cinco de mayo: TRIBUTE TO FRANCE - ELECTIONS IN FRANCE

But they are having a hell of a time and it is beginning to resemble the circus that is our electoral process.

The 2012 French presidential election is to be held on 22 April and 6 May 2012, the latter being used for a run-off if necessary. President Nicolas Sarkozy will be eligible to run for a second successive term during this election. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

As is to be expected, there are a lot of negative and scare tactics. The juxtaposition of the Muslim and the wearing of the Burqa, the old worn out class warfare, the redistribution of the wealth…are all present as they are in America.

Of course, it is all meant to distract, to awaken the prejudices and cater to the stupidity of those who are not well informed, naïve or easily misguided. In that aspect, elections in France are not any different than the American counterparts.

The lineup of main contenders for France’s 2012 presidential elections was set in October 2011, when the Socialist party chose François Hollande to face the conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.

At the time of Mr. Hollande’s victory in a primary, opinion polls showed him and his main rival, Martine Aubry, both with strong leads over Mr. Sarkozy. But there was not much excitement about the prospect of a Socialist victory, especially with the putative favorite, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, out of the race as a consequence of his encounter with a housekeeper in a New York hotel room. In its early stages, it appeared to be a grumpy French presidential campaign, with only a few voters passionate about their choices. It could be called the election of “désamour,” one of those nearly untranslatable words, meaning a falling out of love, a disenchantment mixed with disillusion.
But even as Mr. Sarkozy’s unpopularity with voters continues to plumb new depths, the outcome of the contest remains far from clear, with rivals to his left and right hoping to exploit a deepening public disquiet over the ongoing euro crisis.

But I know the French people and it is a lot harder to mislead them or to lie to them. These are the same people who went out and revolted against an arrogant and repressive monarchy and ended up beheading the ruling class. The people of France have a tradition of not taking any shit from anybody and this has at times caused them to be classified as arrogant. But make no mistake about it, when it comes to their freedom, the French are the most passionate in keeping it, in nurturing it, in making sure it continues to be there for their offspring.

To say that the French are patriotic is an understatement. Their love for France goes beyond the expected and why shouldn’t they? Here is a country that not only has natural beauty, an industrious and enterprising population, a very deep rooted tradition of meritocracy and the highest esteem for intellectual endeavors. France is the best example of a highly cultural society...culture is alive and well in France, merci.

The French are a proud people but they are also a kind and generous bunch. They never fail to give a helping hand whenever there is a catastrophe somewhere, they are in the lead when it comes to going to help less fortunate people in other nations…a good example of this is “MEDCINS SANS FRONTIERES” (Doctors Without Borders) Which is an international organization created in 1971 by a small group of French doctors and journalists in the aftermath of the Biafra secession, who believed that all people have the right to medical care regardless of race, religion, creed or political affiliation, and that the needs of these people outweigh respect for national borders.

I think that there is only one country that is right up there with the French when it comes to its generosity and their sending help to places that need it… The United States of America. After all, we created “The Peace Corps” and usually lead the world as we should in monetary assistance of all kinds that is in keeping with being the most prosperous nation on earth. Unfortunately, that kind of attitude, that generosity, that idea of giving a helping hand is waning and fast disappearing as the very wealthy through their puppet political party (Republican) is retreating to a position of selfish, greedy and isolationist nature.

But the French will be there, they always will be and there always will be a fine country with a true democratic tradition that is La Belle France.