I’ve already asked this question in a couple of posts over the past few months. Now we have the beginnings of an answer with the first head-to-head Sarkozy-Hollande poll since the PS primary. It’s too bad it had to come out on the day Sarko is celebrating the arrival of his newborn, as the numbers are not good for him, to put it mildly. In the 2nd round, Hollande gets 64%, Sarko 36. You read that right. Check it out here. Okay, it’s just one poll and the 1st round is still six months away. But still. These are devastating numbers for Sarkozy. It’s going to be tough for him to claw his way even into the 40s, let alone to 50.01%. It’s a very steep hill to climb. Without a game changer or accident it’s just not going to happen. The Elysée and UMP may not be panicking yet but they will be soon if the numbers don’t start to move up. If Sarko is still below or around 40% at the end the year, the pressure on him from the UMP to pull out of the race will be intense. Alain Juppé is getting ready, no doubt about it.
That is amazing. I would never have guessed that Sarkozy’s numbers would be so bad.
Perhaps they are already panicking. There is a very interesting campaign launched by the Transport Minister, M. Mariani, called Touche pas a mon vote where he and others are attempting to rally conservative voters against part of the Socialist Party’s 2012 platform which calls for voting right for foreigners in local elections. The issue is worthy of debate. The timing itself is suspicious. Of all the issues facing France right now, is this really a priority? Personally I would prefer to hear a little more about jobs and the Dexia bail-out. Their site is here: http://www.nondroitdevotedesetrangers.fr/. This morning they had about 9000 signatures.
Mariani’s initiative can only be of interest to that part of Marine Le Pen’s electorate that could possibly be won over to Sarkozy. The UMP must really be worried about a ’21 avril à l’envers’, of Marine LP overtaking Sarko in the 1st round. If the UMP continues to play up non-issues like le droit de vote des étrangers, it will just show how desperate they are.
Giving non-citizens the right to vote? This is insane on the face of it, and will backfire big time if the PS attempts to push it through.
The right to vote is a privilege that comes with citizenship.
Thank God we are Americans, and have our rights protected by our Constitution, not by the whims and electoral pandering of the party in power.
CCinna, I somehow thought you were better informed about French politics. The issue here has to do with giving longtime permanent non-EU residents the right to vote in local elections (for municipal councils; no one is talking about national elections or anything else). Such is already the case in several European states, notably Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, and, under certain conditions, Spain and the UK. And residents of EU countries already have the right in France for local elections (as in other EU member states). As an issue in French politics it goes back to the mid-1980s, when President Mitterrand first came out for it (and which did not prevent him from winning reelection for a second term and in a near landslide). The left has been largely for it since – though hasn’t acted on the issue when in power – and the right against, though only hard right voters (FN, MPF, Droite populaire) get bent out of shape over it. I happen to be against it myself, as France has a liberal nationality law – as does the US – so just about any legal resident of the country who has lived here for over five years can become a French citizen if s/he wants to (there are conditions of course, as there are in the US). I think voting and nationality should be linked. But this is not a significant political issue and Hollande will not make it one. Voters these days have other concerns.
@Arun
I agree with you about citizenship being a requirement for voting in any national or local election. PTA, no problem.
I am all too familiar with Mitterrand and his sub-rosa attempts to import foreigners to vote fot him, and bring them
Into an economy that could not sustain their drain on the system, bringing with them multiple wives with many, many children and draining the coffers filled by the hard working French people. If truth be told, the blame for the entire immigration/ non-assimilation problem can be lain at the feet of le Florentin (with feet of clay)