Le Pen for Le Président?

Dateline: 23 April 2002

Sunday, 21 April, was the first round of presidential elections in France, during which most voters assumed that incumbent president Jacques Chirac (Rassemblement Pour la République - center-Right political party) and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin (Parti Socialiste) were shoe-ins for the second round. The French were so certain of this, in fact, that an unprecedented 28.04% abstained from voting.

It was therefore a nasty shock to voters when Jean-Marie Le Pen (of the Front National, the racist, extreme-Right French political party), got 16.86% of the vote, beating out Jospin, who only got 16.07%. This means that during the second round of elections on 5 May, Le Pen will be up against Chirac (19.88%).

Reaction to this bombshell was quick and severe:

1. Jacques Chirac is collaborating with the Union pour la démocratie française and Démocratie libérale to present a unified front against the FN during the second round of elections. Virtually all French political parties - except the extreme left and right - are working to convince their members to vote for Chirac in order to keep Le Pen out of power.
     
2. More than 100,000 citizens all over France, including tens of thousands of high school and college students, have been demonstrating against the FN since the results were announced.

Although Chirac is certain to win the election run-off, he is concerned that the high percentage of FN supporters will lead to more FN members getting elected in the June Parliament elections.
 

Le Pen = La Peine

Many comments and reactions were posted in the A la française forum (translations by LKL):

« Aujourd'hui, le sentiment qui domine chez moi est la HONTE. Pour la première fois de ma vie, j'ai honte d'être Français. Toutes les valeurs auxquelles je crois (culture, tolérance, intégration ...) ont été bafouées et désavouées par 17% des votants de mon pays. L'absence de civisme, la méconnaissance de l'Histoire, la mesquinerie et l'irresponsabilité de mes compatriotes me révoltent ». - PARIS131

Today, the strongest feeling I have is SHAME. For the first time in my life, I'm ashamed to be French. All of the values that I believe in (culture, tolerance, integration...) have been scorned and denounced by 17% of my country's voters. I am outraged by the lack of public-spiritedness, the ignorance about History, and the pettiness and irresponsibility of my compatriots.

« Pour la première fois de ma vie j'ai eu honte d'être français, vous m'entendez : honte. [...] Moi, je te maudis Jacques Chirac, président de pacotille, bouffon des stades de foot, pour avoir laisser la France dans l'insécurité et l'immobilisme, je te méprise pour les exemples d'honnêteté dont tu as fait preuve (comment donnez l'exemple aux français lorsque l'on refuse d'aller témoigner devant le juge Alphene).  Vous n'êtes pas mieux l'un que l'autre, messieurs Jacques Chirac et Jean-Marie Le Pen… Ma France était si belle dans mon cœur et vous m'en avez dégoûté ». - Makyana

For the first time in my life I was ashamed to be French, you heard me: ashamed.... I curse you, Jacques Chirac, junk president, soccer stadium clown, for leaving France insecure and immobile, I despise you for the [lack of] honesty you have demonstrated (how can you set an example for the French when you refuse to testify in front of Judge Alphene?) Neither of you is any better than the other, Mr. Jacques Chirac and Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen... My France was so beautiful in my heart and you've made it disgust me.

« Je pense que ce vote était un vote sanction, les gens sont mécontents de pas mal de choses et ont voulu exprimer leur déception soit en s'abstenant de voter, soit en votant blanc, soit en votant pour des candidats peu représentatifs ». - MARIE07

I think this vote was a vote of condemnation; the people are unhappy about a number of things and wanted to express their disappointment either by not voting, by leaving the ballot blank, or by voting for unpopular candidates.

« Il me semble que la seule honte c'est que presque un tiers des Français n'ont pas voté.  C'est l'indifférence, pas Le Pen, qui est le vrai ennemi de la démocratie ». - CLOVIS961

It seems to me that the only shame is that nearly a third of the French didn't vote. Indifference, not Le Pen, is the real enemy of democracy.

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