What's left in France

The first round of the French presidential election has not substantially diminished the likelihood that the Élysée Palace will have a new occupant next month, after Nicolas Sarkozy last Sunday bucked the trend whereby the incumbent initially takes the lead.

Few analysts, however, have written him off completely. The diminutive combatant may yet secure a second term — not least if the bulk of those who cast their ballots for the neo-fascist Front National’s (FN) Marine Le Pen opt for Sarkozy on May 6. That is not a given, however.

After all, Le Pen to a considerable extent based her campaign on deriding the status quo and, more specifically, Sarkozy’s role in it, so even a half-hearted endorsement would widely be seen as hypocritica

Read more: Dawn

Posted in: Elections, France, French Elections