et alors?

My friend Chantal is from France and she is voting today in Round One of the French presidential elections. She and I had a good laugh yesterday looking through the brochures of all the candidates (there are about 10) ranging from the extreme right (Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front) to the ultra left, a candidate whose name I don't even remember whose brochure was basically a black and white photocopy (maybe the party of the clochards?) We had a good laugh because clearly the right wing candidates, the capitalist lovers of a free market economy, had beautifully designed marketing packages, with tasteful and impressive photographs and graphics, while the socialists' packages came off as something from the 1960's with black and white photographs and a overwhelming use of the color red (with the exception, bien sur, of the Green Party candidate). We had laid out all the candidates in a row from extreme right to extreme left, to survey her choices, when Chantal got a phone call from a friend of hers in Paris, urging her not to vote for the Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal, but for the Centrist candidate Francois Bayrou, whose politics could be likened to those of the Clintons. Apparently, and not surprisingly with the way the politics of this world seem to be heading, Nicolas Sarkozy, the Guiliani-esque conservative candidate is ahead in the polls and expected to come in first in Round One, with Royal predicted to come in second. It seems to me that the French are more supportive of candidates with passion, right or wrong, than candidates who reach across the aisle.

We also discussed the issue of infidelity, which seems to be a huge political deal breaker in our country. Apparently Segolene Royal has two children with her publicist/lover. Sarkozy's wife has been galavanting around New York during his campaign with her lover, only to come back to Sarko at a very staged rendez-vous at a high-profile Parisian restaurant. He took her back with open arms, apologizing for not spending enough time with her during his campaign. So what about Bayrou? Chantal and I laughed when we saw the picture on his brochure, a pleasant close-up with his hands clasped to one side of his face, his wedding ring prominently glistening in the light. Obviously not an unintentional placement.

Chantal stood in the queue this morning at 8 am, when the polls at the French Consulate opened, to cast her ballot. And tomorrow we shall see how the French people decide.