Exercise my right to vote.

Before I'm 30, and for the third time now, I have the right to elect the new (or not since our actual president is offering his service for an other 5 years if the french population still wants of him) french president.

There are 10 days left until the first round. As I am in Canada, I choose and I trust my mom to put the appropriate paper in the urn on voting day. I was in Canada when the presidential campaign started and I have to admit that I didn't follow carefully what happened then. Well, when I ask people around me they all either tell that nothing memorable happened, or that they just played fool around and with each other... what a great instructive time I missed! Anyway, I had just a couple of weeks to make my decision, the first round is on the 22nd of April. There are 10 presidential candidates.

I followed a bit the designation of these candidates and they gave a lot of details about the 500 signatures that they have to gather to be candidate. There are almost 37,000 town in France which the maire is able to give his signature to one candidate. It is not anonymous, although it has been requested to become anonymous. On the 22nd of April, if a candidate gets more than 50% of the votes he/she is elected right away, if none gets 50% (never happened since it was established in 1962) then the two candidates with the highest percentage fight for a second round. Whoever wins the second round is the french president for 5 years. Before 1962 the french president was elected by the Parliament.

Here is an instructive view of left and right hand side political ideas.

Taken from landofthefreeish.com.

There are 10 candidates.
Now who are they? I'll describe them in alphabetical order, to be fair (they usually appear in order of popularity in the media, but this honestly changes everyday and depends on the source). And I'll describe them in three ways:

1/ their private life (I was tempted to say "north-american way");

2/ the political way (I won't say the european-way because it would be incorrect, but you get the idea);

3/ quick description of what captured my mind when I watched their campaign video. I'll be the average french person, that has at least once heard the candidates on TV, has an idea of what Equality, Liberty and Fraternity means, and I would have loved to get a deeper look into the booklet they provide a few weeks before the elections, but I'll stick with the video clips, as they were not in my mailbox the day I flew back to Toronto. It's very hard to be objective watching their clip, because the videos are not produced with the same budget and do not reflect the same idea. The form as well as the content makes a huge difference, but one think they all agree on is the word TALENT or GENIUS and also EFFORTS: these will solve all of the french problems, the people talents are gonna be used extensively, they really have a great way of making us feel appreciated! They also share (in speech anyway) the same big direction for when they'll become president: work on production, economy and education. I think this clip is both good advertisement and dangerous to them because everybody knows they prepared a lot for these few minutes in direct talk to the people, but they have to be very careful into what they say and how they say it. I personally think most of them did a pretty good job.

Nathalie Arthaud. 1/ 42, she is an economy and management teacher.

2/ Candidate for Lutte Ouvrière (Worker's Struggle), she is spokesman of that party after Arlette Laguiller (she has been candidate for the presidential elections every time since 1974). 

3/ In her video clip she speaks to the workers and to "everyone whose activity is usefull for our society" (seriously?). She recites with very good facial expressions a long-winded speech on shareholders and all the money they gather just sitting there and twiddling their thumbs. She denounces unemployment as being an arm of blackmailing used by bosses to make workers accept their working conditions and low salaries. Her first battle is against unemployment.  

François Bayrou. 1/ 60, married for 31 years, he has 6 children and a few grand-children. He studied literature and wrote a couple of History and politic books.

2/ leader of the MODEM (Democrat Movement); which is considered a right-hand/centre party, clearly separated from the UMP in 2007. He has been multiple times deputy and head of governmental department of Education. During the last presidential elections in 2007 he was third on the first round with 18.57%.

3/ In his clip, he says "US" and speaks about getting out of the country depts. His solution to the education and unemployment problem: make kids like school. He wants to "moralize public life, so we can all be proud". And to conclude his speech, with him we'll find back HOPE. Hope? Seriously?

Jacques Cheminade. 1/ 70, he was born in Argentina, he is both French and Argentinian. I couldn't find much on his private life.

2/ Leader of the left-hand Gaullist party Solidarity and Progress. He was candidate to the presidential elections in 1995, where he collected 0.27% of all the votes. His party claims that the best thing for France is to be out of the European Union, out of the Euro zone, out of the IMF and of NATO. In his program he describes his will to colonize the Moon and Mars.

3/ In his very short video he shows an old interview of himself from 1995 saying he saw the economy crisis coming, and no-one believed him. After what he says he is not vain. He wants "us to fight for this politics and, the rest is just like chatting on the deck of the Titanic, sailing towards the iceberg."

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan. 1/ 51, married, he has two daughters. 

2/ He studied politics and is a long time activist of the right hand party, he left the UMP party in 2007. Leader of Stand Up Republic (Debout Republique), a right hand side party with republican gaullist ideas, against capitalism and for total independence of France.

3/ His difference from the democrats: he has always believed in Charles de Gaulle's ideas. "The governments fake in governing, they have abandoned the power, they gave it to Bruxelles (Europe), to the financial markets". The european treaties are the origin of our decline. "Either we align our salaries to human slavery in China, or we apply a smart protectionism against the countries that do not respect the rules." He finishes with a metaphor: "Today we may be smaller than the others but our tree is growing straighter than others and he is rooted in the freedom of our country." (it reminds me of my childhood, that day when we celebrated the republic by planting a tree of liberty, wearing the french rosette).

Democracy should serve general interest.

François Hollande. 1/ 57, he has a sad long face (Snoopy like), he has been elected candidate of the socialist party this year because Dominic Strauss Kahn screwed up big time in May and this time François' ex-girlfriend has not been more popular than him (Ségolène, whom he had 4 kids with, lost against Nicolas 5 years ago at the second round).

2/ Lawyer, he joined the PS (Socialist Party) in 1979, and has been maire, deputy and first secretary of the left hand party. He still defends the PS' colors today. He has been elected to conduct the PS' elections against Martine Aubry.

3/ In his video, there are all the facettes of France that scroll during his speech. You mostly see french people, our trumps, our talents, our troubles. You only see him briefly screaming his goals at a meeting, for "The France of Transformation!".

Eva Joly. 1/ 68, she looks old (white hair, wrinkles), a bit hippy (white messy hair), she is a strong ecofriendly militant. She was born both Norvegian (at 18 she was elected third rank to Miss Norway) and French. Married to a medical doctor (who took his life in 2001), she has 2 kids, made law school and politics studies.

2/ As a judge, in France and then back in Norway and in Iceland, she fought against corruption. She has been elected (against Nicolas Hulot, a popular TV show presenter) leader of the Green party to be their candidate for this year election. She is more of a democrat.

3/ So cute... she writes a letter to "Her dear France": "Dear France, for 5 years now I'm hurt seeing you disfigured from division, damaged from lies and corruption, threatened from pollutions that destroy our health." Ecology is the answer to everything: economy crisis, environmental crisis, unemployment and the country unity. Europe is the future, she proposes new treaties to build it federal and solidary.

Marine Le Pen. 1/ 43, married and divorced twice, she has 3 kids from her first marriage. Her boyfriend is now also a high person in the FN (Front National) party.

2/ Lawyer, she has always been a strong figure in the FN party, extreme right party, founded in 1972 by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen. He has been candidate to the french presidency in 1974, 1988, 1995, 2002 (he goes to the second round that year) and 2007. She has been elected as European deputy in 2004 and again in 2009. She barely made to the 500 signatures, and she wants french to be the new international scientific language. She is pro-life, pro-family, anti-immigration.

3/ In her clip, she has the tone of an evangelist minister on Easter day, joyful and come to announce the holly words. She mostly criticize vehemently the other candidates and how they allowed France to decay inside Europe: she wants a french Europe. With her, France would leave NATO, the military service would be back to mandatory for both boys and girls and the french flag would float all the time on every public building. 

While she speaks about a coming back of pride, Mélenchon talks about a coming back of dignity. 

Jean-Luc Mélenchon. 1/ 60, he was born in what used to be a french protectorate in Morocco. Married and divorced once, he has a daughter. He has a bachelor in philosophy, but has practiced a multiple of different jobs from drawer in a catholic journal, to teacher or journalist.

2/ Leader of the Left Front. He used to belong to the left hand side of the socialist party, that he left in 2008 to avoid having to make concessions with the the democrats. He is a european deputy since 2009. A lot of non Left Front anti-liberal fans support his candidature. 

3/ He goes directly with numbers. He will raise the minimum salary from 1,097 to 1,700€ and make the highest salary in a compagnie no more than 20 times the lowest salary, with a maximum of 360,000€. He is for the split of richness: "there is money, we just need to make it serving all". "Take the power, vote Jean-Luc Mélenchon."

Philippe Poutou. 1/ 45, without any diploma he has works in a couple of different precarious jobs. He now works in a car factory Ford.

2/ He has long been an activist in the Worker's Struggle party, from which he got expelled in 1995 for difference of political opinion. Him and a fraction of Worker's Struggle party joined the LCR Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (Revolutionary Communist League) party. This party became the New Anticapitalist party in 2009. After Olivier Besancenot (who got 4.08% of the votes in 2007), Poutou was elected new presidential candidate of the extreme left party. 

3/ In his video you can see him walking in a riot, supporting a strike. He criticizes UMP and PS parties. He wants to enforce a different distribution of wealth and challenge the power of capitalism on our economy. His catchword: "Against Sarkozy, not trusting Hollande."

Nicolas Sarkozy. 1/ 57, he is small, dark hairs, his ancestors were hungarian. He has 4 kids from 3 different wives, and he is currently married to a 44 years old italian singer/model with whom he just got a little girl Giulia. He is a runner (sometimes he faints and the whole country wavers) and the french president since May 2007.

2/ Leader of the right hand party UMP (Union for the Popular Movement), he is a republican. He is the actual leader of our nation, but as is it must be difficult for him to justify his candidature in the middle of the crisis he saw happening. He cannot criticize his own actions and he cannot say he is the candidate making a change.

3/ In his video, we see Nicolas, speaking, but also converse publicly with his fellow citizens. It's a rare video I see Sarkozy talk slowly and carefully, his words are weighted. He still has a few punctuation problems, but overall he speaks like a politician (that's noticeable even more that it's not always the case), but he speaks so much that you don't listen at the end, it's slow and smooth, no picture, just reciting his carefully written and read text, you almost feel asleep. He says he is creating a strong France, he needs US to build it.

I did not detailed deeply the way they say they'll use to achieve their purpose once elected, you would have seen some raising the income taxes, others reducing them... deport (or not) immigrants and a few reforms in the education program or in the retirement plans. Plus, once elected, the french people has to vote for the National Assembly of France. The president doesn't have all the rights in terms of making decisions, but he can participate, and provide ideas ;)

Because there are only 10 days left, the candidates keep repeating their programs again and again, and they keep throwing a wrench in each other's work, the media do not have much interesting things to write about, so they find unusual ways of describing the candidates. I found a psychological analysis of the 6 main candidates. How about that? they find embarrassing that certain candidates do not have any rage, ambition or hierarchic domination envy, they find disturbing that others are remarkably calm in public, but a complex mind seems to suit whoever did this psychological analysis, he wants disturbed feelings and tortured thoughts. The optimal candidate need to make people dream... I don't think we're there today, at least most of the population doesn't want to dream, they just want to see problem solved! Our shrink wants charisma, I think I just want good presentation. And most of all, that makes me sick (got to be cautious when I say that, last time I really got sick...) when they talk about their family history to explain the candidate's way of exposing himself into the election process.

And today, they were asked about their favourite TV show... Is that supposed to make me feel good that Sarkozy likes to watch Dexter? That Sarkozy and Hollande spend their Saturday evening watching The Voice (french version)? what shall I think about Bayrou loving horses shows? or should that scare me that Mélenchon confesses he doesn't have much time to watch TV?

You can also search at home and guess from this study if you are more of a right or of a left hand kind of guy, what brand has more of a socialist or a democrat image?

At the end of that post, I have to admit that I learnt a lot writing it! I still think my choice is done, but if I could take a bit of one and instill it into an other, or mix a couple of them together, I think I would be more satisfied. But we only get to choose one! well, maybe two if the one we vote for on the first round doesn't make it to the second round... in that case, either you have to follow your guts, whatever they tell you, or you can follow what your first choice candidate would want you to vote for. We're not there yet, let's just see what happens!
If you feel like it, do not hesitate to give me your opinion on who you would vote for, and why. Or why not. I have a few friends that make me feel that us, poor people who don't understand much in politics, should rather not vote. Should we go back to an indirect presidential election?

And, most of all, if you want to give additional informations on the candidates, please do so! I certainly did a very quick job here, I'm sure they deserve a lot more of attention.