But they are having a hell of a time and it is beginning to
resemble the circus that is our electoral process.
The 2012 French presidential election is to be held on 22 April and 6 May 2012, the latter being
used for a run-off if necessary. President Nicolas
Sarkozy will be eligible to run for a second successive term during
this election. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
As is to be expected, there are a lot of negative and scare
tactics. The juxtaposition of the Muslim and the wearing of the Burqa, the old
worn out class warfare, the redistribution of the wealth…are all present as
they are in America.
Of course, it is all meant to distract, to awaken the
prejudices and cater to the stupidity of those who are not well informed, naïve
or easily misguided. In that aspect, elections in France are not any different
than the American counterparts.
The lineup
of main contenders for France’s 2012 presidential elections was set in October
2011, when the Socialist party chose François Hollande to face the conservative
incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.
At the time
of Mr. Hollande’s victory in a primary, opinion polls showed him and his main
rival, Martine Aubry, both with strong leads over Mr. Sarkozy. But there was
not much excitement about the prospect of a Socialist victory, especially with
the putative favorite, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, out of the race as a consequence of his
encounter with a housekeeper in a New York hotel room.
In its early stages, it appeared to be a
grumpy French presidential campaign, with only a few voters passionate about
their choices. It could be called the election of “désamour,” one of those
nearly untranslatable words, meaning a falling out of love, a disenchantment
mixed with disillusion.But even as Mr. Sarkozy’s unpopularity with voters continues to plumb new depths, the outcome of the contest remains far from clear, with rivals to his left and right hoping to exploit a deepening public disquiet over the ongoing euro crisis.
But I know the French people and it is a lot harder to
mislead them or to lie to them. These are the same people who went out and
revolted against an arrogant and repressive monarchy and ended up beheading the
ruling class. The people of France have a tradition of not taking any shit from
anybody and this has at times caused them to be classified as arrogant. But
make no mistake about it, when it comes to their freedom, the French are the
most passionate in keeping it, in nurturing it, in making sure it continues to
be there for their offspring.
To say that the French are patriotic is an understatement.
Their love for France goes beyond the expected and why shouldn’t they? Here is
a country that not only has natural beauty, an industrious and enterprising
population, a very deep rooted tradition of meritocracy and the highest esteem
for intellectual endeavors. France is the best example of a highly cultural society...culture is alive and well in France, merci.
The French
are a proud people but they are also a kind and generous bunch. They never fail
to give a helping hand whenever there is a catastrophe somewhere, they are in
the lead when it comes to going to help less fortunate people in other
nations…a good example of this is “MEDCINS SANS FRONTIERES” (Doctors Without
Borders) Which is an international organization created in
1971 by a small group of French doctors and journalists in the aftermath of the
Biafra secession, who believed that all
people have the right to medical
care regardless of race, religion, creed or
political affiliation, and that the needs of these people outweigh respect for
national borders.
I think that there is only one country that is right up there
with the French when it comes to its generosity and their sending help to
places that need it… The United States of America. After all, we created “The
Peace Corps” and usually lead the world as we should in monetary assistance of
all kinds that is in keeping with being the most prosperous nation on earth.
Unfortunately, that kind of attitude, that generosity, that idea of giving a
helping hand is waning and fast disappearing as the very wealthy through their
puppet political party (Republican) is retreating to a position of selfish,
greedy and isolationist nature.
But the French will be there, they always will be and there
always will be a fine country with a true democratic tradition that is La Belle
France.
OUR SPECIAL THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL FRENCH BLOG “ANTHROPOS”
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