Twenty minute metro ride from Sarkozy’s rally to Hollande’s (see above post).
Coming out of the Château de Vincennes metro station. It’s 3:15 PM and people are still arriving.
Blaring Algerian raï music (you wouldn’t hear that at a UMP event, not a chance).
Join the campaign – Participate in the door-to-door – Leave us your contact into. This is totally new for the PS. In the past only card carrying party members did campaign work. Now all sympathizers are welcome. But what is really new is the door-to-door campaigning, which is Hollande’s strategy. This comes from Arnaud Montebourg and his study of American electoral campaigns, and notably Obama’s in 2008 (which I wrote about last fall here). Montebourg proposed the American-inspired strategy to the party and it’s been adopted. I have heard anecdotally that it is working very well (which I would have never thought). I’ll come back to this later, when I have more information.
Freedom of movement and residence for all.
Arriving at the Esplanade. The rally has been underway for an hour and a half.
Television.
On stage: Aurélie Filippetti and Najat Belkacem, two rising stars in the PS. They’re great!
In America they’d be the Democratic party base.
Najat Belkacem. You’ll be hearing about her in the coming years.
Aurélie Filippetti. You’ll be hearing about her too.
Next speaker: Bertrand Delanoë, the very popular mayor of Paris, since 2001. First Socialist mayor of the city since the Paris Commune (a very long time ago) and first openly gay politician in France (if anyone doesn’t know by now). He was touted as a possible presidential candidate but I never took it seriously. Too Parisian. And too gay (I don’t think les Français moyens are ready for that yet, not in the Elysée…).
An American-style campaign button! Haven’t seen that before in this country.
Before you know it people will be wearing these in public, and not just at rallies…
La France s’américanise, hélas…
Hot dogs?! Where’s the merguez?!
Ouf ! Merguez.
And more merguez…
Does anyone seriously disagree?
Hollande pandering to his hardcore base…
I understand the sentiment and political reflex but this sort of thing does have perverse consequences economically speaking…
A supporter from Ireland.
Button worn by the Irish supporter. I exclaimed: “the French dream!” His response: “Le rêve européen”…
Mega tricolore
Hollande arrives on stage, toward 3:50 PM.
Amusing episode for several minutes: each time Hollande mentioned François Mitterrand it was rendered on the text on the big screen as Frédéric Mitterrand, the traitorous nephew and Sarkozy’s current minister of culture, provoking laughter mixed with boos. When it was finally changed, there was a loud cheer. M. Hollande certainly had not a clue.
Hollande gave a good speech. He’s solid and always well spoken. Never flubs, trips up, or gaffes. He has long been underestimated. He won’t be anymore.
What a nice backdrop for a political rally…
A rare homemade placard, expressing a sentiment absolutely everyone present (and further afield) shares.
The Socialist faithful. I don’t agree with them on everything but I like them. This is the France I know and relate to, malgré tout.
The flag of the Kanaks (New Caledonia Melanesians, who want independence from France…).
There were several EU flags. Didn’t notice any at the Sarkozy rally.
A multi-generational crowd.
Looking into the Bois de Vincennes.
Hollande concludes his speech. Big applause. He spoke for 50 minutes.
They’re singing La Marseillaise. It’s over.
Getting the bus home.
WOW, awesome reporting Arun.
Just went ahead and advertised your posts on Art’s blog. I hope tons of people get to read what you wrote and see the pictures. Very useful.
I watched both meetings thanks to BFM. Sarkozy started a bit early because BFM had promised they’d broadcast the first who’d get on stage “live”, and the other one afterwards. However this ended working for Hollande, because he finished his speech much later than Sarkozy did and when the cameras rolled side by side, the Concorde was deserted whereas Hollande was being greeted with joyful noise. The journalists went ’round and ’round without saying anything bad about the Concorde meeting, but they couldn’t find anything positive; then they kept speaking about the VIncennes meeting, which had such interesting images vs the deserted square in Concorde. Their words betrayed their feelings, too: “youth and proximity were with Hollande ” “he’s like a rockstar” (when Hollande jumped atop a fence and started signing anything people had in their hand, flags, books, posters…) And Hollande may be many good things, but “a rockstar” is not one of them.
MYOS, thanks. Seeing the aerial view of the Vincennes rally on the news, it looked to be larger than the one at the Concorde. Je ne veux pas aller trop vite en besogne mais je crois que c’est plié pour Hollande, qu’il soit rockstar ou non…
Thanks, MYOS, for the tip, and Arun for the great reportage. I’ve posted a link. I’m doing a lot of traveling over the next few weeks, but I’m confident that Arun will keep readers up to date on the final stretch of the campaign. I like your comment about the PS being “my France.” Mine too, even when wrong or disappointing. It’s family.
Art, you got it. It’s family…
Arun, Art,
Exactly! Same for me. This goes beyond political program: I disagree on quite a lot with these people, I find them at times unsufferably moralistic, irritating, corporatist, plain wrong, but they are family. Not only the political party, but an undergrowth of values and references, knee-jerk reflexes, a certain decency.
Good reporting again, thank you Arun. The media over here keep asking me what will be the result, and it is quite difficult to say anything than Hollande will win this one. Everybody here worries about the after-party, though, and what is Hollande’s “European renegotiation” going to look like…
Louis, re Hollande’s Europe renegotiation, even Sarkozy has changed his tune – as he is wont – and is now talking about changing the BCE’s statute and whatnot. The Finns can fret all they like but the German-imposed austerity simply cannot continue, as Krugman reminds us today http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/opinion/krugman-europes-economic-suicide.html?_r=1&hp
Arun, do you agree with this assessment by Schneidermann?
For “”le 16e au bord de la dépression nerveuse”, no problem,I can see why one would get the idea – the people at Concorde whom BFM interviewed made that clear – and why Le Figaro wouldn’t report that. Old people, with one totally hysterical about how Hollande was going to ruin the country. Althouhg overall it looked disciplined rather than hysterical.
For “bored” people at Vincennes, it was impossible to tell based on the images. Since you were there and you’re not a party member forced to toe the party line, what did it feel like?
http://www.arretsurimages.net/vite.php?id=13621
MYOS, Daniel Schneidermann exaggerates IMO. His assessment is highly subjective. I thought there was a good ambiance at the rally and that Hollande’s speech was good and well received. He is, of course, not the most charismatic politician in the history of the Republic and his speeches are not stem-winders or barn burners. But that’s okay. Socialist voters weren’t looking for that when they voted him in last fall. They just want someone who’s competent, solid, and can lead the left back to power.
That’s what I thought, but I wasn’t there and wondered if my impressions had been manipulated – on TV, it looked like people were happy, that there was a “frozen but optimistic” vibe. Whereas at Concorde, there was a “worried/doomsday’s coming but we’ll endure” vibe. Once again, just from TVs, which aren’t quite objective
Someone inspiring, imaginative, and quirky is wonderful, but I’ll settle for someone who’s solid, competent, and can win even if he looks unassuming. Especially if it’s to win over someone who’s flashy, cliquey, brash, at times irresponsible, and overall very disapointing.
@Arun: I completely agree with you on austerity at all costs, and I am sure many more agree (including in Finland). My point was a point of political balance inside the EU. Does France (under Sarkozy or Hollande) have a. the necessary weight inside the EU to build a coalition and propose another policy? At the moment, I think the answer is no, and “the Finns” are part of the issue. If there is to be an EU at all, then decisions will be taken with them and all the others. And at the moment, they side with Germany, like most of Northern Europe. And b. What kind of alternative policy, taking into account the political and economic nature of the EU’s problems, would a new French president bring forth? I think this has not come clear during the campaign.
So I don’t disagree on the diagnosis, and I wholeheartedly hope for new negotiations, but I also think it will be tough to pull it out nicely. And things will get even tougher would the next French leadership decide to try bullying “the Germans” or “the Finns” into submission. Contempt for foreign nations of the kind displayed time and time again by, for example, the Front de gauche’s candidate, will get us nowhere. The minor partner inside the EU has become the major one, and the fact that it is mistaken does not change this power equilibrium.