Posted on 05/02/2007 3:47:23 PM PDT by Cincinna
FRENCH CANDIDATES WRANGLE OVER JOB CRISIS IN TELEVISION DEBATE
May 2, 2007 (AFP)
Right winger Nicolas Sarkozy and socialist Segolene Royal held tense exchanges over employment and the 35-hour working week in a televised debate Wednesday seen as crucial for the French presidential campaign.
Seated on either side of a two-metre (six foot) table, disagreements between Sarkozy, who finished first in the opening round, and Royal repeatedly flared into moments of ill-restrained hostility.
Four days before the election, more than half the country's adult population was estimated to be watching the two hour confrontation which was dominated by the economy.
Dressed in a dark suit and tie, Sarkozy repeated his promise to cut the number of public employees -- prompting accusations from Royal that he would endanger health, education and the police.
He said he would ensure full employment in France in five years by "freeing the forces of labour", and said the 35-hour week -- introduced by the last socialist government -- was killing employment. France currently has one of the highest unemployment rates in western Europe.
"She (Royal) still thinks that you have to share out the work like pieces of a cake. Not a single country in the world accepts this logic, which is a monumental mistake," he said.
Royal, wearing a black jacket and white blouse, countered with a promise to create 500,000 youth jobs, funded from existing training and unemployment budgets. She questioned Sarkozy's citation of an economic think-tank that said his programme would benefit the economy more than Royal's.
This prompted Sarkozy to ask: "Why do you treat anyone who is not of your opinion with irony, even with contempt?".
On several occasions, to Sarkozy's proposals, Royal retorted with the remark: "What a pity you didn't do that during your five years in government".
Televised debates have been held between the finalists in every French election since 1974 -- except in 2002 when Jacques Chirac refused to meet far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Both the Sarkozy and Royal camps know that their encounter could be crucial in determining the choice of millions of uncommitted voters.
Nearly seven million people chose defeated centrist Francois Bayrou in the first round on April 22, and the second-round campaign has focussed on capturing his electorate.
The debate was watched in screens in cafes and bars across the country -- though there was competition from an important European cup football match.
"Everything she says touches me, it's all true," said David Zeymour, a 43-year-old grocer at a bar in central Paris. "I voted Sarkozy in the first round, but now frankly I've changed my mind. I'm 100-percent behind Segolene. Sarkozy is scary."
"He's staying cool. She's more aggressive, she's trying to block him, but lucky for him he's giving good answers," said Jean-Philippe Girbal, the 35-year-old cafe owner.
The pair have faced each other only once before in a debate. Just before the 1993 legislative elections they had an ill-tempered exchange in a television studio, a clip of which has been circulating on the Internet.
Campaigning for the second round ends on Friday at midnight. On Thursday the two candidates hold their last rallies, Royal in the northern city of Lille and Sarkozy in Montpellier in the south.
The latest opinion poll released by IPSOS on Tuesday gave Sarkozy 53.5 percent of the vote against 46.5 percent for Royal. A total of 87 percent said they had made up their mind.
In the first round, Sarkozy got 31.2 percent of the vote and Royal 25.9 percent. Le Pen got 10.4 percent.
On Tuesday Le Pen urged his 3.8 million voters not to vote for Sarkozy or Royal. Bayrou has not issued an endorsement for either candidate.
Giscard d'Estaing, who took part in two televised debates with Mitterrand in 1974 and 1981, said the head-to-head between Sarkozy and Royal would be the "decisive ... high-point of the campaign".
In the 1974 debate Giscard d'Estaing coined the phrase "You do not have a monopoly on the heart", which was seen as giving him the edge. He went on to win by a very small majority.
FRANCE'S ROYAL ACCUSES SARKOZY OF 'POLITICAL IMMORALITY'
French Socialist Segolene Royal launched a stinging attack on right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy in a crucial presidential debate on Wednesday, accusing him of "political immorality."
Reacting to comments in which Sarkozy called for handicapped children to be guaranteed a place in school, Royal said that he had "reached a pinnacle of political immorality".
Royal accused his governnent of dismantling Socialist education measures on handicapped children, accusing him of exploiting the issue, "with a tear in your eye."
Sarkozy, who remained calm throughout the attack, retorted sharply: "I would never have spoken to you this way" -- to which Royal fired back: "Because I don't lie."
Wrapping up the explosive exchange, Sarkozy said: "I don't question your sincerity, don't question my morality... You lose your temper very easily."
Four days before the election, more than half the country's adult population was estimated to be watching the televised confrontation, seen as crucial to the outcome of the election.
What always shocked me was the condition of their living quarters. Filthy! Mice, cockroaches, piles of dirty dishes, clothes and good luck if you tried to use the bathroom.
“Kind of sad/tragic how that one ended, but that’s another story...”
“ROYAL: “I’m just setting out the principle. I have a plan.”
Every single blanking Socialist from John Francois Kerry’ to Hillary! to Granholm to Royal, every single one is a carbon-copy of each other. No wonder they’re so excited about carbon credits (/ducks).
Good point.
This is a Clinton-like situation. He is the brains and political dynamo. The Socialist Party, of which he is the head honcho, wanted to run himself, but they all felt a woman would have a better chance. He put in his “sock puppet” as a gimmick. The whole thing backfired.
In the beginning women went crazy for Sego, then they started to realize that yes, she was a woman, but incompetent, vapid,tied to the past and not of the level required to lead a great country.
She wore a Hillary-style Mao shirt. Very French intello-BoBo BCBG. She is a very attractive woman . It is her ideas and philosophy that are ugly.
And le Figaro is the mouthpiece for the Socialist Party!
I figure Sarko got 1-3 point out of the debate.
FYI
Thanks for decoding the trading market. I never know what to make of it.
About the only thing going for Royal is she’s much, much prettier than Sarko. Apart from that, Sarko is going to be the best thing for France in a very long time.
Another thing I didn’t mention explicitly about those “trading markets” is that they usually significantly inflate the likelihood of the more unlikely event... So, the true probability of President Bush being impeached during the next 2 years, for example, is probably far less than the 1:8 or so that it is being traded at now - I would estimate it more like 1:30, myself.
Don’t knock BCBG. I love the pieces I have. I still think she looked like a waiter. The Mao collar is continuous, and hers had a gap in the front — for the bowtie, I guess. If I were in her position, I’d be knocking on Karl Lagerfeld’s door and “get me somma them Chanel suits.” She is an attractive woman, but a left-wing socialist squish head willing to be a sock puppet for her “partner.”
I’m French speaking, but have spent a fair bit of time in the US, and I find this sort of comment really interesting because it illustrates some really big differences between what the French and Americans look for in their leaders.
Not to say that they don’t look for the same things overall - it’s more a question of what’s more important and what’s less important.
The French *need* this free-form debate - the nuances that come across and the candidate’s ability to adjust on the fly without losing eloquence, subtlety, class or style are considered - in French - to be indicators of other things, such as intelligence, depth of thinking, considered opinions and general leadership ability.
I’m not sure I can be as clear about what’s important in America, but I would venture as far as to suggest that in much of the Americas, individuals care little for well-formed phrases (coastal cities perhaps being the exception) and care more about certain key policies such as the treatment of the Mexican border in Texas, or the party line on abortion in some other states.
In France, people come to very personal judgements about their leaders attributes (while drawing a clear line between their political persona and their private lives, the latter being considered .. well... private, and up to a point, irrelevant).
In this debate, those that cared only about the protection of state employees and the preservation of the 35-hour week sided with Royal. The reason Sarko did so well is that he didn’t come across as an extremist, he knew where he stood on his issues, he didn’t let himself get pushed away from his core positions and he came across as a statesman. If you’re going to represent one of the five most powerful countries in the world, hysterics just don’t do the job.
I’m glad he won - it’s a shame he as protectionist tendencies - they clash ideologically (to my mind) with his free-market policies in the labour markets.
My 2 euro-cents, anyway.
Both candidates demonstrated certain weaknesses in their knowledge of civil nuclear issues. During a confused exchange on nuclear energy, Segolene Royal accused her adversary of a "series of errors": "That can happen, but you will need to revise this subject matter!". Actually, both candidates showed certain weaknesses in their knowledge of civil nuclear issues. The share of nuclear power in French electricity products is not, in fact, 17%, as claimed by Segolene Royal, who, on Thursday, on France Inter [Radio Station] admitted to "a lapse". But neither is it 50%, as claimed by Mr. Sarkosy.
In fact, the number is 78% - you can find the information on Bloomberg over here.
He’s the son of Hungarian immigrants, but born in France, I believe.
LOL, so neither candidate knew a thing about the French Nuclear power capabilities, man, politicians never change no matter the time nor place nor country!
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