Voting begins in French election

[T_i_B]

Source: BBC

Polls have opened in France in a presidential election seen as the nation's most unpredictable in decades. Voting began at 0800 (0600 GMT), with 12 hopefuls seeking a spot in the second-round run-off on 6 May.

The leading candidates are centre-right Nicolas Sarkozy, socialist Segolene Royal, centrist Francois Bayrou and far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.

French citizens living abroad have already been to the polls, in a bid to make sure all votes count.

Of the main candidates, the right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy has promised a "rupture" with the past and real economic reform. Socialist Segolene Royal, hoping to become France's first female president, has pledged a fairer society, while the centrist Francois Bayrou has said he would bring together left and right in a government of national unity.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6580363.stm

[Mass]

1. Go Segolene -

Actually, voting started yesterday in overseas locations. I voted yesterday afternoon in Boston.

[Laughing Mirror]

2. Go Arlette!

Actually Arlette *will* be going, Arlette Laguiller, Lutte ouvière (worker's party) presidential candidate for the past six elections, and the first woman to run for president in France. She's 67 now, and has decided this is her last go round. Although she and young camarade Olivier Besancenot (age 32, the candidate from Ligue communiste revolutionnaire) picked up 10% of the vote in the run-offs of 2002, Arlette's been polling only around 1% this time around, her last time, and Olivier Besancenot about three times that. He attracts young voters and is expected to pick up votes from young people who signed up in get-out-the vote drives especially in working-class suburbs full of immigrants. Besancenot polls higher of all the far left and there's quite a panoply of them.

In addition to Arlette's worker's party, there's yet another workers (Trotskyste) party candidate, Gérard Shivardi, a mason. There's also José Bové, the famous anti-genetically modified farmer, running for his anti-globalization party, Dominique Voynet from the the Green Party, and of course Marie-George Buffet from the now dowdy parti communiste.

So this is Arlette's swan song. She's retiring. But she'll still be around, for sure. Look for her and you'll still see her, out on the streets marching, whenever there's a march for worker's rights and for undocumented workers. She was employed as a typist at a bank all those years she was running for president, way back into the 1970s. Who will fill her shoes?

Olivier Besancenot lives in Paris in the 18th arrondissement and he is a letter carrier over the Paris line in Neuilly, the affluent township where the slimy Sarkozy (who was mayor there) is from.

[burrowowl]

9. A few more would have voted for Arlette

but didn't want to have happen what happened last time.
I do so lve Arletter!

[Eugene]

3. Turnout unusually high as France votes

Source: Associated Press

Turnout unusually high as France votes

By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer
31 minutes ago

PARIS - French voters turned out in force Sunday to choose
a new president in one of the country's most suspense-filled
elections in recent times, after a frenzied campaign by a
dozen contenders left voters undecided but eager for a say.

Early turnout reached levels not seen since 1981, soaring in
the first four hours of voting to one-third of France's 44.5
million-strong electorate, the Interior Ministry said.

Only four candidates, including the conservative front-runner
Nicolas Sarkozy and the Socialist Segolene Royal, had a real
chance of being among the top two to reach a final round of
voting May 6. Francois Bayrou, a lawmaker with farm roots,
is a wild card.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070422/ap_on_re_eu/france_election

[ccpup]

4. here in NYC

all of my French friends are casting their votes for Bayrou because they're HORRIFIED at the thought of Sarkozy winning and know that France may not be ready -- if it's Sego against Sarko in the second round -- to elect a woman President.

So, they may like Sego but they're voting for Bayrou. I think that may end up being the big story, Bayrou taking the 2nd slot and going head-to-head against Sarkozy.

[suffragette]

5. "Nearly 74 percent of the 44.5 million eligible voters had cast ballots by 5 p.m"

"nearly 74 percent"

Now that's turnout.

"Turnout, which could prove critical to the outcome - along with voters making last-minute decisions - soared to 73.87 percent three hours before all polls close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). That was the highest turnout for that hour since at least 1981, five elections ago. The closest such turnout was in 1988 when 69 percent of the electorate had voted by 5 p.m."

"Initial projections from polling firms were expected at 8 p.m. (1800GMT), based on a partial count of votes from hundreds of selected polling stations around the country. Voting stations begin closing at 6 p.m. (1600GMT) with those in large cities locked down by 8 p.m."


So, we'll be hearing the projections soon.

I went to France24.com to see their reporting and they also were pointing out that turnout was much higher than in the election that led to Le Pen being in the runoff, which is a good sign.

[suffragette]

6. update: france24 is now reporting 85 % turnout

which will be record turnout.

edit: and they think it may go even higher, perhaps 87% before voting closes.

[T_i_B]

10. The whole turnout thing does impress me

We have Scottish Parliament/Welsh Assembly/local government elections in the UK in a couple of weeks and I would expect turnout to be pretty poor for that.

Whatever else may be wrong with French politics, at least people make the effort to vote there.

[suffragette]

11. I'm impressed, too.

Hope your election goes well.

[Flagg]

7. According to IPSOS which has been pretty acurate in the past

Here are the sesults



1.Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) 30,3 %
2.Ségolène Royal (PS) 25,8 %
3.Français Bayrou (UDF) 17,7 %
4.Jean-Marie Le Pen (FN) 10,7 %



Sarkozy and Royal qualifies for the second round.

[Coes]

8. Sarkozy 29% and Royal 26% ( unofficial )

Belgian media say Sarkozy and Royal in French run-off

RTBF said the right-wing former interior minister had just over 29 percent of the vote while the first woman with a serious chance of becoming president had a little more than 26 percent.

RTL put them on 30.8 percent and 25.8 percent respectively.

Both stations put centrist Francois Bayrou in third place with about 18 percent, and extreme-right veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen in fourth with about 11 percent.

[Bassic]

12. I'm anctious to see what is going to happen in the second turn.

Sarkozy fucking scares me.