French election items of interest - Sarkozy , Hollande items and the plight of the Centrists !

http://pate.blogs.france24.com/article/2012/04/27/sarkozy-2012-or-taking-campaign-cues-far-right-s-hq-0

Sarkozy 2012 or Taking campaign cues from the far-right’s HQ

The odds are stacked against Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential election. Every pollster here says he’ll finish second in the May 6 runoff against Socialist candidate Francois Hollande. The latest unemployment figures (March) are up, and to boot, European bank bosses are now saying that strict austerity rules, like the one championed by the French incumbent, are likely to bog down Europe in economic stagnation and even recession for years.

Under pressure, and desperate to renew his lease for the Elysee Presidential palace, Sarkozy has chosen one clear, it must seem the only, way forward: Start licking the boots of National Front (FN) candidate Marine Le Pen.

Yes, Le Pen and the glorious 18% support she won in the first round of the presidential race. Yes, the National Front, France’s far-right party, which despite its new blonde window dressing, remains a shop run by Nazi collaboration apologists, royalists and unabashed xenophobes.
In the widely viewed television program “Words and Actions” on French public television on Thursday, Sarkozy denied any marriage with Marine Le Pen. “I will forge no alliance with Mrs. Le Pen. No National Front minister [in a future cabinet]. It’s crystal clear.”

And he’s right! Why take on a National Front minister in your future government if you are already taking your campaign cues directly from FN headquarters?

Example:
Press release by Wallerand de Saint Just, member of the National Front’s executive bureau, emailed Thursday morning: “Marine Le Pen would like to remind that her programme calls for the implementation of the presumption of self-defense law for police.”

The press release was in reference to a controversial court case in France, in which a police officer could face stiff punishment for shooting a grenade-wielding youth in the back last weekend. Last January, Sarkozy’s government rejected the idea of implementing “presumption of self-defence”, arguing it was like giving police “open permission to shoot”.

Sarkozy speaking to a group of police officials and journalists on Wednesday afternoon: "I demand that the right to self-defence evolve in a way to further protect policemen… a presumption of self-defence law must exist.”

Example:
Open letter to Hollande and Sarkozy by Marine Le Pen, sent Thurday noon: “The votes I won were not a “cry for help”… Much less a “far-right” or “xenophobic” vote… gentlemen candidates, a few days of campaigning remain, and I ask you to show your respect.”

Sarkozy speaking on television a few hours later: “The 6.5 million French people who voted for Marine Le Pen. They are not on the far-right, they were expressing either despair or allegiance. I want to say to them, I respect you.”

The French incumbent then pounded on the FN bread and butter issue of immigration. Le Pen’s party first gained wide recognition in France for calling for a policy of “national preference,” that would reserve preferential treatment to French nationals over foreigners in all aspects of daily life.Sarkozy on Thursday: “I am not for national preference, I am in favour of [European] community preference.”

Could the nuance be a wink to the far-right? Sarkozy elaborated: “I want to cut the number of immigrants we allow into our national territory by half… I want foreigners, in foreign consulates, to pass a test of the French language and of French values, before ever setting foot on French soil.”

No wink. That’s a page taken straight from the Le Pen playbook.

and....

http://www.france24.com/en/20120427-limiting-economic-immigration-essential-hollande-rtl-france-socialist-presidential-election

Hollande calls limiting economic immigration 'essential'

By News Wires (text)France's Socialist presidential candidate François Hollande said Friday that limiting illegal immigration during an economic crisis was "essential". Immigration has been a key issue since the far right’s strong showing in the election’s first round.

AFP - French presidential frontrunner Socialist Francois Hollande said Friday it was vital to limit economic immigration in a time of crisis.

"In the period of crisis we are going through, limiting economic immigration is necessary and essential," Hollande told RTL radio.

"I also want to fight illegal immigration on the economic front. It is not right that a certain number of employers, in a cynical way, are hiring illegal migrants," he said.

FRENCH ELECTIONS 2012 FRENCH ELECTIONS 2012 Sarkozy compared to Vichy leader for courting far right

Hollande reiterated his vow to ask parliament to fix the number of immigrants allowed into France every year.

"I don't think there will ever be zero immigration, there will always be legal immigration. Can we reduce the number? That's a debate," he said.

He added however that he was against reducing the number of foreign students allowed into France to study.

"I think that the presence of foreign students in our faculties is an opportunity, not just for the foreign students but for us," he said.

Immigration has become a key issue in the campaign for the second round of France's presidential election on May 6 after far right candidate Marine Le Pen of the National Front came third in Sunday's first round with 18 percent.

Incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy has shifted further to the right since the first round, vowing to "defend the French way of life", reduce immigration and secure France's borders.

and....

http://www.france24.com/en/20120426-france-centrist-bayrou-struggle-weakened-second-round-endorsement-divisions

French centrists struggle to hold the middle ground

By Joseph BAMAT  / Julien PEYRON (text)After a surprise surge by the far-right and far-left in Sunday's presidential election, French centrist voters have been stripped of their kingmaker status. As their defeated candidate wavers ahead of a May 6 runoff, they are increasingly divided.

Centrist leader François Bayrou has promised to weigh in on the second round of France’s presidential vote before Election Day. But while he hopes to hold sway on the May 6 contest pitting incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy against Socialist challenger François Hollande, the moderate politician seems to be losing control of his own Democratic Movement (MoDem) party.

Bayrou’s 9.1% support placed him fifth in the first round of the election, behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen (19.7%) and extreme-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon (11.1%). On Wednesday, he sent a letter to Sarkozy and Hollande, asking the two men to reply to his concerns in view of a potential second-round endorsement.
This week, the centrist leader appeared to be distancing himself from Sarkozy, after statements by the incumbent that likened fiscal demands made by centrist voters to those of the far-right. Bayrou said such comparisons were “absurd” and “offensive”, but stopped short of saying he would deny Sarkozy his support.
Bayrou has pledged to make his choice known on May 3, the day after the two remaining presidential candidates will face off in a much-anticipated television debate.
It remains to be seen if people who voted for Bayrou on April 22 will actually take his preference into account as they vote in the second round. According to a survey by the French polling firm Ipsos, 34% of MoDem sympathizers are expected to vote for Hollande, while 33% said they would back Sarkozy. The remaining centrist electorate said it would abstain.
From ‘third’ to ‘fifth’ man
A parliamentarian from southwestern France since the late 1980s, Bayrou was the MoDem’s candidate in the 2002 and 2007 presidential elections. His 18.57% first round score in 2007 won him the title of France’s “third man” and confirmed his place as the legitimate successor of the once important centrist party, UDF.
However, 2009 European parliamentary elections and 2010 French regional elections handed Bayrou and the MoDem bitter defeats. “He has reached bottom,” explained Eric Bonnet, director of opinion studies at the BVA polling agency.
“He has lost the centrist image he forged in 2007. Voters on the right consider him left-leaning and voters on the left see him as a right-winger,” Bonnet said.
“This is a complicated period for the centre,” admitted Stephane Cosse, President of the MoDem’s branch in Paris. “We are experiencing a polarization of politics, which will last at least until the second round.”

Cosse argued that his party nevertheless remains an indispensable political force in France. “The centrist sensibility is deeply rooted in our country," he told FRANCE 24.
In the last presidential election, Bayrou eventually decided to sit out the run-off, keeping his personal choice secret and telling supporters to vote with their own conscience.
Leaving the middle road
The public expects a clear endorsement from Bayrou this time, but many within the MoDem are no longer waiting for their leader to get off the fence. And like voters, centrist lawmakers seem deeply divided over their choice.
On Monday, some forty MoDem elected leaders publicly backed Hollande in the runoff, saying their choice was based on “a need for clarity and change.” Olivier Henno, one of the handful of local centrist mayors who were part of the group, said “we no longer want to procrastinate.”
However, Jean Arthuis, a prominent centrist in the French Senate and an ally of Bayrou in the past, has said he would back Sarkozy. Arthuis called on centrists of all stripes to create alliances with the Right ahead of legislative elections in June.
Standing firm with Bayrou, Stephane Cosse said he was not ready to say who he would support in the presidential runoff. "We must closely listen to the statements of both candidates. Wait to see if they veer further to the right or left,” he said.
But as the countdown clock to May 6 ticks down, Bayrou and those loyal to him could find France’s political middle road an increasingly lonelier place to walk.