La Vie est Belle!

Vive la France -- Electing a New President of the Republique!

Sunday was the first round of the French Presidential Election. Aside from the myriad of posters pasted on everything, any and all possible stationary objects--electrical boxes, street signs, street posts, metal barriers, walls, etc--I was surprised by the relatively low pressured approach to presidential election coverage on television. In fact, in spite of the posters all around town and the various "artistic" modifications made to each candidate's face by les Citoyens the media climate has been quite different than the non-stop media blitz we have become used to in the US that begins earlier and earlier every four years. 

It seemed to me the presidential election was the best kept secret in the whole of France right up to a few weeks before the first round of the general election occurred. Prior to this, the media coverage consisted of a few evening televised discussions and nightly blurbs about campaign stops made by the challenging candidates. Current President Nicolas Sarkosy did not announce his candidacy to run for reelection until February 15, 2012 a little more than two months prior to the election. Sarkosy had a press conference announcing he would release a letter to the French people addressing his concerns and detailing his plan for the future. On my way to do our Saturday shopping, I received a copy of the letter after being stopped by a few supporters passing them out to any and all who would take one. Despite not being able to vote, I took one, smile.


The comparatively subdued nature of media coverage of the Presidential election is surprising to those of us who are not French--especially in contrast to the out right full-contact sport political campaigns approach and flood of commercials we must endure in the US. As a neutral by-stander it has been truly interesting watching from the sidelines.

The differences in the media 'heat' are not just because of cultural differences between the French and Americans, but also have to do with the laws that govern the election and constrain politicians' methods of distributing their messages to the public via the media. Unlike the constant media bombardment we experience in the US, each candidate is given the same amount of air-time broadcast in a kind of group commercial. 

The commercials varied in style and scope: there was comedic approach of Philippe Poutou, whose commercials featured a game show host segment and a black and white silent film, and contrasted to the rousing film reels of Socialist Party Francois Hollande featuring footage from WWII and his voice, compelling rhetoric championing the need for change. 


Green Party candidate Eva Joly's commerical featured a moving score and her reading a self-penned letter to the people of France in voice-over. Incumbent Sarkosy's segment featured him against a blue background in packed-out stadiums and a sea of French Flags, waving like ripples in an ocean of bleu, blanc et rouge. 

The commercial--that aired right before the nightly news--presented a standardized introduction of each candidate listing their name and not their party before and immediately following their individual segment. The music between each segment was the most exciting element in the presentation, reminiscent of the score to The Matrix (the first one), intense, suspenseful, heightening the anticipation--this was the election of the new president of The Republic! The music seemed to be indicative of the tension, expectation and excitement one could expect on Election Day.

So, when Sunday April 22, 2012 rolled around, I expected lines outside the two schools that are just next to our apartment. We'd watched the workers installing the ten metal partitions with each candidate's image next to a number (this number I assumed, corresponded to their number on the ballot) and the metal stairs equipped with an attached ramp for those with mobility issues. 


CNN's Paris correspondent, Jim Bittermann, had been on TV earlier in the day just down the street from our place right in front of the 18eme Mairie (my son recognized the bus we ride occasionally to a grande jouet magasin--this massive toy store, big by US standards). On election day, we braved the rain and went out to 'witness' the event--witnessing history first hand!!! 

But to my surprise, the election sites (two schools across from each other) were both empty. 


We walked down the rue to the Mairie and found a crowd--so crowded, it was difficult to walk down the sidewalk--a line stretching all along the street, seemingly leading toward the Mairie. Could this be the electorate of the Republic, les Citoyens exercising their power in the political process? 


Mais non--just folks out looking for a deal at the Sunday puce (a kind of flea-market style sidewalk sale)!!! One newscaster commented on the TV that in the first round of the Presidential election, the French vote with their hearts and in the second round they vote with their pocketbooks! 


We'll see! So far as a bystander it has been truly interesting observing the differences between the American all out war approach to politics and the more finessed method (at least media wise) in the French election. We still have one more round in May between Sarkosy and Hollande--looking forward to seeing how the rest of the match plays out!! more soon~