasive Sarkozy, but that is beside the point. The prospect of Royal in l’Elysée—the Parisian residence of the French president—portends a grim economic and social future for France. Whatever her personal qualities, Royal simply will not break radically enough with the failing French status...
...what does Royal propose? Beyond vague promises of gradual reform of the welfare system, she talks of government-guaranteed starter jobs, proposes to increase the minimum monthly salary by 20 percent to 1500 euros, and insists she will leave the controversial 35-hour week untouched. These proposals are fiscally irresponsible and are not calculated to increase private employment or the integration of minorities into the workforce. Royal is much more popular in the banlieues than the law-and-order immigration skeptic, Sarkozy, who has an unfortunate—and perhaps calculated—weakness for rhetoric with a racist edge...
...percent of GDP. In a reversal of roles that an American would find baffling, the so-called “right-wing” Sarkozy proposes to introduce desperately needed affirmative action programs to France (hitherto unknown in this welfare state) while the “socialist” Royal vigorously opposes them. Sarkozy’s opponents claim that his platform is “brutal” and that it will rend the French social fabric. Depressingly, French youth (especially those in the banlieues who would particularly gain from his fresh approach), seem the most susceptible to these...