Yes, yes, the French have gone election mad. At least the media insist that’s the case anyway, with their more or less constant bleeting by every available medium. It’s possible that most people are as sick of the constant poles and bullshit as I am. The French system is quite egalitarian in a sense, as all the Presidential candidates who have succeeded in obtaining the necessary 500 signatures of local Mayors (oh yes, those wise folk, the town Mayors – organisers of raffles and choosers of political destiny) are in theory obliged to have the same amount of TV and radio coverage. This means that as well as the watching the standard Right, Left and Middle drivel, we are also furnished with such delights as the Hunting and Fishing candidate. As you would expect, this fuckwit’s campaign is fairly hunting and fishing orientated, but he does throw in the odd well considered political strategy, like coming out of Europe and going back to the French Franc. Oh, the glory days before Europe and the French Franc. What’s he on? The French don’t pay any attention to European law anyway.
Then there is the alarming popularity of the National Front candidate, Jean-Marie “I admire Hitler” Le Pen. You may recall he reached the second round in 2002. I didn’t realise it at the time, but this means he was the second most popular candidate in the first round (oddly only two go through). You don’t need to be a political animal to realise that the popularity of the far right is bad news in any country, and it seems possible that it could happen again this year. Opinion polls give him about 12% at the moment, but there are a lot of people who are (quite rightly) ashamed of their intention to vote for a Nazi in disguise and so the data can be trusted even less than normal. Add to this the fact that many French who vote Le Pen justify it by calling it a ‘protest vote’ and it is possible the little sack of fascist cathetar juice may get though again. I mean, come on, a protest vote is a vote for the Monster Raving Loonies or taking the trouble to vote then voiding your ballot paper by drawing a big cock on it or something, isn’t it? And if you think that the system is so far wrong that you need to make a ‘protest vote’, why the extreme right? Surely that just makes you an obvious closet bigot doesn’t it?
The last of my semi-interesting political newsflash for you – Le Pen has secured 8% of the Muslim vote, it is estimated, because of his commitment to ‘traditional values’. The interview I read referred to a family who were ‘disturbed to turn on the TV in the evening and find two men kissing’. The solution? Stop watching gay porn you twats, and don’t vote Le Pen as he may well banish you from the land. Still, he’s an anti-semite, so I suppose that may appeal to certain Muslim folk. Loosely veiled prejudices account for more than you would like to think in this campaign it seems. Still, as long as our right to hunt and fish is protected, everything will be ok. Of that, I am sure.
Thanks for this dude. Politics fascinates me, but the coverage here rarely extends outside of considering the UK, the US and Iraq. Interesting to get the perspective from our frenchy cousins.
Ha, I just finish writing the above comment and then the tv kicks in with ‘an update on the French election’ including detailed analysis of the candidates etc. It seems I may as well eat my hat.
Bonjour, Monsieur. This “election fever” as you call it, is well loved by those uncooked meat devourers I think due to the fact that when you are in France there seems to be nothing but socio-political chat show (I will speak eauver zee top ov you) nonsense on the fucking telly. Just because you wear glasses and a big fucking collar does not give you the right chastise other garlic loving surrender monkeys for there random stab at choosing a political stance. There are a lot of glasses wearing big collared folk en France and they can’t get enough of it, I think I know why. Is it perhaps because they love talking shit about political or social pointlessness to make it look like they are actually doing something? I tell you what I would love to see is socio-political commentators go on fucking strike like the rest of French workers. Love to see them setting up barricades of burning politicians across main transport routes. Oh and I think you meant “polls” not “poles” you fucking racist bastard, you are as bad as those frenchies voting Le Pen.