2012 French Presidential Elections

[Red Commissar]

Disappointing to see that Le Pen got a result as high as she did. And of course, the whole spectacle of elections. In the end though, not much will change for the working people as far as austerity and the ongoing economic crises goes. Sarkozy gets re-elected, shit continues, Hollande gets elected, it continues under a different face.

Obligatory news link, excuse the mainstream terminology and interpretation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17806398


France election: Francois Hollande 'wins first round'

French Socialist Francois Hollande has won most votes in the first round of the country's presidential election, early results show.

They suggest he got more than 28% of votes against about 26% for centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

The two men will face each other in a second round on 6 May.

Mr Sarkozy said it had been a "crisis vote" and called for three presidential debates before the run-off. The poll has been dominated by economic worries.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen came third with about 19% of the vote, ahead of seven other candidates.

The estimates - based on votes counted in polling stations that closed early at 18:00 (16:00 GMT) - were announced by French media when all voting ended at 20:00.

Afterwards, Mr Hollande said he was "best placed to become the next president of the republic" and that Mr Sarkozy had been punished by voters.

It is the first time a French president running for re-election has failed to win the first round since the start of the Fifth Republic in 1958.

Mr Sarkozy - who has been in power since 2007 - said he understood "the anguish felt by the French" in a "fast-moving world".

He called for three debates during the two weeks to the second round - centring on the economy, social issues, and international relations.

He said he felt confident ahead of the run-off and called on French people to rally behind him.
Far-right shock

Turnout on Sunday was high, with more than 80%.

Ms Le Pen, who leads the anti-immigration National Front, achieved more than the breakthrough score polled in 2002 by her father and predecessor, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who got through to the second round with more than 16%.

After the vote, Ms Le Pen told jubilant supporters that the FN's result was "only the start" and that the party was now "the only opposition" to the left.

Leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who was supported by the Communist Party, came fourth with almost 12%.

Centrist Francois Bayrou, who was hoping to repeat his high 2007 score of 18%, garnered only about 9%.

Wages, pensions, taxation, and unemployment have been topping the list of voters' concerns.

President Sarkozy has promised to reduce France's large budget deficit and to tax people who leave the country for tax reasons.

Mr Hollande has strongly criticised Mr Sarkozy's economic record.

The Socialist candidate has promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than 1m euros a year.

He also wants to raise the minimum wage, hire 60,000 more teachers and lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.

If elected, Mr Hollande would be France's first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand, who completed two seven-year terms between 1981 and 1995.

If Mr Sarkozy loses he will become the first president not to win a second term since Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1981.François Hollande (PS) 28.8 %
Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) 26.1 %
Marine Le Pen (FN) 18.5 %
Jean-Luc Mélenchon (FdG) 11.7%
François Bayrou (MoDem) 8.8 %
Eva Joly (Green) 2.3%
Nicolas Dupont-aignan (DLR) 1.8%
Philippe Poutou (NPA) 1.2 %
Nathalie Arthaud (LO) 0.6 %
Jacques Cheminade (SeP, LaRouche) 0.2 %

Reading Le Monde indicates that Melenchon's Left Front has called for supporters to vote for Hollande in the second round; "Lesser of two evils" mindset there.

[Crux]

I see the LaRocheite got 0.2%...:P
It's sad to see the fascists surge though, I was hoping to see the FG beat out the FN at least.

[Goblin]

Poor Eva Joly:( lol

[KurtFF8]

It's too bad that Mélenchon was quite ahead of Le Pen just a few weeks ago and just recently fell behind. The small surge of Mélenchon was interesting though

[marl]

How the hell did Le Pen beat Mélenchon? Toulouse?

[Crux]

I think much of FG's support must have gone back to the PS.

[Sentinel]

French politics being bit of a gap in my knowledge, I don't recognise all of those parties. Of the ones I do recognise I know embarassingly little.

So, which ones of those parties, and of their respective voters, are likely to back Hollande and which ones Sarkozy? Could anyone give us a brief summary of the parties and the overall situation?

Predictions of the outcome of the second round would also be exciting to hear. :)

[Crux]

Pretty sure Hollande will win. Would be suprised to see Sarkozy make it through. Big yawn.

[DaringMehring]

(Google translation)
Lutte Ouvriere's port-parole (spokesperson) and candidate:
Press Nathalie Arthaud evening of the first round

Sarkozy and Holland are the two candidates running for the second round with a lead such as Holland for his election seems likely.

Most disturbing in the results is the percentage of votes for Le Pen. It is the expression of strengthening of the extreme right in public opinion. This rise of the far right is a threat to workers.

Unfortunately, the election of Holland as President of the Republic and the possibility of a socialist government does nothing to protect workers against this threat. For, more will be great dissatisfaction with the austerity measures that Holland will have to take the pressure of the financial community, the more it will strengthen the extreme right.

Only by strengthening the forces that lie on the ground of political interests of the working class can be a counterweight to the strengthening of the extreme right and prevent it monopolize the opposition.

I thank the approximately two hundred thousand voters who voted for my candidacy. They scored, by this vote, as well as their rejection of Sarkozy their distrust of Holland. They showed they are not fooled by the false choice of this presidential election, where the real power, that of money, that of big business and bankers, is not subject to popular vote.

Those who voted for my candidacy voted for the control program that I have defended throughout my campaign. They called for the prohibition of dismissal, the distribution of work between all without loss of salary and wage increases, retirement and pension and automatic indexation of the price increases, are in head Claims future workers' struggles. They expressed their conviction that we must not let the capitalist class management without control of companies and banks, because the use it makes of its dictatorial power goes against the interests of society. They also helped to show that the current Communist minority to it, is always present.

I am convinced that the control program that I defended was heard far beyond.

I do not own voices, in the first round, have made on my behalf. In the second round, my constituents will vote their conscience.

No conscious worker can obviously vote for Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the rich man who, during the five years of his power, was the faithful servant of the capitalist groups and bankers.

Some of my constituents, faced with the choice between a peep open enemy of workers and a false friend, abstain or vote white. Further, to get rid of Sarkozy, will vote for Francois Hollande.

Whatever their personal choice, I call workers, victims of the crisis to end up together in the inevitable struggles against big business, bankers and government.

We can not rely on anyone to defend us, nor the president nor the government. But we have the strength to defend ourselves, because it is us who drive our economy. If we have a clear awareness of our material and political interests and if we are determined to impose them, our strength is irresistible!

Nathalie Arthaud

[Red Commissar]

French politics being bit of a gap in my knowledge, I don't recognise all of those parties. Of the ones I do recognise I know embarassingly little.

So, which ones of those parties, and of their respective voters, are likely to back Hollande and which ones Sarkozy? Could anyone give us a brief summary of the parties and the overall situation?

Predictions of the outcome of the second round would also be exciting to hear. :)

I'm not too familiar with them either. This helped me understand it a little, though it doesn't put the policies of some of the smaller groups out.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16730494


Profiles: 2012 French presidential election candidates

France's 2012 presidential election is one of the most closely fought in decades.

Nicolas Sarkozy may become the first president not to be re-elected for a second term since Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1981.

Here the BBC News website looks at the 10 men and women vying for the Elysee Palace in the two-round election, to be held on 22 April and 6 May.
Nicolas Sarkozy

Elected president in 2007 with a convincing lead of six percentage points over Socialist rival Segolene Royal, the conservative leader faces a different, some would say stronger, challenger in Francois Hollande.

Five years in office have not been kind to the man who succeeded Jacques Chirac with the promise of a dynamic new start under his UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) party.

Radical social policies such as raising the legal retirement age in 2010 from 60 to 62 antagonised the left while nominal allies resented his leadership style.

Mr Chirac famously chided him in his memoirs for being "irritable, rash, overconfident and allowing for no doubt, least of all regarding himself".

But the biggest obstacle he may face at the election is the state of the French economy, which took a blow in January when Standard & Poor's downgraded its credit rating from AAA to AA+.

His pitch ahead of the elections had been to tell the voters that, though they might not like him much, he had what it took to battle through the economic crisis.

After the downgrade, this argument began to look a little thin.



Vital stats: Born 28 January 1955, raised in Paris, married to former super model Carla Bruni
Sound bite: "I won't be the candidate of a small elite against the people"
Bad day: Being recorded calling the Israeli prime minister a liar in a conversation with Barack Obama
Social media: Reportedly dictates tweets to his team which are signed "NS" on his Twitter account @NicolasSarkozy

Policies

Reduce annual legal immigration to France "from 180,000 to 100,000"
Raise up to 3bn euros by tightening profit tax loopholes for big companies
Remove need for presidential candidates to be endorsed by elected officials

Francois Hollande

An experienced party political organiser, the Socialist Party's great hope has nonetheless never held national government office.

He is regarded by many as an affable moderate whose quiet manner contrasts sharply with the intensity and glamour of the current president.

However, his modest image conceals - his supporters would argue - a steely determination to lead his country.

To take the party ticket in 2012, he had to prevail in a gruelling primary election which put both his political and private life to the test.

Jacques Chirac has described him as a "true statesman" capable of crossing party lines.

Whatever his merits, some will always regard him as a poor substitute for charismatic former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, brought down by sex scandals last year.

One former Socialist cabinet minister, Claude Allegre, shocked many by endorsing Mr Sarkozy for president and rejecting Mr Hollande for being indecisive and "not up to the job" of a national leader.

Doubts about his political skills resurfaced after he announced in an interview plans for a 75% tax on France's richest citizens, apparently without consulting his own team.

He insists that growth elements must be added to the EU fiscal compact before it can be ratified, saying he is against "saving for saving's sake".



Vital stats: Born 12 August 1954 in the north-western city of Rouen, former partner of Segolene Royal and father of her children
Sound bite: "I want to put the magic back in the French dream"
Bad day: Getting flour-bombed during a speech in Paris
Social media: Has biggest team of all the candidates - five people to just two for Mr Sarkozy - with "worker bee" Ariane Vincent, 28, serving as the official voice of @fhollande

Policies


Set an annual quota for economic immigrants in consultation with employers
Make those earning 1m euros or above pay 75% in income tax
Amend the EU fiscal compact to stimulate economic growth

Marine Le Pen

The daughter of National Front (FN) founder Jean-Marie Le Pen has taken the main party of the far right in a rather different direction.

Nonetheless, she has sharply divided public opinion with her attacks on illegal immigration, which she has likened to a tsunami, and a familiar theme is the "Islamisation" of France.

She has also sought to emphasise the FN's opposition to the euro and advocacy of protectionism.

Her efforts to shed the party's xenophobic image have been such that its campaign group features a civilian police worker with Moroccan origins and a leading light in French Jewry.

She even objects to the term "far right", which she says marginalises a group that regularly attracts about 15% of voters in national elections.

Her struggle to gather the endorsements from elected officials required by law in order to stand in the election was widely reported.




Vital stats: Born 5 August 1968 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where Nicolas Sarkozy was raised as a child; the youngest of Jean-Marie Le Pen's three daughters
Sound bite: "French citizenship should be either inherited or merited"
Bad day: Being denied the right to keep her electoral backers anonymous
Social media: Said to tweet herself but only "very occasionally"; the @MLP_officiel account is run by a 24-year-old, David Rachline

Policies


Reduce annual immigration to 5% of its current level
Create a new ministry of the interior, immigration and secularism
Leave the euro and restore the EU's national currencies

Jean-Luc Melenchon

A militant socialist for decades, he was well placed to take up the gauntlet of the radical left and is standing on behalf of a Communist-backed coalition called Left Front.

After a career in the Socialist Party, where he rose to become minister of vocational education under Lionel Jospin, he broke with it in 2008 to form the Left Party, which is inspired by leftist movements in Latin America and France's own long history of radicalism.

He advocates a "citizens' revolution" which entails the decentralisation of power and nationalisation of industry in a new "Sixth Republic".

Once a defender of European federalism, the Left Party's sole MEP nowadays believes the EU has been ruined by "economic liberalism".

He has a reputation for brusqueness, famously describing Dominique Strauss-Kahn as an "imbecile" in December 2010.

Never afraid to show his dislike of journalists - he took exception to a question from the BBC's Hugh Schofield - he prefers to blog profusely about his views.

Detractors have dubbed him the "Jean-Marie Le Pen of the Left" or simply "Mechant [English: Nasty] Melenchon".

Nonetheless, his success in the opinion polls has been the surprise of the campaign and, on the last full weekend before the vote, it is claimed that he drew more people to a giant rally in Marseille than either Mr Hollande or Mr Sarkozy in Paris.



Vital stats: Born into a pied-noir family in Morocco 19 August 1951, grew up in Normandy and then the Jura; a soixante-huitard who took part in the 1968 student revolt as a schoolboy, he has been a proud free mason since 1983
Sound bite: "I've got a strong temperament. What do you expect? You wouldn't want a damp squib to face up to this kind of challenge"
Bad day: Brow-beating a cub reporter who had tried to defend an investigation into brothels by Le Parisien newspaper. "Shut your little mouth and talk politics," Mr Melenchon told him to camera
Social media: Leaves his @melenchon2012 Twitter account to one person, 26-year-old Clement Senechal

Policies


"Immigration is not a problem" (manifesto)
Strict respect for secularism
Keep the euro but review EU's priorities and tighten control over the ECB

Francois Bayrou

The great centrist of French politics, the MoDem (Democratic Movement) leader shocked the French political establishment in 2007 by taking nearly a fifth of the vote in the first round of that presidential election.

He had come from nowhere in the opinion polls though in truth a grand political tradition lay behind him - that of Mr Giscard D'Estaing, whose now-defunct UDF coalition he once led.

Supporters regard this proud son of Gascony as a gallant champion of the French regions and farmers, but also as one of France's most pro-European candidates.

Critics accuse him of opportunism and arrogance, and point to his apparent inability to form lasting political alliances.

While Mr Bayrou is not expected to get past the first round in 2012, he may this time find himself in the role of a genuine kingmaker come the second.

Unlike in 2007, he has promised to endorse one of the second-round candidates in 2012, should he not succeed himself.



Vital stats: Born 25 May 1951 near Lourdes, a practising Roman Catholic and family man who famously asks where the local church is on campaign stops around France
Sound bite: "We are the civilisation which refuses to blame the weak for the poor choices of the strong"
Bad day: Being savaged in 2007 by Simone Veil as a "schemer", "opportunist", "traitor" and "crank"
Social media: Reportedly writes his own tweets on the @bayrou account but also has team of two to help

Policies


Do more to recognize the achievements of immigrants
Redress public finances by making cuts of 50bn euros and finding 50bn in new revenue
Make primary schools devote 50% of their teaching time to the French language

Eva Joly

The candidate for Europe Ecology - The Greens made headlines after it emerged she had received a bullet and threatening letters from extreme nationalists.

But Ms Joly (born 5 December 1943) is reportedly no stranger to death threats because of her past work as an investigative judge.

Born in Norway, she came to France at the age of 20 as an au pair, marrying and pursuing a career in law.

She maintained ties with Scandinavia, where she has campaigned against corruption.

In her autobiography, No Cheating, she writes: "I am a Viking going back 20 generations but part of me, of my dreams, struck a chord with France immediately."

The Greens have an electoral pact with the Socialists under which they can count on winning more seats in parliament in return for supporting Francois Hollande in the expected second round of the presidential election.

Other hopefuls

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan is a former UMP member who has formed his own party, Arise the Republic
Nathalie Arthaud represents Workers' Struggle
Philippe Poutou represents the New Anti-Capitalist Party
Jacques Cheminade represents Solidarity and Progress

Nearly-rans

Dominique de Villepin, a former prime minister under President Chirac and long-time rival of Mr Sarkozy, failed to gather the 500 endorsements required to stand. Likewise Corinne Lepage, standing on an environmentalist platform.

Social media insights taken from report by French news website 01net.

Le Monde has a much more in-depth one showing all the platforms of the candidates (http://www.lemonde.fr/election-presidentielle-2012/visuel/2012/03/20/comparez-les-programmes-des-candidats-a-la-presidentielle-2012_1672519_1471069.html). Click on the candidates and you'll get the programs they released. You can compare them side by side too. You can run the French through a translator if you can't read it, google doesn't do a bad job putting it into English for me.

Liberation also has an interactive chart and map (http://www.liberation.fr/politiques/2012/04/22/presidentielle-2012-tous-les-resultats-ville-par-ville_813180) that lets you look at the results of the previous election as well as that in 2002.

As who will support who, I read via google translate on Le Monde that Melenchon and the FdG is calling for their supporters to back Hollande, which the Green Party has also done. DM's already posted a statement from LO that says they do not want their people doing that, as they said it does nothing to protect workers and might further embolden far-right. Don't know about NPA.

As for some of the other groups, I'm not sure. The DLR is some Gaullists who split from UMP and they'll obviously throw their small weight behind the UMP. I feel that more of the people who voted for Bayou and Le Pen will go for Sarkozy over Hollande though, if they feel motivated to go to vote in the second round. It appears that the last time Bayou ran in 2007, even though he did not officially endorse anyone in the second round, a good chunk of those who voted for him went for Sarkozy; this time around though they might be more divided. Some people are speculating some of the Le Pen voters might be split and some'd go to Hollande; reading one source that says 60% probably would vote for Sarkozy, 18% for Hollande, and the rest would not vote. They haven't made official statements themselves beyond the FN gloating about their results. I must note though that FN can be an odd one- despite their performance in 2002 beating out the PS candidate, in the second round they got steamrolled by Chirac and ended up receiving less votes in the second round than in the first.

Edit: Found this article which speculates on who'll do what in the second round
(http://www.lemonde.fr/election-presidentielle-2012/article/2012/04/22/le-pen-bayrou-quels-reports-de-voix-au-second-tour_1689530_1471069.html)
http://www.lemonde.fr/election-presidentielle-2012/article/2012/04/22/le-pen-bayrou-quels-reports-de-voix-au-second-tour_1689530_1471069.html

Excuse me for google translate, tried my best to make it readable.

How would the support of Marine Le Pen, Jean-Luc Melenchon, Bayrou affect Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy? The question is one of the major points of the second round. But giving accurate estimates remain difficult. Because of limited samples of voters voting for a particular candidate, sometimes we get fluctuations. The reports are also difficult to describe because they depend on instructions - or non-instructions - given by the staffs, but also the behavior of the two finalists.

A survey Logica Business Consulting France Television-Radio-France-The World-The Point, conducted at 20 am, Sunday, April 22, on a sample of 1,090 people representative of the French population, which places Francois Hollande leads with 54% of voice, can get an idea of ​​the answer.

-Voters would vote for Le Pen to 60% for Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Hollande for 18% and 22% would abstain, according to this study. These proportions are similar to the report of votes in 2007, according to a poll conducted May 6, 2007 by Ipsos.
-But this swap of Le Pen voters to Sarkozy has jumped in recent days, when compared to Ipsos from April 18-19: 45% of FN voters said they wanted first round of voting Sarkozy in the second, 43% planning to abstain.
-Francois Bayrou voters would be divided into thirds, one third for Francois Hollande (33%), third for Nicolas Sarkozy (32%) and a third who would refrain (35%). In 2007, these reports were more important for Nicolas Sarkozy with 40%, according to Ipsos.
-86% of voters in Jean-Luc Melenchon vote for Francois Hollande and 11% would abstain, 1% would vote for Nicolas Sarkozy. Jean-Luc Melenchon clearly asked his constituents to "mobilize to defeat Nicolas Sarkozy."

With these reports, Francois Hollande is given victory in the second round, according to the Ipsos April 22, with 54% against 46% for Nicolas Sarkozy.

This survey, conducted 20 hours later, is to be taken with caution, since neither Le Pen or Bayrou gave voting instructions.

Bayrou said about it: "I will speak to both selected for the second round, I'll tell them our concerns and I will be attentive to their responses."

Another poll released on the evening of the first round, this time by CSA, gives somewhat different figures:

-The voters of Jean-Luc Melenchon would refer to 91% of Mr. Holland, to 3% on Sarkozy and 6% would abstain.
-Those of François Bayrou vote to 40% for Francois Hollande, 25% for Nicolas Sarkozy and 35% would abstain.
-Those of Le Pen would choose Francois Hollande to 27%, Nicolas Sarkozy at 52% and 21% would abstain.

With this second model, Francois Hollande wins the election with a large gap (56 to 58%).

Other opinion polls published just days before the first round illuminate the question of postponements of votes. Thus, according to TNS Sofres, deferrals would be:

-The voters of Jean-Luc Melenchon to 82% would vote for Francis Holland in the second round at 6% for Nicolas Sarkozy, 12% abstaining.
-Francois Bayrou voters would vote 32% to Holland in the second round, 33% choosing Nicolas Sarkozy and 35% abstaining.
-Marine Le Pen of those 27% would vote to Holland, 40% to 33% vote Sarkozy and to abstain.

With these figures, Nicolas Sarkozy would again be largely defeated in the 2nd round (46 to 44%).

These surveys are to be taken with caution: there are still two weeks of campaigning to Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande to mobilize around their supporters and move these figures. They show, however, that Nicolas Sarkozy does not start favorably for the second round.

[Crux]

I see 3% of FG's voters are trolls. How else to explain a shift to sarko?

[Tabarnack]

I would like to point out that much of the voting in this election was recorded by a company formerly known as Diebold.

[Yuppie Grinder]

I remember reading in The Economist a couple of years ago that the National Front had a solid chance of winning the presidency. Glad to see that didn't happen.

[Left Leanings]

It's too bad that Mélenchon was quite ahead of Le Pen just a few weeks ago and just recently fell behind. The small surge of Mélenchon was interesting though

This is true. I think at one point, he was on something like 17.5%, so on polling day itself, he fell well behind.

Elsewhere on these boards, someone posted that Melenchon had debated with Le Pen. And she had looked genuinely uncomfortable.

That Marine Le Pen has done so well, on such a high electoral turnout is discomforting.

[KurtFF8]

That Marine Le Pen has done so well, on such a high electoral turnout is discomforting.

It is indeed discomforting, as it should be. But we should of course remember how close it was between the Far Left and Far Right in this election which is an important thing to point out. It's sad that that's where France is (having to even seek comfort in that "it was close") but it's a far cry from the idea that "the Left is dead in France and is simply being replaced by the Far Right!" Fortunately, Mélencho's campaign shows that there are political forces actively organizing to stop the ascendance of the Right. How successful that will be is yet to be seen of course.

[Delenda Carthago]

I wish the worst for both Hollande and Mélenchon.

[Tabarnack]

I wish the worst for both Hollande and Mélenchon.


That statement coming from someone from greece ? much of Mélenchon campaign was focused on Greece and the injustice of imposing austerity on that country when it was the banking institutions that was responsible for the crisis.

[Tabarnack]

??? can anybody confirm this...

Paris, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) Socialist Party (PS)candidate in the French presidential Francois Hollande won the opening round of general elections held on Sunday, confirmed official results by the Ministry of Interior.

After being counted the 98.1 percent of votes, PS candidate won the 28.56 percent against the 27.09 percent to President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party.

Both candidates will face again in second round elections, scheduled for May 6, where the French president will be elected to rule for the coming five years.

Left Front party candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon won the 18.17 percent of votes, placing him in third place.

While the difference is not remarkable, of just one and a half point, the psychological impact of this initial victory is important for voters and also to the negotiations started with other political forces for the final round.

[Red Commissar]

I see 3% of FG's voters are trolls. How else to explain a shift to sarko?

I wasn't really sure with that too. Again depends on the techniques the different opinion pollers used in forming their predictions. If there is a case of someone who voted for Melenchon only to go Sarkozy later, the potential reasons could be:

-They might think a right-wing president would give more room for the "left" to agitate.
-They may have voted for Melenchon for his populism and went for Sarko on his immigration stances.
-They may have been right-wing voters who thought Melenchon could split Hollande's votes in the first round and potentially cause a repeat of 2002.

Again though, opinion polling isn't much to go by. As far as anyone is concerned they may've quickly pulled numbers out of their ass to make things look "fair".

I suspect Melenchon's numbers may've been higher, though like you said there may've been voters who switched back to PS as a matter of "tactical voting".


??? can anybody confirm this...

Paris, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) Socialist Party (PS)candidate in the French presidential Francois Hollande won the opening round of general elections held on Sunday, confirmed official results by the Ministry of Interior.

After being counted the 98.1 percent of votes, PS candidate won the 28.56 percent against the 27.09 percent to President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party.

Both candidates will face again in second round elections, scheduled for May 6, where the French president will be elected to rule for the coming five years.

Left Front party candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon won the 18.17 percent of votes, placing him in third place.

While the difference is not remarkable, of just one and a half point, the psychological impact of this initial victory is important for voters and also to the negotiations started with other political forces for the final round.

Not sure where they got that number from. The French interior ministry reports the results as so:

http://elections.interieur.gouv.fr/PR2012/FE.html


Mme Eva JOLY 828,451 votes 2.31%
Mme Marine LE PEN 6,421,773 votes 17.90%
M. Nicolas SARKOZY 9,753,844 votes 27.18%
M. Jean-Luc MÉLENCHON 3,985,298 votes 11.11%
M. Philippe POUTOU, 411,178 votes votes 1.15%
Mme Nathalie ARTHAUD 202,562 votes 0.56%
M. Jacques CHEMINADE 89, 572 votes 0.25%
M. François BAYROU 3,275,349 votes 9.13%
M. Nicolas DUPONT-AIGNAN 644,086 votes 1.79%
M. François HOLLANDE 10,273,582 votes 28.63%

[Tabarnack]

Mme Eva JOLY 828,451 votes 2.31%
Mme Marine LE PEN 6,421,773 votes 17.90%
M. Nicolas SARKOZY 9,753,844 votes 27.18%
M. Jean-Luc MÉLENCHON 3,985,298 votes 11.11%
M. Philippe POUTOU, 411,178 votes votes 1.15%
Mme Nathalie ARTHAUD 202,562 votes 0.56%
M. Jacques CHEMINADE 89, 572 votes 0.25%
M. François BAYROU 3,275,349 votes 9.13%
M. Nicolas DUPONT-AIGNAN 644,086 votes 1.79%
M. François HOLLANDE 10,273,582 votes 28.63%

Thanks for the official results...

[Delenda Carthago]

That statement coming from someone from greece ? much of Mélenchon campaign was focused on Greece and the injustice of imposing austerity on that country when it was the banking institutions that was responsible for the crisis.
This comes from someone that knows better than expecting that Hollande wills or can do ANYTHING for him. The simple fact that he declares that "the banking institutions that was responsible for the crisis", shows how dangerous he is. No Capital's politician can help the working class of any country. Specialy in this crisis and specialy not someone that supports the wolfpack of EU. Believing the opposite is the worst fuckin trap ever.

[KurtFF8]

??? can anybody confirm this...

Paris, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) Socialist Party (PS)candidate in the French presidential Francois Hollande won the opening round of general elections held on Sunday, confirmed official results by the Ministry of Interior.

After being counted the 98.1 percent of votes, PS candidate won the 28.56 percent against the 27.09 percent to President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party.

Both candidates will face again in second round elections, scheduled for May 6, where the French president will be elected to rule for the coming five years.

Left Front party candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon won the 18.17 percent of votes, placing him in third place.

While the difference is not remarkable, of just one and a half point, the psychological impact of this initial victory is important for voters and also to the negotiations started with other political forces for the final round.

Where did you get that from?

[Tabarnack]

Where did you get that from?
http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=499926&Itemid=1

at this moment they haven't corrected the article, no doubt they will correct it eventually.

[Tabarnack]

This comes from someone that knows better than expecting that Hollande wills or can do ANYTHING for him. The simple fact that he declares that "the banking institutions that was responsible for the crisis", shows how dangerous he is. No Capital's politician can help the working class of any country. Specialy in this crisis and specialy not someone that supports the wolfpack of EU. Believing the opposite is the worst fuckin trap ever.

Mélenchon has often compared Hollande to Papandreou and warned the french against voting for someone who will probably submit to international banking interests, but the french chose otherwise. So the the selection is between Sarkozy and Hollande, not much of a choice I agree but this is about electoral politics not about hypothetical revolutionary changes.

[Delenda Carthago]

Mélenchon has often compared Hollande to Papandreou and warned the french against voting for someone who will probably submit to international banking interests, but the french chose otherwise. So the the selection is between Sarkozy and Hollande, not much of a choice I agree but this is about electoral politics not about hypothetical revolutionary changes.
The working class chose Le Pen more than anyone else. That is the bigest issue from today. Why the so-called "Left", from what it means anyway today since everyone seems to label himself a leftist, did not puted the issue of leaving the EU today? The most important is to organise the tools of the working class to produce politic for itself. Fuck an Hollande(which btw is in the "Socialist International" which Papandreou is the GS) and fuck a Melechon. Their interest is to manage capitalism, not overthrow it.

[Crux]

The working class chose Le Pen more than anyone else. That is the bigest issue from today. Why the so-called "Left", from what it means anyway today since everyone seems to label himself a leftist, did not puted the issue of leaving the EU today? The most important is to organise the tools of the working class to produce politic for itself. Fuck an Hollande(which btw is in the "Socialist International" which Papandreou is the GS) and fuck a Melechon. Their interest is to manage capitalism, not overthrow it.

Yeah I don't get why everyone in this thread has been so fawning over Hollande. You sure showed all of those people.

[Vyacheslav Brolotov]

I heard that Marine Le Pen is just as crazy as her father. I never knew crazy was hereditary.

[Red Commissar]

I know there's three - four threads over this... but excuse me for bumping this since this was the original one :tt2:

I want to touch on the points made in the last few posts about the high turnout and the result LePig/FN got from it. *Typically*, in the United States at least, conservative and right-wing groups tend to benefit from low turnout more than high turnout. Now I'm not saying that this is an endorsement of voting or what ever, but rather that the results of this election went against this concept some political scientists and observers have.

It's a concerning result, even with the possibility that the recent shootings may have influenced a turn here. But across the continent the rise of these pseudo-populist groups running all sorts of anti-immigrant, islamophobic, etc. arguments seem to be getting too much clout. Hopefully in the coming years this can be fought back against.

I don't have much developments on what's going on here beyond the two mainstream candidates going to essentially try and win over LePig voters, and that means both Sarko and Hollande will be making appeals to "patriotism" and finding ways to show this paranoid block of the electorate that indeed all the problems of the Eurozone can be placed on the shoulder of immigrants... I think that enough should probably tell people there's little different between the candidates at this point, save for their desire to gain office.

Earlier we had a statement from the LO candidate Nathalie Arthaud. So here's one from Melenchon, who made an address yesterday at Stalingrad Plaza in Paris to his supporters. It may be recalled that his group, FdG, has called on supporters to vote for Hollande, though he doesn't make reference to directly to it in his speech, he says that they must "...join together...to beat Sarkozy".

http://www.placeaupeuple2012.fr/nous-avons-porte-lessentiel-du-combat-contre-le-fn/

And the translation (http://www.humaniteinenglish.com/spip.php?article2022):


You are so many here! My friends, the first estimates we have been given, insofar as they are reliable, permit us to draw some lessons. The first lesson forced upon us is that our people are fully determined to turn the page of those "Sarkozy years".

The total vote, on the right, all components of the right wing included, is less than it was in 2007. But the far right is at a high level. So we were correct to concentrate our campaign on the analysis and radical criticism of the proposals of the far right. We had good reason to do that, and if we had not done so, perhaps the results this evening would have been even more alarming. They are alarming!

So it is the moment for me to say that we felt ourselves alone at certain moments in this battle. One candidate imitated me, the other ignored me. And we carried on our backs the essential of that combat. Shame on those who preferred to fire shots at us, rather than to help us! Remember forever the names of those who refused this combat, who preferred to relay, against us, the lying and anti-communist arguments of the far right.

At this hour, it is the score of the Front de gauche that holds in its hand the key to the final results. Thus it is all of you, and not me, for sure, who will decide the outcome, because, in truth, we have been the only new political force, the one such force that has managed to break through and was born in this election. It is we, henceforth, who have the keys to the final result.

I call on you, in clear conscience, fully to assume that responsibility, not bothering yourselves with all the commentaries, impressions, those petty games of divination. I invite no one to abandon themselves to these diversions. And I say again very clearly, at this hour, in clear conscience, there is nothing to negotiate! Our engagement needs no authorization, no coaxing, to unfurl itself in all its force.

I call on you to mobilize around the rendezvous that are offered to you. On the first of May, May Day, behind the unions and the working class in combat, our camp, our political family, the world of work and of labor’s demands. I call on you to join together on the sixth of May, to beat Sarkozy.

I ask you not to drag your feet. I ask you to campaign as if it were to help me, myself, to win the presidential election.

Ask for nothing in exchange, just an act of your own conscience. Why?

The battle that we wage is not a personal battle, not even a battle in a single country, it’s a question of turning the table, in order to reverse the tendency that, in Europe, keeps all the peoples under the same yoke of the Sarkozy-Merkel axis. We must break the yoke in France.

This is what we will do. And because we are going to do it, then, it will be crystal clear, indisputably, that it is we who make the decisions, henceforth, on the Left, and in the country.

Let’s raise ourselves up to the level of the power that was given to us by our assembly. Let us continue, calmly to march along our path. Because, I say it to you that, ineluctably, we are going the way of History, and History is coming our way. Ineluctably, the solutions we have defended, in essence, that of sharing the wealth, and of changing the regime, will be forced on the agenda by the shocks we can see coming.

No matter who will be elected president of the republic, the powers of finance are already determined to attack the French people. And so, no matter who is in the saddle, will have no other choice but to surrender, or to resist. And when the word is "resist!", there is no other force but ours.

(Cries of "Resistance!, Resistance!" from the assembly.)

Keep your hearts warm with the satisfaction of a job well done. Never forget the images of the force of your gathering. Never again allow ourselves to be scattered and dispersed!

In one stride, we have advanced into the pack at the front of the race [1]. With the next, we will achieve the definitive conquest of power, through the ballot boxes, and democracy.

Long live the Republic, long live the working class, long live France!

[1] Into the peleton de tête, as in bicycle racing."

[China studen]

I love MÉLENCHON！

[A Marxist Historian]

(Google translation)
Lutte Ouvriere's port-parole (spokesperson) and candidate:
Press Nathalie Arthaud evening of the first round

Sarkozy and Holland are the two candidates running for the second round with a lead such as Holland for his election seems likely.

Most disturbing in the results is the percentage of votes for Le Pen. It is the expression of strengthening of the extreme right in public opinion. This rise of the far right is a threat to workers.

Unfortunately, the election of Holland as President of the Republic and the possibility of a socialist government does nothing to protect workers against this threat. For, more will be great dissatisfaction with the austerity measures that Holland will have to take the pressure of the financial community, the more it will strengthen the extreme right.

Only by strengthening the forces that lie on the ground of political interests of the working class can be a counterweight to the strengthening of the extreme right and prevent it monopolize the opposition.

I thank the approximately two hundred thousand voters who voted for my candidacy. They scored, by this vote, as well as their rejection of Sarkozy their distrust of Holland. They showed they are not fooled by the false choice of this presidential election, where the real power, that of money, that of big business and bankers, is not subject to popular vote.

Those who voted for my candidacy voted for the control program that I have defended throughout my campaign. They called for the prohibition of dismissal, the distribution of work between all without loss of salary and wage increases, retirement and pension and automatic indexation of the price increases, are in head Claims future workers' struggles. They expressed their conviction that we must not let the capitalist class management without control of companies and banks, because the use it makes of its dictatorial power goes against the interests of society. They also helped to show that the current Communist minority to it, is always present.

I am convinced that the control program that I defended was heard far beyond.

I do not own voices, in the first round, have made on my behalf. In the second round, my constituents will vote their conscience.

No conscious worker can obviously vote for Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the rich man who, during the five years of his power, was the faithful servant of the capitalist groups and bankers.

Some of my constituents, faced with the choice between a peep open enemy of workers and a false friend, abstain or vote white. Further, to get rid of Sarkozy, will vote for Francois Hollande.

Whatever their personal choice, I call workers, victims of the crisis to end up together in the inevitable struggles against big business, bankers and government.

We can not rely on anyone to defend us, nor the president nor the government. But we have the strength to defend ourselves, because it is us who drive our economy. If we have a clear awareness of our material and political interests and if we are determined to impose them, our strength is irresistible!

Nathalie Arthaud

Ah yes, "vote your conscience." So much for the radical rhetoric of LO. When push comes to shove, the LO doesn't have the courage to tell its dwindling number of voters that to vote for the SP is just as much of a mistake as voting for Sarkozy, as both candidates will run bourgeois governments oppressing the working class, making the workers pay for the collapse of capitalism.

A decade ago, the LO got some pretty remarkably high vote totals. Now, it's down to half that of the disintegrating NPA, less than one percent.

Why? Because voters no longer see the LO as a radical alternative, but just the extreme left wing of the SP. And they are right, as this statement demonstrates. So its voting base either votes for the SP, or a bit further left to the FdeG, or just stays home in disgust.

Right now, there is only one party that gets the votes of those voters disgusted by the entire French political establishment. And that's ... Le Pen's fascist party.

-M.H.-

[DaringMehring]

Ah yes, "vote your conscience." So much for the radical rhetoric of LO. When push comes to shove, the LO doesn't have the courage to tell its dwindling number of voters that to vote for the SP is just as much of a mistake as voting for Sarkozy, as both candidates will run bourgeois governments oppressing the working class, making the workers pay for the collapse of capitalism.

A decade ago, the LO got some pretty remarkably high vote totals. Now, it's down to half that of the disintegrating NPA, less than one percent.

Why? Because voters no longer see the LO as a radical alternative, but just the extreme left wing of the SP. And they are right, as this statement demonstrates. So its voting base either votes for the SP, or a bit further left to the FdeG, or just stays home in disgust.

Right now, there is only one party that gets the votes of those voters disgusted by the entire French political establishment. And that's ... Le Pen's fascist party.

-M.H.-

Wrong.

From the original statement: "We can not rely on anyone to defend us, nor the president nor the government. But we have the strength to defend ourselves, because it is us who drive our economy. If we have a clear awareness of our material and political interests and if we are determined to impose them, our strength is irresistible!"

That directly cancels your attack of "don't tell the voters that Sarkozy and Hollande are both bourgeois oppressors."

LO lost out in votes compared to past totals because of Melenchon's ascendance. But LO never put much emphasis on votes. They believe that liberation will not come from the ballot box.

The Melenchon's come and go (now Melenchon is allying with the SP as everyone expected).
LO's strong organization continues.

[A Marxist Historian]

Wrong.

From the original statement: "We can not rely on anyone to defend us, nor the president nor the government. But we have the strength to defend ourselves, because it is us who drive our economy. If we have a clear awareness of our material and political interests and if we are determined to impose them, our strength is irresistible!"

That directly cancels your attack of "don't tell the voters that Sarkozy and Hollande are both bourgeois oppressors."

LO lost out in votes compared to past totals because of Melenchon's ascendance. But LO never put much emphasis on votes. They believe that liberation will not come from the ballot box.

The Melenchon's come and go (now Melenchon is allying with the SP as everyone expected).
LO's strong organization continues.

And what does this strong organization end up telling its dwindling band of voters to do in the second round? After a cloud of left-sounding rhetoric, it's, and I quote:

"vote your conscience"

And, for that matter, just what program did the LO run on? As described in this statement, it was, well, higher wages, better pensions, etc. etc. A purely trade union reformist program.

She doesn't even mentiom little things like the oppression of immigrants in France, French imperialism abroad, or even what the EU is doing to European countries other than France and Germany, the top dogs. Greece only being the most extreme example.

Lenin said that revolutionaries should be peoples tribunes, not trade union secretaries. Which is what Ms. Arthaud aspires to being.

I hear that you've got quite a few LO union officials these days...

Never once in the statement does she even hint that the answer to the crisis of capitalism is revolution. Instead, all she has to say is that "we have the strength to defend ourselves." Pure reformism, with her biggest concern being the fear that the fascists will "monopolize the opposition."

-M.H.-

[RedAnarchist]

Projections from exit polls in France - Hollande 52%, Sarkozy 48%.

[Teacher]

AlJazeera English has some good live coverage right now if anyone wants to watch something about the elections

http://www.youtube.com/user/aljazeeraenglish?ob=4&feature=results_main

[Anderson]

Is this a vote in favor of Socialism?:)

[ed miliband]

um, no.

not at all.

[names_r_hard]

Is this a vote in favor of Socialism?:)

It's a victory for Social Democracy.