France to Sarko: "Va te faire foutre!" [View all]

[marmar]

from HuffPost:


The combination of Hollande/Sarkozy in the final round comes as no surprise. But that Nicolas Sarkozy ranked second behind Francois Hollande with just 24.4 percent of the vote (according to Ipsos estimates) is a nightmare for the man who received 31.2 percent in the first round of the 2007 elections. This is also the first time since the beginning of the Fifth Republic that the outgoing president has trailed his challenger in the first round. This is more than a disavowal; it's a rejection. This is the beginning of the end of a mandate the French people hope to visibly put down.

Little remains for Nicolas Sarkozy to hope to prevail. The voter participation rate was at 80 percent today, which is closer to what it was in 2007 than in 2002. It comes as a surprise to those who had expected it to be much lower. And a speech by Nicolas Sarkozy aiming to mobilize voters would fall flat.

Marine Le Pen, who has tried to stick to social issues, has done a much better job than her father, receiving an unprecedented 20.1 percent of the vote, thanks to her return to the Front National's basic themes: immigration and the fear of others. Her electorate will be divided at best into three pieces at: one half for Sarkozy, one quarter for Hollande, and one quarter who will stay at home on May 6. And this is where we may end up seeing a surprise.

The 8.6 percent that went to François Bayrou, who thought that the center still existed in France after 2007, will be divided between the two finalists. ................................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-sinclair/the-beginning-of-the-end_2_b_1444281.html