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.
Looks like Sarko is a 4 to 1 favorite.
This one is probably over. Heck it is over. Intrade was almost 100% in 2004.
Interesting, Sarkozy is offering his vision, what “Exactly” he would do as PM of France in a mature and informed way, Royal is playing at “I’ll listen to your ideas, I’m a person of the people”
So it will come down to how people feel about the direction that France has taken and whether it needs to be improved.
A fairly good education in French politics is to be had in watching this election.
Royal: “Do you know what is the share of the nuclear power?”
Sarkozy: “We have half of our electricity which is of nuclear origin.”
Royal: “No, 17% only.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Odd... Neither one of them is right about the percent of power provided by nuclear energy.
Eighty Percent!!!!!
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/gue/2006/0323.html
Seventy seven percent!!!
http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller13.html
Seventy six percent !!!
How could they be so unknowing about one area where French technology is in the lead!!!?!
Not to mention a similar outcome in the U.S. in 2008!!!
As long as we have a good candidate we will win. The left has already overstepped its welcome and it is clear the House and Senate Democrats are going to continue to do so. What we can’t have is a Republican that is ashamed to be a conservative and who is going to spend all the time defending himself. I was reading the debate of Sarkozy and the leftist, I loved the way he dealt with her. We need a candidate who is a leader.
Sarko is running for President of France, not Prime Minister. His most likely choice for PM would be Francois Fillon or Jean-Louis Borloo.
Oops! Man, it’s been a long day for me, I am so used to European Countries having PM’s I did not think my reply through.
I do think that Sarkozy is going to win, but the polls tommorrow will tell the tale.
IMHO Boz' comments are interesting and informative, but he is not coming from an objective point of view. He is somewhat anti-Sarko and has not hidden his wish that Royal were better so she could score a win for the Left. Thoughts on Debate
I've just finished watching the majority of tonight's debate, so I thought I would finally comment. First of all, Royal did a much better job during most of the debate itself in terms of TV behavior. Each candidate naturally repeated the same propositions that we have heard throughout the campaign, but Sarkozy was noticeably looking at the table or at the moderators, where as Royal was always looking intently across the table at Sarkozy.
Nevertheless, the conclusions gave me the reverse impression. Sarkozy either wear's his heart on his sleeve or is an excellent actor, for whenever he talks about the value of work and his intent to act, he comes across convincingly and charismatic. Royal, on the other hand, easily slipped into her "mother of four" speech, which ended up sounding trite and scripted.
Overall, this will lead voters to make up their minds only by reinforcing already established impressions. Neither candidate really stood out for the better or worse, which by default will hurt Royal. In tomorrow's Washington Post the article on the debate highlights Royal's instant of "anger" as a decisive moment.
In front of millions of television viewers, Sarkozy turned the tables. Royal got furious when he started talking about handicapped children, saying he was "playing" with the issue. "I am very angry," she said.
"You become unhinged very easily, Madame," said Sarkozy. "To be president of the republic, one must be calm. ... I don't know why Mrs. Royal, who's usually calm, has lost her calm."
If this becomes the defining moment of the debate, it could very well damage her, although I doubt it will do either. You can watch the interchange here. Watching it one starts to get flashbacks to that 1993 debate between the two, when a younger Segolene Royal refused to allow Sarkozy to interrupt her. It's reassuring to know that despite the differences in circumstances, they haven't much changed.
THE WASHINGTON POST WEIGHS IN :
French Presidential Rivals Debate
By JOHN LEICESTER
PARIS — For more than two hours, France’s presidential front-runner needled his challenger during a debate Wednesday _ a little sarcasm here, a comment about her partner there _ all wrapped in a veneer of chivalry and always addressing her as “Madame.”
Finally, Segolene Royal snapped. The woman seeking to become France’s first female president erupted in anger toward the end of the prime-time duel with conservative Nicolas Sarkozy.
It was surprising _ and potentially damaging _ that Royal, not Sarkozy, proved quick to anger. During their bitter election campaign, the Socialist has sought to portray her conservative rival as too unstable, too brutal, to lead the nuclear-armed nation.
In front of millions of television viewers, Sarkozy turned the tables. Royal got furious when he started talking about handicapped children, saying he was “playing” with the issue. “I am very angry,” she said.
“You become unhinged very easily, Madame,” said Sarkozy. “To be president of the republic, one must be calm. ... I don’t know why Mrs. Royal, who’s usually calm, has lost her calm.”
On policy, the first and last debate between the two candidates before Sunday’s runoff election produced no major surprises. They disagreed on how to get France’s sluggish economy working again, on whether Turkey should join the European Union, on how to safeguard French pensions and on whether taxes should be cut.
Royal, who is behind in polls and needed to score points, immediately went on the offensive, criticizing Sarkozy’s record as a minister in President Jacques Chirac’s government before he became a candidate for the presidency.
Sarkozy, leading in the polls and looking to get through the debate unscathed, did not rise to Royal’s baiting, even after she repeatedly interrupted him.
“Will you let me finish?” he asked at one point.
“No,” said Royal.
“Ah,” replied Sarkozy.
An immediate point of contention was France’s 35-hour work week _ a landmark reform for Socialists, but decried by business leaders as a crippling brake on companies.
Sarkozy wants to get around the 35-hour week by making overtime tax-free to encourage people to work more. He described the shortened work week as a “monumental error,” and noted that no other country in Europe had followed France’s lead.
Royal defended the 35-hour work week as a form of social progress and asked why, if it was so opposed, the government in which Sarkozy served had not gotten rid of the legislation. Repeatedly, she accused Sarkozy _ who served as the interior and finance minister _ of having failed to improve France while he was in government.
“What did you do for five years? Because for five years, you had all the power. There’s a credibility problem,” she said.
He, in turn, suggested that her economic program was unworkable and lacked precision. And he dug at her partner and the father of their four children, Socialist Party boss Francois Hollande.
“I know that Francois Hollande said he doesn’t like the rich, which is a strange thing,” said Sarkozy, adding Hollande “must not like himself.”
The debate was expected to draw 20 million viewers or more in a nation re-energized by its hunger for change after 12 lackluster years under Chirac.
Sarkozy and Royal were the last two candidates standing after the April 22 first round of voting in which Sarkozy won 31.2 percent and Royal had 25.9 percent, with 10 rival candidates across the political spectrum knocked out of the race.
Royal’s underdog bid had gathered some momentum recently.
She outdid Sarkozy on Tuesday with a larger rally in Paris than one he had over the weekend. Also Tuesday, far-right nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen, who placed fourth with nearly 4 million votes, urged his supporters to abstain Sunday. Polls show his voters were more likely to back Sarkozy than Royal, and it could cut into Sarkozy’s support if they stay home.
Sarkozy, who built much of his campaign on a pledge to break with the Chirac era, promised in his concluding remarks not to disappoint or betray the French if they elect him. Royal urged voters to be “daring” enough to elect a woman, citing the example of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“I know that for some ... it is not easy to tell oneself that a woman can shoulder the highest responsibilities,” she said. “Others do it elsewhere in the world.”
___
Associated Press Writer Jenny Barchfield in Paris contributed to this report.
Thanks for you posts and analysis.
Le Pen... urged his supporters to abstain Sunday. Polls show his voters were more likely to back Sarkozy than Royal, and it could cut into Sarkozy’s support if they stay home.Assuming they like the idea of Madame President...
Women are constitutionally ill-suited to handle interpersonal aggression. It's a physiologically based difference between men and women.
Do you have anything to base that on other than your opinion? And please don’t give me anecdotal examples or examples about physical assault. You need to back up your claim that a woman executive cannot handle the stress of the position. In fact you have three things you need to demonstrate: 1) that women cannot handle the stress of being an executive in general, 2) that women executives follow the general population rules of women (but how then did they become an executive?), and 3) that men can handle the stress of being an executive according to the same criteria you used for women.
>>Many shower only on Fridays/Saturdays before going out for their weekly sortie. <<
Hmmmm...not really true from my experiences there. Though their deodorant tends to lack some antiperspirants in France. That said, they do tend to stay a heck of a lot thinner. Always a plus in my book.
What a load of hooey!
Why shouldn’t Segolene Royal become the President of France? Let me count the ways, and being a woman isn’t even in the first 150.
il n’ya pas de quoi.
It is interesting that the very last thing she had to say to the voters was "Vote for me because I am a woman". She is intelligent enough to know that that is the only thing she has going for her.
Will it be enough?
Stunning. Or should I say “stune-ing”. I am stuned to my very beeber.
I heard that Royal was a lightweight, but these answers from her are amazing. They say absolutely nothing at all. How can anybody support this woman for anything?
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