The French go to the polls tomorrow to cast their votes for members of the European Parliament. From what I gather, the significance of this event in France is that it signals the relative strength of the various political parties, most particularly the ongoing battle between the UMP, the party of President Sarkozy, and its principal rival to the left, the Socialist party. Sarkozy's approval ratings are bad but the Socialist party has been in disarray so who knows? Jean Marie Le Pen, the ultra right leader of the National Front, is on the ballot and a new face on the scene is far leftist Olivier Besancenot. A real wild card will be voter turnout, currently projected in the 35 percent range, pretty dismal compared to other national elections.
All over town, these sign boards have been erected with each party getting a chance to make its pitch to the populace. Here's a look at some of the pitches:
Socialist party on the left (how appropriate) and more centrist (but still to the left of Sarkozy) Democratic Movement (MoDem) on the right.
Leftists
UMP candidates, post graffiti. "J'adore Dior" is a dig at Rachida Dati who is known as much for her sharp attire as for being the first woman of North African descent to reach the ministerial level. She looks better without the mustache.
Some people just won't let it rest. Amazingly, there is a party running on a platform about the importance of all European nations adopting Esperanto.
2 comments:
I'll say this much for Le Pen, he is certainly persistent, although I'd give him as much chance as a snowball in summer.
Did you notice theb similarity between the UMP moto and the world famous "Yes we can" ?
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