Sarkozy suffers setback in French local election

[Robbien]

Source: Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party faced big losses after the first round of French local elections on Sunday in a vote that could dent his political standing less than a year after he took office.

An initial projection by the CSA pollsters showed the opposition Socialists and other left wing parties heading for 47.5 percent of the overall vote, with the UMP and other right wing parties heading for just 40 percent.

"These are naturally not good results," said Patrick Devedjian, secretary general of the UMP party.

The Socialists looked certain to maintain control of France's top two cities, Paris and Lyon, which they seized from the right in the last municipal vote in 2001. The left also hoped to win over France's third city, Marseille, as well as rightist strongholds like Strasbourg and Toulouse.

Final results will come after the second round of the election on May 16.

Read more: http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAL0946238520080309

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Sarkozy has insisted that he will stick with his reform program whatever the result of the election. Reform meaning Globalization/privatization.

No wonder his party is losing. I expect it has little to do with his private life romps (as the media is pushing) and more to do with his lowering the quality of life for the general population.

[Joanne98]

1. YAY!

[Thickasabrick]

10. Awesome pic!!!! LOL

[Warren Stupidity]

2. What were the French people thinking when they elected

this rightwing troll?

[harmonicon]

3. they were thinking he really couldn't be so bad

He won by a rather slim majority. The problem was that the opposition had no real platform - they were running the campaign like an American politician, trying to make the race about personality and political ideals. The French people wanted real answers and real policy. The few plans the socialist candidate had outlined, she had no way to fund in the budget - it was pure fantasy. I think the socialists could have won, if they'd run a different candidate/platform. Also worth considering is that Sarkozy's party had been in power for years. I don't think people really thought he would make so many changes. They thought they were voting for the status quo.

[Robbien]

4. Yup, Sarkozy didn't really win last time around, the Socialists lost it.

Good to see the Socialists getting their act together, or at least they seem to be doing so in the local elections.

[LeftishBrit]

8. Good points.

In fact, 5 of France's 6 postwar presidents have been Conservatives. There are strong within-party differences in French politics; and some of these were well to the right of others. Sarkozy turned out to be further to the right than some people expected.

[movonne]

11. the same thing the America people did when thay selected bush...

[Warren Stupidity]

14. Well perhaps but I didn't think the French were quite that

stupid. In the past when they voted right, the rightists they voted for were not openly proclaiming their intentions to scrap the basic elements of the French social democratic institutions, as there was a general consensus about those institutions and their essential nature.

[Sonexdd]

13. Presidential election fraud ?

The French election, from the start, has been plagued by election fraud – bogus polling data, false exit polls, and electronic voting machine and machine counting irregularities were hallmarks of the first presidential election round. ES&S's I-Votronic machines were used in both elections across France. Only Sarkozy's party was supportive of the machines, with all the other political parties calling for a moratorium on their use. Turnout in the French election was over 75 percent. With large turnouts historically favouring the left in France, the exit polling and actual polling were at odds with the turnout – an indication of massive election fraud.

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=6517

[MasonJar]

5. At one point it looked like the lady was quite popular.

[fascisthunter]

6. Down with the right wing (Fascists)...

good

[New Dawn]

7. Excellent.

Sarkozy is Bush puppet, on par with Tony Blair.

[lovuian]

9. His political career is coming to an end soon

French have caught on that he's Bush's puppet

[pattmarty]

12. "Another one bites the dust". I always hated those song......

..... lyrics, but they sure apply here.

[xchrom]

15. ow -- that's gonna leave a mark. nt