Gerry’s International Relations

Presidential Election divides France

As the date of the French Presidential Election draws closer, nearly half of France is still unsure of who t vote for, according to CNN.  Out of the 11 candidates, four have separated themselves with two as the front-runners.  Right wing Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal are leading the race, with Sarkozy slightly ahead.  Trailing behinds are Centrist Francois Bayrou and 78 year-old right wing Jean-Marie Le Pen.  Nearly half of the population is still unsure which candidate to vote for, which means that at this point it is truly anyone’s game.  The four candidate have launched multiple attack campaigns against each other in order to give themselves the edge in the polls.  Le Pen has been the harshest in his attacks calling Sarkozy an immigrant while claiming he is the candidate of the soil.  In an unsual turn of events, the Socialist party jumped to Sarkozy’s defense, stating Le Pen’s comments just show the extreme xenophobia of the extreme right.  I find this article reassuring, because it shows that elections are not just viscous in the United States, but can become brutal throughout the world.