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[Magni]

HOLLANDE WINS

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RESULTS: HOLLANDE vs AUBRY

3rd - Montebourg
4th - Royal
5th - Valls
6th - Baylet

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For those that don't know, the French presidential elections are coming up in April 2012. The incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP - right wing) is expected to campaign for a second term, but we do not know yet who his main competitor will be.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the favorite on the PS (left-wing, main opposition party) front, but we all know how that turned out.. So now we are left with five prospective candidates from the PS, and a sixth from the PRG (other left-wing party), squaring off in the first round of the Socialist primary, happening right now!

The primary is open to anyone willing to sign allegiance to the Socialist values and to donate a symbolic euro.

The favorites: Hollande, Aubry, and Royal. The outsiders: Valls, Baylet, and Montebourg.

Copy and paste from Wiki:

Martine Aubry (61)
Mayor of Lille
Former minister and Deputy Prime Minister in Lionel Jospin's cabinet
Party leader

In 2010 the principal contenders, Martine Aubry, Laurent Fabius and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, agreed between themselves the so-called "Marrakech pact" (pacte de Marrakech) whereby each undertook eventually to give way to the candidate best placed in the opinion polls, which at that time was Strauss-Kahn. The final candidate would be announced a few days before the deadline for nominations, towards the end of June 2011.
On 3 May 2011, Le Nouvel Observateur reported that Aubry had told her closest supporters she would not be putting her name forward and would support Strauss-Kahn, the clear favorite in the opinions polls. Aubry denied the story, visibly upset, saying that France expected something different. Several days later, Stauss-Kahn's arrest on charges of sexual assault and attempted rape revived interest in her candidacy. On 22 May Aubry said she would accept her responsibilities when the time came, without nevertheless putting her name forward at the same time.
Aubry officially declared her candidacy on 28 June, the day nominations opened.

Jean-Michel Baylet (64)
President of the General Council of Tarn-et-Garonne
Former minister and Senator
President of Radical Party of the Left

Jean-Michel Baylet officially declared his candidacy on 6 July 2011.

François Hollande (57)
President of the General Council of Corrèze
Member of Parliament
Former party leader

François Hollande officially declared his candidacy on 31 March 2011 following his re-election as President of the General Council of Corrèze.
During the pre-primary phase of the campaign, Hollande appeared to be the main challenger to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the opinion polls' favorite. He said he wanted to be an "ordinary president" (président normal) and made several trips to the provinces. Hollande's ratings in the opinions polls were continuing to grow when Stauss-Kahn was arrested on charges of sexual assault and attempted rape. Once considered the favorite, Hollande faced a challenge from Martine Aubry's rise in the opinion polls and over criticisms of his record as a former leader of the party and his lack of ministerial experience.

Arnaud Montebourg (48)
President of the General Council of Saône-et-Loire
Member of Parliament
Party secretary responsible for renewal (chargé de la rénovation)

Arnaud Montebourg, who as party secretary responsible for renewal set up the 2011 open primary, officially declared his candidacy on 20 November 2010.
Montebourg described his candidacy as a "program for transformation" and advocated the establishment of a Sixth Republic. Announcing his candidacy, he said: "Faced with the wasteland that our political system has become, we must have the courage to build a new democracy that will help us achieve the change we seek. That is what I propose we should build together." Questioned on whether he would continue if Dominique Strauss-Kahn entered the race, he said he was not putting himself up against other candidates but running as a bearer of fresh ideas, adding enigmatically that if the end goal was victory, then he was a winning candidate.

Ségolène Royal (58)
President of the Regional Council of Poitou-Charentes
Former minister and Member of Parliament
Party candidate for the 2007 French presidential election

On 29 November 2010, Ségolène Royal confided to La Nouvelle République that she would be a candidate. She said: "I've thought about it a long time and taken lots of advice. The time has come now to say clearly and simply that my answer is 'yes'. I know from experience that it takes more than just a few months to get together and prepare. Who can fail to see that the Right are already campaigning? At any rate they're not trying to hide it." Her statement came as a surprise to most observers because Martine Aubry had suggested just a few days before that she had reached an agreement with Royal, extending Aubry's already existing pact with Dominique Strauss-Kahn, along the lines proposed by Royal herself some six months earlier. However, Royal denied there had ever been a pact between them.
On 26 June 2011, two days before the opening date for nominations, Royal officially announced her candidacy during a meeting at Arçais in Poitou-Charentes.
She was selected in 2006 as party candidate for the 2007 French presidential election. She won the primary by a large margin, gaining 61% of the votes cast, running against Strauss-Kahn and Laurent Fabius. She later lost the presidential election to conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy on 6 May 2007, obtaining 47% of the vote in the runoff.

Manuel Valls (49)
Mayor of Évry
Member of Parliament

Manuel Valls was amongst the first to announce his candidacy. On 14 June 2009, he said: "If it turns out that there isn't a better socialist out there than me to preside over the renewal of the party - and so far I don't see one - then I'll do it myself ... Obviously, in that case I'll be a candidate to represent the socialists and the Left in the presidential election." He confirmed his remarks on 9 April 2010 saying: "In expressing my desire to run for the 2012 presidential election, I hope to create conditions for a new deal for our nation." On 2 January 2011 he said he believed that if the Left returned to power in 2012, it should do away with the 35 hour week to allow the French to work harder.
Valls supported Dominique Strauss-Kahn until Strauss Kahn's arrest on chargesof sexual assault and attempted rape, following which he formally announced his candidacy on 7 June 2011.

Article from The Economist from late August:

Among the dinosaurs
France’s Socialists have yet to come to terms with the modern world
Aug 27th 2011 | from the print edition


BLISS is it in a financial crisis to be a socialist. Or so it ought to be. In speculators and ratings agencies, Europe’s left has a ready cast of villains and rogues. In simmering social discontent, it has an energising force. A recent issue of Paris-Match inadvertently captured the mood: page after full-colour page on Britain’s rioting underclass were followed by gory visual detail of the bling yachts crowding into the bay near Saint-Tropez. Time, surely, to put social inclusion before defiant decadence.

The oddity is that almost everywhere the European left is in decline. Among the large countries, Socialist parties rule only in Spain, where they look likely to lose November’s election. The only big place where the left has a good chance of returning to power is France, at next spring’s presidential election. Yet France’s Socialist Party also stands out as Europe’s most unreconstructed. Hence the contorted spectacle of a party preparing for power at a time when the markets are challenging its every orthodoxy.

For a hint of French Socialist thinking, consider recent comments from some of the candidates who will contest a primary vote in October. Ségolène Royal, who lost the 2007 presidential election to Nicolas Sarkozy, argued this week that stock options and speculation on sovereign debt should be banned. Denouncing “anarchic globalisation”, she called for human values to be imposed on financial ones, as a means of “carrying on the torch of a great country, France, which gave the world revolutionary principles about the emancipation of the people.”

Ms Royal, believe it or not, is considered a moderate. To her left, Arnaud Montebourg, a younger, outwardly sensible sort, argues for “deglobalisation”. He wants to forbid banks from “speculating with clients’ deposits”, and to abolish ratings agencies. Financial markets want “to turn us into their poodle”, he lamented at a weekend fete in a bucolic village, celebrating the joys of la France profonde with copious bottles of burgundy. No one seems to have told him that there is a simple way to avoid the wrath of bond markets: balance your books and don’t borrow.

Next to such patent nonsense, promises by the two front-running candidates, Martine Aubry and François Hollande, seem merely frozen in time, circa 1981. They want to return to retirement at the age of 60 (it has just been raised to 62), and to invent 300,000 public-sector youth jobs. Each supports Mr Sarkozy’s deficit-reduction targets, but refuses to approve his plan to write a deficit rule into the constitution. More taxes, not less spending, is their underlying creed.

The party is not out of tune with public opinion. The French are almost uniquely hostile to the capitalist system that has made them one of the world’s richest people. Fully 57% say France should single-handedly erect higher customs barriers. The same share judge that freer trade with India and China, whose consumers snap up French silk scarves and finely stitched leather handbags, has been “bad” for France. The right has held the presidency since 1995 partly by pandering to such sentiments.

The causes of French left-wingery are various, but a potent one is the lingering hold of Marxist thinking. Post-war politics on the left was for decades dominated by the Communist Party, which regularly scooped up a quarter of the votes. In the 1950s many intellectuals, including Jean-Paul Sartre, clung to pro-Soviet idealism even after the evils of Stalinism emerged. Others toyed with Trotskyism well into the 1970s. François Mitterrand, who mentored Ms Royal, Ms Aubry and Mr Hollande, was swept to the presidency in 1981 by offering a socialist Utopia as a third way between “the capitalist society which enslaves people” and the “communist society which stifles them”.

Given such a tradition, it is possible that today’s Socialist leaders believe what they say. At any rate, there is a debate to be had about the right amount of market regulation and fiscal consolidation. Yet the problem with their promises is this: for every bit of conviction, there is a shameful share of pure posturing.

In truth, France’s Socialists have often had to be pragmatic in power. As prime minister between 1997 and 2002 Lionel Jospin, himself an ex-Trotskyist, privatised more assets than any of his right-wing predecessors. Even Mitterrand was forced to abandon nationalisation and embrace austerity. Should the Socialists win in 2012, it would take them “about a month, or maybe a week” to confess that they “have no choice but to keep the deficit under control”, says one well-placed party figure. Retirement at 60? Nice idea but, quel dommage, we can’t afford it.

Please allow us a moment of madness

All this requires heroic faith among centrists considering voting Socialist that reason will triumph over fiscal folly. Moreover, experience suggests that the Socialists, if elected, may feel compelled to introduce some signature policy as a sop to their disappointed base. Under Mitterrand, it was the wealth tax. Under Mr Jospin, it was Ms Aubry’s 35-hour working week. With France’s recovery fragile, the prospect of more such lunacy is chilling.

A further danger touches Europe, where France traditionally generates many ideas for integration. At a time when leaders are inching towards more economic co-ordination, with oversight of budgets and even tax harmonisation, a Socialist victory would put the shaping of such a project into uncertain hands.

With Dominique Strauss-Kahn out of the running there is just one French Socialist primary candidate who understands all this. Manuel Valls, a deputy and mayor with a refreshingly modern view of the left, says Socialists are not being straight by promising retirement at 60. He dares utter such truths as “we need to tell the French that the [budgetary] effort…will be as great as that achieved after Liberation”. Alas, the 49-year-old Mr Valls is considered too young to be a serious contender. The day the paleo-Socialists of the Mitterrand generation allow such figures to emerge would be the dawn of a real revolution.

And another from The Guardian:

Socialist primaries: France's novel exercise in democracy proves a hit
Sarkozy's team sought to rubbish it, but the Socialists' US-style selection process has already prompted valuable debate

Agnès Poirier
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 9 October 2011 12.43 BST

It's called primaries fever. It's taking place all over France and should last another week. Although, in theory, only affecting the people of the left, even the right has showed early symptoms. Today, left-leaning French citizens are invited to choose their candidate to run for next year's presidential elections. A second round will take place next Sunday, if necessary.

Little did we know, back in spring, that this novel exercise in democracy, at least in France, would enthuse us all beyond partisan lines. After an orchestrated campaign from Nicolas Sarkozy's lieutenants last June, denigrating the Socialist primaries – calling it a massive operation of n'importe quoi – and denouncing the listing of citizens according to their political leaning, France's prime minister, François Fillon, had to eat his words. He declared this week that the right would follow in the steps of the Socialists, leaving the people to choose a candidate for the presidential elections in 2017.

The three televised debates organised over the last few weeks have shown the best face of democratic debate. The exercise was perilous. The six contenders – Martine Aubry, François Hollande, Ségolène Royal, Manuel Valls, Arnaud Montebourg and Jean-Michel Baylet – had to offer different political viewpoints while maintaining the left's unity. Though none proved sensationally charismatic, they showed the many facets of what it means today to be on the left: on the environment, capitalism, globalisation, nuclear power, the euro, bank regulation, Europe, immigration – no subject was kept outside the debating ring.

For many viewers – 5 million watched the final debate on Wednesday evening – it was a reassuring sight. If the candidate of the left wins the May 2012 presidential elections, here were the pillars of the future government.

On Sunday, although I'm not a member of the Socialist party, simply a French citizen, I'll be gladly paying €1 to cast my vote – and I'll have no qualms about signing a declaration saying I adhere to the principles of the republic: secularism, justice, solidarity, liberté, egalité, fraternité!

I will vote for Hollande, the best-placed socialist candidate to beat Sarkozy; the only figure of the left able to appeal to the centre, and even to the last remaining Gaullists in Sarkozy's party. Many on the right have long felt shame and embarrassment at being represented by such a divisive personality [Sarkozy]. They may feel tempted to vote for a Socialist for the first time in their lives. An MP for the last 23 years, president of the Corrèze region, dear to Jacques Chirac, the 57-year-old Hollande will strike the traditional right as a safe pair of hands.

And who else could they vote for but Hollande? Aubry will always seem a hardcore Socialist, her image for ever tinted by the 35-hour-week – "evil" legislation for anyone on the right. Royal, the messianic pasionaria, had her chance and blew it. Montebourg may be an alluring orator and the embodiment of the perfect son-in-law, but his anti-globalisation programme is anchored in the far left. Valls lacks the bonhomie to make his right-of-the-left's ideas palatable to socialists. As for Baylet, the 64-year-old outsider, his radical views on legalising cannabis and euthanasia cast him away from the mainstream.

Hollande has the political clout, intellectual charisma, middle-of-the-road economic views, easy wit and gourmandise that befit a French president. Critics sneer at his "normality". But many will welcome some form of normality, especially after five years spent with histrionic Sarkozy at the helm of the state. Normal doesn't mean soft, it means calm, thoughtful and composed – all positive qualities at a time of global financial crisis.

If a million people vote today, it will be a success for democracy. A bigger turnout would give an incredible legitimacy to the left's candidate. The challenge for the winner will then be to remain the favourite for another seven months – an eternity in politics. As we have learned, Sarkozy is never better than in the last 100m of a race.

FrenchGAF, did you vote?

edit:

The OT line is from this other article from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/07/french-socialists-primary-battle-sarkozy

 

[Kurtofan]

I voted this morning!
More than 1 million people voted so far, that's great.

 

[Norua]

We are supposed to pay in order to vote ? What the hell ?

 

[Kurtofan]

We are supposed to pay in order to vote ? What the hell ?

It's 1 euro to vote for both rounds.

 

[Magni]

It's a symbolic euro to pay for the organization etc of the whole thing.

An article from Le Monde on the outsider Baylet, the only non-PS candidate:

Jean-Michel Baylet, the candidate who does not dream of going to the second round | 04.10.11



Since he declared himself in early July, a candidate for the "citizen's primary" (he never speaks, and with good reason of a "Socialist primay" ), Jean-Michel Baylet has cursed a lot. Against the PS, which he has continued to chastise for their ingratitude vis-à-vis the PRG, which he has chaired since 1996. Against the media which he says have unfairly marginalized him compared to the Socialist candidates. Against the right, finally, guilty in his eyes to have exhumed, in the midst of the campaign, his indictment in a "trivial" matter related to public procurement as president of the General Council of Tarn-et-Garonne.

Today, Jean-Michel Baylet displays greater serenity. Of course, he always considers the PS too "generous" with its communist and environmentalist allies. Of course, he still has not digested not being invited to the televised evening news, contrary to the Socialist candidates. Of course, his southern accent loses its fatherly touch when he speaks of the right of his department, who "has spent the past ten years messing with him" . But all this counts for little, ultimately, facing his "satisfaction" of having participated in "the adventure of the primary" .

This satisfaction, what feeds it? Illusions, certainly not. Of the six candidates, Jean-Michel Baylet is the only one who can drop phrases like this: "I'm not saying I will be in the second round." The only one to confide in mocking "the astonishing ego of all the others who already imagine themselves at the Elysee Palace [French White House]" , that such ambition has "never crossed my mind" ( "If I liked the limelight, I would not have waited for the sunset of my public life to present myself to the presidential elections" ).

If it isn't to win, then why has he involved himself in this mess? "For me, the goal was to bring the values ​​of radicalism to the national scene. From this point of view, the bet is won" , he said.

For many viewers, the president of PRG will remain primarily the one who, on France 2 on September 15, pleaded alone against all the others for the legalization of cannabis. However, being known as "the defender of the potheads" , to quote one of his collaborators, "annoys him a bit" , even if it allows him to remember that "the radical left are decidedly more on pace with the changes in society than the Socialists" , be it the right to die with dignity or the right of adoption for homosexual couples.

It is rather on the economic scene that Jean-Michel Baylet thinks he has scored points. Televised debates have "stunned" him, he said. "Speaking of de-globalization or guardianship of the banks may be very effective in making the "buzz", but it is completely unrealistic. This confirms my idea that the PS [Socialist] project is obsolete."

Not surprisingly, his favorite targets are Arnaud Montebourg , who left him "speechless" and Ségolène Royal, "who is Ségolène". But Manuel Valls, and his idea of "social VAT", do not convince him either: "I do not see where the social is: it is still VAT, nothing more."

Concerning Martine Aubry and Francois Hollande , he is rather more balanced. Hearing them advocate the merger of the income tax and the CSG particularly pleased him, as the radicals [PRG, his party] have been in favor of it since the late 1990s. Seeing that "it is now possible to discuss with them the problem of social benefits" enchants him ( "when I addressed the issue on television, I expected to be cut to pieces" ).

But to hear "the daughter of Jacques Delors speak so little of Europe" afflicts him: "I was the only one to say that, given the American, Chinese, and soon African empires, the only answer is a federal Europe: before this summer, the idea seemed incongruous, and now, everybody is all for it", he wants to believe. Even if, in our Ipsos survey, only 38% of French people want a strengthening of the powers of the European Union.

On October 10, the office director of the PRG will meet to decide if he supports a Socialist candidates qualified the day before for the second round of the primary. As usual, the party will begin intensive negotiations with the PS in order to get enough candidates in the parliamentary elections of June 2012 to form a group in the Assembly. Jean-Michel Baylet knows that therefore the "sunlight" will turn away from him. If he says he feels "no bitterness", he admits feeling one regret: "When I see how much the spotlight has been on radical ideas, I tell myself that I should have run much earlier."

Thomas Wieder

I love that it's the oldest candidate who is for legalizing pot, euthanasia, and homosexual adoption.

 

[threenote]

I'm guessing Ségolène Royal will win. I'm in Paris and i had no idea anyone voted today.

 

[Kurtofan]

I'm guessing Ségolène Royal will win. I'm in Paris and i had no idea anyone voted today.

God no, Hollande is the one leading the polls, followed by Aubry.
Montebourg was even catching up on Royal in the polls.

 

[Magni]

God no, Hollande is the one leading the polls, followed by Aubry.
Montebourg was even catching up on Royal in the polls.

As much as I despise Royal, I have no idea how people can actually think about Montebourg seriously. The French left scares me...

edit: threenote, are you French or just studying in France?

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Actually, it's amazing how Royal was the most serious candidate in 2007 and almost won the presidental then, yet now she's considered a sad joke by most people.

 

[Rapstah]

Hollande and Aubry both seem rational. Hollande is the more cliché party leader type of the two though.

 

[lo escondido]

That economist article was really interesting. Thanks.

Is this your guys first primary ever?

 

[Magni]

That economist article was really interesting. Thanks.

Is this your guys first primary ever?

First that is open to everyone AFAIK (before it was just to party militants IIRC).

 

[Kurtofan]

2 millions people have voted, great!

That economist article was really interesting. Thanks.

Is this your guys first primary ever?

Yep,there was a primary election in 2007, but only party members could vote.

 

[ektoll]

I didn't vote since I'm opposed to the inscription on the PS lists, I don't want to be known as a socialist. They said they were gonna destroy those lists after the primary but I don't really believe them :/

I'm also opposed to the financial contribution: by doing that primary, socialists have made a lot of publicity for them, they should assume the price of it.


Anyway, if I had voted today, it would have been for Manuel Valls. Royal is against violent videogames, Hollande is too kind to be a president, I don't like Aubry (this is more a personal fealing than anything else, dunno)... I like Baylet also, because he seems realistic, intelligent.

I'm really pessimistic for these presidential elections (I root for the left/left-center) since I have the feeling that the extreme-right is having a very strong momentum. 2012 will be a new 2002, I'm sure of it.

 

[Narolf]

I'm really pessimistic for these presidential elections (I root for the left/left-center) since I have the feeling that the extreme-right is having a very strong momentum. 2012 will be a new 2002, I'm sure of it.

Foreseeing another 2002 too, only in reverse: Hollande/Le Pen. Having a hard time to figure how Hollande wouldn't take the chair anyway, considering how unpopular Sarkozy is -- not only survey-wise, anti-sarkozysm is like part of French morals now.

 

[ektoll]

Foreseeing another 2002 too, only in reverse: Hollande/Le Pen. Having a hard time to figure how Hollande wouldn't take the chair anyway, considering how unpopular Sarkozy is -- not only survey-wise, anti-sarkozysm is like part of French morals now.

I agree, my girlfriend and I were talking about this at lunch: who the UMP should present to the election in order to win? Sarkozy is the leader, but he's hated by a good part of the population, so Juppé maybe?



The FN (extreme right) is the key in these elections: if LePen collect the votes of people who trusted Sarkosy to fight immigration/insecurity then it's going to be PS vs FN --> PS. But if Hollande isn't credible enough, avoiding those subjects then it's gonna be UMP vs FN --> UMP.

 

[Magni]

I'm really pessimistic for these presidential elections (I root for the left/left-center) since I have the feeling that the extreme-right is having a very strong momentum. 2012 will be a new 2002, I'm sure of it.

Foreseeing another 2002 too, only in reverse: Hollande/Le Pen. Having a hard time to figure how Hollande wouldn't take the chair anyway, considering how unpopular Sarkozy is -- not only survey-wise, anti-sarkozysm is like part of French morals now.

People tend to swing to the right for presidential elections. I hate Sarkozy the person, but I'd rather have (most of) his policies over Hollande's or Aubry's, I'd hate a reversed '02.

It sucks that we don't have a good candidate on the right, and that the left is stuck in the 80's. I'm rooting for Valls personally, but I don't think he'll reach the second round.

Bets for tonight? I'm staying safe with Hollande/Aubry, but I'd love for Valls (or Baylet :lol) to make it through.

edit: that reminds me, where have the far left been? I've been abroad most of the year and only have gotten back to domestic politics over the past month, but I haven't heard anything about our favorite communist mailman or any of the others. Are we finally gonna have less than four communists at the elections?

 

[BaronLundi]

Yup, voted this morning.

Felt good to see a lot of people so early.

I'm guessing Ségolène Royal will win. I'm in Paris and i had no idea anyone voted today.

Lol what ? No.

There's not a chance (

Spoiler

I'm moving to Canada if she wins

).

Hey, by the way. How's Paris treating you ?

I didn't vote since I'm opposed to the inscription on the PS lists, I don't want to be known as a socialist. They said they were gonna destroy those lists after the primary but I don't really believe them :/

You didn't have to put down your name and adress (I certainly didn't). The list they have (electoral lists) are public and can be consulted by anyone.

Edit : or do you mean the thing you have to sign by which you declare to adhere to the values of the "Left" ? This has nothing to do with "PS lists". What could happen to you anyway if they were to be idiots and divulge this information ?

edit: that reminds me, where have the far left been? I've been abroad most of the year and only have gotten back to domestic politics over the past month, but I haven't heard anything about our favorite communist mailman or any of the others. Are we finally gonna have less than four communists at the elections?

Robert Hue supporting Aubry. Can't remember the name of the candidate for the LCR (not Besancenot).

Biggest far left representative and threat is unfortunately this fucking Melanchon, demagogue extraordinaire that is so far left he's getting dangerously close to National Front values.

 

[Kurtofan]

People tend to swing to the right for presidential elections. I hate Sarkozy the person, but I'd rather have (most of) his policies over Hollande's or Aubry's, I'd hate a reversed '02.

It sucks that we don't have a good candidate on the right, and that the left is stuck in the 80's. I'm rooting for Valls personally, but I don't think he'll reach the second round.

Bets for tonight? I'm staying safe with Hollande/Aubry, but I'd love for Valls (or Baylet :lol) to make it through.

edit: that reminds me, where have the far left been? I've been abroad most of the year and only have gotten back to domestic politics over the past month, but I haven't heard anything about our favorite communist mailman or any of the others. Are we finally gonna have less than four communists at the elections?

Besancenot won't be candidate, instead Philippe Poutou(lol!) will represent the New Anticapitalist Party.
Melenchon was chosen by the Communists and the Left Party members to represent the Left Front.
No idea about LO and others.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Some articles are saying "between 2 and 3 million voters" now. notsureifserious

 

[Magni]

Some articles are saying "between 2 and 3 million voters" now. notsureifserious

LeMonde says 1.5+m at 5pm, so if it is between 2 and 3m, I'm guessing it's closer to 2 than to 3. But who knows.

Thanks guys for the far left updates

Results page: http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/vis...temps-reel_1583667_823448.html#ens_id=1402952

 

[ektoll]

You didn't have to put down your name and adress (I certainly didn't). The list they have (electoral lists) are public and can be consulted by anyone.

Edit : or do you mean the thing you have to sign by which you declare to adhere to the values of the "Left" ? This has nothing to do with "PS lists". What could happen to you anyway if they were to be idiots and divulge this information ?

Not a lot I suppose, still I don't want it to be revealed, as Gueant said:

«Il y a un problème du secret du vote», a souligné le ministre de l'Intérieur dans le cadre du «Forum» de Radio J. «Nous avions souligné le risque des primaires. A savoir que contrairement à la Charte internationale des droits de l'Homme et contrairement à la loi française, ces primaires risquent de donner connaissance des opinions politiques d'un certain nombre de Français», a-t-il poursuivi. «Aussi bien sur la liste d'émargement apparaîtront ceux qui expriment une sympathie pour le PS et ceux qui par différence n'expriment pas de sympathie»

Besancenot won't be candidate, instead Philippe Poutou(lol!) will represent the New Anticapitalist Party.

?

 

[BaronLundi]

Not a lot I suppose, still I don't want it to be revealed, as Gueant said

Gueant quoting the declaration of human rights should be a strong hint not to give any credit to what he says.

The signing is just to avoid flooding by UMP people. Unlike Gueant's actions it will have zero consequence for democracy or the individuals involved.

 

[BaronLundi]

Ha ha !

 

[Kurtofan]

Results are in! (about 1,9 millions of votes in)

Qualified for the Second Round
First:François Hollande 39,2%
Second:Martine Aubry 30,5%

Eliminated
Third:Arnaud Montebourg 17,3%
Fourth:Segolene Royal 6,9%
Fifth:Manuel Valls 5,6%
Sixth:Jean Michel Baylet 0,6%

Very open second round.
Montebourg's votes will be crucial to win this, considering Royal's votes will go to Aubry and Valls's votes will go to Hollande.

 

[ivysaur12]

Can you guys just get rid of Sarkozy?

K thanks.

 

[Kurtofan]

Can you guys just get rid of Sarkozy?

K thanks.

I can only hope we do.

 

[Narolf]

Very open second round.
Montebourg's votes will be crucial to win this, considering Royal's votes will go to Aubry and Valls's votes will go to Hollande.

Yup, here are the results of the last survey as for the votes' intentions in the second round -- people who planned to vote for Royal, Montebourg or Valls in the first round (as shown on the right) were asked whether they would vote for Hollande or Aubry in the second round (as shown on the left). Bottom scores were those not expressing their intentions.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

 

[Sotha Sil]

God, Aubry couldn't give a good speech to save her life.

 

[threenote]

Yup, voted this morning.

Felt good to see a lot of people so early.



Lol what ? No.

There's not a chance (

Spoiler

I'm moving to Canada if she wins

).

Hey, by the way. How's Paris treating you ?

I love this city so much. Everything here is just great, and I don't want to leave.

 

[The_Squirrel_Menace]

I can only hope we do.

Marine vs François 2nd term. Wanna bet?

 

[Kurtofan]

Bumping this because Segolene Royal appeal to vote for her ex husband, François Hollande!
Shocking turn of events!

Maybe she does this to make him lose? lol

 

[Kurtofan]

Nobody gives a shit anymore or what? lol

Montebourg will vote... HOLLANDE! MEGATON!

Hollande got Montebourg, Royal, Valls and Baylet(lol).
Aubry am crying.

 

[G.O.O.]

Missed this thread, ugh.

Didn't vote for the first round (I was in England) but I will vote sunday for sure (Aubry). Hollande will probably win though, he's the logical vote for anyone wanting to get rid of Sarkozy, but Aubry is the best of the two.

Hollande got Montebourg, Royal, Valls and Baylet(lol).
Aubry am crying.

Actually, he will vote for Hollande but didn't call the voters to do the same, and I believe they are leaning towards Aubry.

 

[SmokyDave]

Topic title is awesome. That's all I have to say, really.

 

[Magni]

Thanks Dave, my pleasure

Nobody gives a shit anymore or what? lol

Montebourg will vote... HOLLANDE! MEGATON!

Hollande got Montebourg, Royal, Valls and Baylet(lol).
Aubry am crying.

I don't give a shit anymore, Montebourg got three times the votes Valls got, so it looks like the left still doesn't get it.

I was hoping on the PS to bring a worthy alternative, but it doesn't look to be this time around. Sucks because I really don't want to vote Sarkozy.

 

[G.O.O.]

I don't give a shit anymore, Montebourg got three times the votes Valls got, so it looks like the left still doesn't get it.

It's not just about the left. Montebourg got votes from the far-left, and also from... the far-right. Globalization has become really unpopular, that's why his (talented) speech works.

Valls, on the other hand, wants France to become like Blair's UK (which is neither a good model nor a good argument to make people follow you)... and his rhetoric makes me want to slap his face.

DSK may have had some ideas from the right wing, but he didn't speak like someone from the UMP.

 

[gutter_trash]

why is Ségolène Royal going for it again?

isn't she a loser now because she lost to Sarkozy in the Presidential election?

anyway, I hate her for supporting Quebec separation without thinking about the Canadian soldiers who gave their lives in both World Wars to help save her country

*thank god she is eliminated

 

[G.O.O.]

why is Ségolène Royal going for it again?

She's insane, that's why. Cult guru insane.

Don't pay attention to her. The socialist party won't either now that she made such a shit score.

 

[gutter_trash]

She's insane, that's why. Cult guru insane.

Don't pay attention to her. The socialist party won't either now that she made such a shit score.

i found her to be a bucket full of controversy when it came to retarded comments on foreign policy

Hate or Love Sarkozy, he at least appears on good standing from the allied nations when it comes to foreign policy

 

[Sotha Sil]

She's insane, that's why. Cult guru insane.

That's pretty much it, but her nervous breakdown (and Hollande endorsement) did wonders. I actually enjoyed her France 2 interview the other day. She seemed quite calm and collected.

 

[UnluckyKate]

Good for Aubry she wont make it. Maybe Hollande can give Sarkozy a run for his money. Aubry never could have.

 

[Kurtofan]

I voted this morning!
Can't wait for the results.

 

[G.O.O.]

Voted aswell.

It seems that more people are voting on this round, which is always a good thing, but I'm wondering if we'll get closer to the number of people who watched the final debate. That would be a huge leap but I don't get the point of watching a boring debate if you're not voting afterwards ?

 

[Sotha Sil]

Libé: Paul Quilès réagit à la victoire de Hollande... trop tôt

lol

 

[G.O.O.]

So Hollande seems to be taking the cake right now. :keikaku:

 

[Kurtofan]

François Hollande is assured to win now.

 

[Mgoblue201]

I thought that Aubry was the favorite. What happened?

 

[Magni]

I thought that Aubry was the favorite. What happened?

Hollande was always the favorite AFAIK.