Politics: France: Winnipeg Free Press gives an entirely alternative understanding of immigrant voters in France

Pembroke Daily Observer carries an Editorial in Winnipeg Free Press May12,2k7) that records how h+rise-housing immigrants voted in the recent Presidential election in France. I noted the absence in the press of mention regarding how these districts voted, but I did notice what the Free calls "a bit of stone-throwing and car burning."

Sarko also did well among blue-collar workers, to the chagrin not just of the Socialist Party's regular supporters, but also of that 10% who voted for ultraleft parties in the first round (where now the enfeebled Communists took only 1.6% of the vote, as against the 20% of the national vote they once commanded in 1st rounds, before they came to the aid of the Socialists in the 2nd round).

In the bitter run-up to the final round of the French presidential election on Sunday, Socialist party candidate Segolene Royal suggested that a win for her right-wing rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, would bring an explosion of ethnic violence to France.

In the wake of Mr. Sarkozy's substantial victory, there was a bit of stone-throwing and car burning at the Place de la Bastille in [downtown] Paris, but nothing like the riots of 2005 that Ms. Royal was trying to resurrect as a fear in French minds, reminding them that as interior minister at the time, Mr. Sarkozy had referred to the rioters as "scum.''

In fact, in those areas, the banlieues, or immigrant ghettos of France where the riots took place, Mr. Sarkozy did surprisingly well when the votes were counted, taking 44 per cent of them. He did surprisingly well among blue collar workers between 46 and 52 per cent across the country. He won the support of the greater part of voters who had supported centrist Francois Bayrou in the first round of voting. In short, French voters stood French politics on its ear and confounded the pundits by breaking away from tradition all of those [who] are Ms. Royal's more natural constituencies.

The election result may rejuvenate France, which is in danger of becoming the sick man of the European Union. Mr. Sarkozy promised that change, with 100 days of action to implement economic reforms, including a longer work week. France's mandated 35-hour work week, the shortest in Europe, is widely blamed for its deplorable productivity rate and competitiveness, a dismal 27th in word rankings; its high unemployment; and its extraordinarily high debt-to-GDP ratio. Mr. Sarkozy promises to address all those issues, and his victory indicates that the French agree with him, at least in principle.

France would seem set for change but Mr. Sarkozy's triumph is also a boost for Canada and the Western alliance. France is naturally a major player, an integral ally in that relationship, but under outgoing President Jacques Chirac, it was a difficult, even a disagreeable one. Mr. Sarkozy is an unabashed defender of the alliance and an admirer of the United States, although no one is likely to accuse him of being America's poodle. Rather, he will try to keep America in step with France and France in step with America, even if that takes some serious double-stepping, enabling the West to present a stronger front in an increasingly fractious world. As a former leader of the Western alliance might have said, on both fronts, domestic and international, the news from France is very good.

That Sarko did "surprisingly well" among blue-collar workers, gaining an estimated 46 to 52 per cent of their votes nationwide, is a factoid worth meditating. This factoid suggests that a good chunk of featherbedded workers now realize that the country must become competitive soon. It would be most interesting to see what the Transport workers did with their votes, as they are among the worst blackmailers among unionized employees when it comes to demanding exorbitantly h+ wages. But France does have a much more entrenched viewpoint pluralism in its system of workers-representation, with parallel unions functioning on the same shop floor, and often bargaining nationally. As I recall, however, France does not have collective agreements with the force of binding contracts, but only "agreements" that settle a strike, etc.

Politics: France: Sarkozy wins Presidency of France on Conserve platform, Socialists crumble into deep divide

Bloomberg's Celestine Bohlen reports "Sarkozy Signals Shift in France's Ties With US, Europe" (May7,2k7)

Nicolas Sarkozy, in his acceptance speech after being elected president last night, signaled a shift in tone in France's relations both with the United States and Europe.

``I want to call out to our American friends to tell them that they can count on our friendship,'' said Sarkozy, a half hour after he was declared the winner. He also threw down a challenge to the U.S. to take the lead in the fight against climate change.

Similarly, he said ``France is back in Europe,'' while adding that the European Union should listen more closely to the citizens it is supposed to protect.

Sarkozy's approach marks a change from the policies of the outgoing President Jacques Chirac [12 years in office], who set himself up as an opponent of the Bush administration on a number of issues, most notably on the US-led invasion of Iraq [altho France is a NATO participant in the Afghanistan War].

Chirac has also been held responsible for the defeat in May 2005 of the proposed European constitution in France, which is one reason why the European Union's attempts to modernize have come to a halt. ...

He called for a return to a foreign policy based on France's historic commitment to human rights.

``I want to tell all those in the world who believe in the values of tolerance, liberty, democracy and humanism, that France will be at their side, that they can count on her,'' he said.

Bloomberg again: reporter Francois de Beaupuy, "Sarkozy Claims French Mandate to Push Tax-Cut, Labor Measures" (May7,2k7).

Nicolas Sarkozy claimed a mandate for change after his election as French president, pledging to unify the country as he began promoting a program of tax cuts, tougher prison sentences and tighter immigration rules.

``The people of France have chosen to break with their ideas, habits and behavior of the past,'' Sarkozy, 52, said late yesterday in a victory speech in Paris after congratulating his Socialist opponent, Segolene Royal. ``I will restore the value of work, authority, morals, respect, and merit. I'll restore national pride and national identity.''

Sarkozy, candidate of the governing Union for a Popular Movement [UMP], took 53.2 percent against 46.8 percent for Royal, the Interior Ministry said, with 96 percent of the vote counted.

Provided his party wins June parliamentary elections, lawmakers will be asked to vote on a budget that scraps payroll charges and income taxes on overtime hours. It would also eliminate inheritance taxes for all but the richest 5 or 10 percent and introduce a tax deduction for mortgage-interest payments.

Criticized as divisive and dangerous by Royal, 53, during the campaign, Sarkozy may not have much of a honeymoon. He has said he would push through a law in September requiring a minimum level of service by transport workers unless unions negotiate a deal by the end of summer. An impasse may lead to strikes that could set the tone for the rest of his presidency. ...

`Casus Belli'

``Transport reforms could be a casus belli,'' said Nicolas Sobczak, a Paris-based economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ``But it's hard for grass-roots unionists to mobilize with Sarkozy winning with a big margin.''

Strikes crippled the French economy for three weeks in 1995, when Chirac unsuccessfully tried to reduce pension privileges of public-sector workers in his first year.

Sarkozy also risks running into opposition from public- sector employees because he has pledged not to replace half of the civil servants retiring over the next five years and to roll back some transport workers' pension benefits. ...

Sarkozy inherits an economy whose share of European exports is shrinking and whose growth is likely to lag behind Germany's for a second year. The jobless rate of 8.7 percent is the highest among the 13 nations that share the euro.

He blames the 35-hour work week, above-average taxes, and generous unemployment benefits for discouraging initiative and holding down salaries.

To boost hiring, Sarkozy, who was Chirac's interior minister and finance minister for four years, has pledged that his government will confer with business federations and labor unions by the end of the year to make firing procedures quicker and more predictable in exchange for increased unemployment benefits and extra training for jobseekers.

Sarkozy says he'd make students' earnings tax free and [promised] to give universities more autonomy to manage their staff and real estate and to create partnerships with businesses.

Chirac's successor, who campaigned on law and order, said he'd introduce a law in July [after June elections for a new Parliament] that toughens sentences for repeat offenders, and a separate law that will aim from preventing immigrants who don't have a job and an apartment from being joined by family members.

He also faces hurdles abroad. Sarkozy, who made criticism of the European Central Bank one of his campaign staples, may also clash with fellow European Union leaders on Turkey. He opposes the nation's entry into the 27-nation EU. Negotiations on Turkey joining the EU, approved in 2005, are partially suspended amid a dispute over Cyprus.

In his post-election comments he urged ``our European partners not to remain deaf to the anger of people who see the EU as a Trojan horse'' for globalization.

Bloomberg in a third report features the loser in France's two-way election last nite, a story by Helene Fouquet and Sandrine Rastello, "Royal's Election Loss Tolls `End of Era' for French Socialists" (May7,2k7):

Segolene Royal's loss to Nicolas Sarkozy in yesterday's presidential election amplified divisions among French Socialists that may fracture the nation's second- biggest party.

A leadership purge won't be enough to heal the split between [Socialist party] skeptics of global capitalism and [that party's social democrats] who seek an alliance with centrist Francois Bayrou, who finished third in the April 22 first round, said Bernard Kouchner, a former Socialist health minister.

``This is the end of an era, the end of French socialism,'' Kouchner, 67, said in an interview.

Royal's six-point loss to Sarkozy marked the party's third straight defeat in presidential elections and followed a rout five years ago. In 2002, Lionel Jospin failed to make it into the runoff against Jacques Chirac when he was beaten by anti- immigration leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.

``They had five years to reinvent themselves, but instead of starting over from scratch, they took the same people and stayed where they were,'' said Etienne Schweisguth, a senior fellow at the Institute for Political Studies in Paris. ...

``You know what social democracy means? It means compromising with the right wing and at the Socialist Party we're against that,'' David Assouline, a Socialist senator from Paris and a Royal campaign aide, said in an interview on May 4.

Sensing the looming defeat, Socialists had already begun campaigning for what they call the ``third round'' -- the legislative elections on June 10 and June 17. ...

``Even Communist China has taken the road of capitalism, even them,'' Kouchner said. ``Is France the only country where we will keep thinking capitalism is perverse, vulgar and dangerous?''

Each of these stories is worth clicking-up to read in their entireties, along with the title-link from Reuters that appeared in Times of India. However, the Bloomberg trio of stories by Celestine Bohlen, by Francois de Beaupuy, and by Helene Fouquet and Sandrine Rastello taken together are exceptional as an au courant source. Even in my foreshortened excerpts, the reader has access to a veritable course on the current political situation in France. This sustained non-repetitive reporting speaks well also for Bloomberg.com (click for the frontpage) which basically focuses on on financial and business news.

In my opinion Sarkozy is going to have one hell of a term of office, because France is featherbedded as no other country on Earth. And all the featherbedded "workers" and their unions, who opposed giving non-white youth better job-market chances (easy to hire, easy to fire) in small businesses (therefore non-unionized) out of sheer racism-socialism will fite the new President tooth and nail from his first day in office to his last. We wish him good luck, because at present France can't compete with in Europe, let alone globally.