The rain came down hard in the days leading up to the election. And then they voted.
"I'm happy that Francois Hollande came out with the most votes, but I'm disappointed with my country. Marine Le Pen managed 20%!"
Or "I can't believe Jean-Luc Melenchon didn't make the second round! It's politics as usual. Nothing ever changes."
Or "Sarkozy is almost gone!"
And the rain continued. We have had only glimpses of the sun in the past three weeks. Parisian parks were crowded to overflowing four weeks ago in a celebration of sunny spring, but the joy was short-lived.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy finds himself facing an uphill battle to be re-elected. No one much likes him. Business knows he'll be kinder than the Socialists. We can assume his children still like him. German Chancellor Angela Merkel thought he would be better for Europe, but her interventions on his behalf didn't work out so well. So they came to a halt almost as soon as they began. Apparently the French don't want to be like the Germans. Who would've thought?
The former Trotskyist Melenchon spoke intelligently and honestly, and the French, educated in revolution and class upheaval, rallied to his message. Those who disliked the internationalist turn of recent French history, whether Brussells' power or immigrants' presence, turned out for Marine Le Pen. Francois Bayrou, a three-time Presidential candidate lost somewhere in the middle of a polarized France, fell well short of his 2007 score. The French weren't charmed by his discourse of "telling the truth" and "avoiding extremes". So now, as the second round approaches, it comes down to Hollande and Sarkozy, a replay of the 2007 election for Hollande's children, except this time the four are working to elect their father instead of their mother.
The sun came out for an hour or so today. Not too long. There was a downpour for about 10 minutes, but that stopped too. Mainly it's just overcast. Melancholy and overcast.
The spring marches on...
"I'm happy that Francois Hollande came out with the most votes, but I'm disappointed with my country. Marine Le Pen managed 20%!"
Or "I can't believe Jean-Luc Melenchon didn't make the second round! It's politics as usual. Nothing ever changes."
Or "Sarkozy is almost gone!"
And the rain continued. We have had only glimpses of the sun in the past three weeks. Parisian parks were crowded to overflowing four weeks ago in a celebration of sunny spring, but the joy was short-lived.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy finds himself facing an uphill battle to be re-elected. No one much likes him. Business knows he'll be kinder than the Socialists. We can assume his children still like him. German Chancellor Angela Merkel thought he would be better for Europe, but her interventions on his behalf didn't work out so well. So they came to a halt almost as soon as they began. Apparently the French don't want to be like the Germans. Who would've thought?
The former Trotskyist Melenchon spoke intelligently and honestly, and the French, educated in revolution and class upheaval, rallied to his message. Those who disliked the internationalist turn of recent French history, whether Brussells' power or immigrants' presence, turned out for Marine Le Pen. Francois Bayrou, a three-time Presidential candidate lost somewhere in the middle of a polarized France, fell well short of his 2007 score. The French weren't charmed by his discourse of "telling the truth" and "avoiding extremes". So now, as the second round approaches, it comes down to Hollande and Sarkozy, a replay of the 2007 election for Hollande's children, except this time the four are working to elect their father instead of their mother.
The sun came out for an hour or so today. Not too long. There was a downpour for about 10 minutes, but that stopped too. Mainly it's just overcast. Melancholy and overcast.
The spring marches on...
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