French Elections – Make Changes But Leave Everything The Same!
If you’re in France right now, you can’t help but know that the elections to vote for a new President are being held tomorrow. As a tourist you might say it really doesn’t matter who’s in office when you’re visiting the Louvre, or climbing up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but it does matter to the French.
Conversations with a lot of my friends boil down to something like this: “We need major changes in France, but….” The underlying message seems to be, ….”but, don’t make changes that affect me.” The first round of votes were clearly divided between UMP conservative-right leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, who received a little over 31% of the votes and the Socialist Party candidate, Ségolène Royal, with nearly 26 percent.
If Marie-Ségolène Royal wins, she’ll become the first woman President in France, but will that be the only real change? If Sarkozy wins, will most of the changes affect legal and illegal immigrants? We shall see.
There are major, major issues and problems in France that need to be dealt with and reformed, but as one friend put it so well, “We want the new president to make changes, but leave everything the same.”
Photo Credits: Flickr
3 Comments
Hi,
I am French and I live in Paris. I discovered your website as i’m looking for english blog to improve my english… It is interesting to read your point of vue about France. I find your post about the elections really interesting because French are very critic about France’s economic situation but are afraid to the futur and all changes that can happened. My point of vue is that it can’t be worst ! Nicolas Sarkosy is now the new President of France and maybe can he find solutions as Tony Blair does in Great Britain…
Hi,
I am French and I live in Paris. I discovered your website as i’m looking for english blog to improve my english… It is interesting to read your point of vue about France. I find your post about the elections really interesting because French are very critic about France’s economic situation but are afraid to the futur and all changes that can happened. My point of vue is that it can’t be worst ! Nicolas Sarkosy is now the new President of France and maybe can he find solutions as Tony Blair does in Great Britain…
Hi Amélie, I watched the inauguration of M. Sarkozy becoming the new President of France and found not only the speech that he made at the Elysée Palace, but also the one that he made at the Bois de Boulogne very interesting. He reflects on what you and I have said, what my friends say, and what many of the French citizens say. Don’t change what is good about France and what makes it great. Change what is bad about France and what is bringing the country into an economic disaster; jobs, immigration, health, taxes, etc. Bottom line, like you said, let’s hope the new president finds solutions to those problems!