Well, the inevitable has happened. France finally has a new president. Jacques Chirac has left his drawn out, 12-year reign and will pass the torch to Nicolas Sarkozy, the ultra conservative candidate who beat socialist Segolene Royal by quite a margin on May 6. (According to the official Interior Ministry figures, Sarkozy had 53.1 percent of the votes, while Royal lagged behind with 46.9 percent). This came after a long (albeit exciting) campaign, where two equally strong candidates had the chance to change France and European politics forever.
First, of course, there was Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, the passionate conservative who served at the Ministry of the Interior under Jacques Chirac for the past five years.
According to a May 7 article in The New York Times, Sarkozy’s strongest support came from voters over the age of 60. Sarkozy had many enemies, though, especially the Arab community and the younger voters who believe his aggressive demeanor and divisive language may have caused the deep hostility that many have against him.
Sarkozy had also been widely criticized for his strong pro-American sentiments, which some find weak and hypocritical. But there is no denying Sarkozy’s knowledge of French politics and foreign policy, both of which he excels at. What Sarkozy lacks is exactly what Royal brings – a sense of grass-roots appeal, a way of relating to the French people as a person instead of as an abstract, angry candidate.
Royal, who was born in Senegal, took her misogynistic father to court at the tender age of 19 to settle a child support lawsuit.
Royal is the epitome of a strong, independent woman, a mother of four who promised to be the “protector” of France. Royal’s classic French beauty and style is nothing compared to her strong sense of morality and eco-conscious state of mind.
Royal manages to maintain her femininity without losing her sense of power, something presidential candidate Sen. Hilary Clinton could use.
Of course, Royal had her weaknesses, especially because of her lack of familiarity with foreign policy and the fact that many members of her own party were against her. Royal’s campaign was laden with mixed messages, and it appears that she just didn’t convince the French people that she could be their leader.
There are many revolutionary aspects to this race to the presidency. First of all, the fact that Royal had a chance at all of winning is remarkable. Not only that, but the election drew an exceptionally high turnout of around 84 percent of registered voters turning in their ballots on Sunday.
Why can’t we be that politically active? We call ourselves patriotic and yet a mere 55 percent of Americans voted last November. The French people knew how important Sunday was, so they set aside their usual routine of a croissant at their local café and voted for their next president instead. Is it that hard?
In the end, we can only hope that Sarkozy helps France regain its respect among the European Union and the world that it once had. Sarkozy vowed to “break with the ideas, the habits of the past and to rehabilitate work, authority, morality, respect and merit.” Let’s hope he succeeds and that Royal continues fighting for women around the world.
