The first round of the elections are only a few days away now.
What is happening in France and how do the French voters feel?
The answer to this depends which media / TV / newspaper you read.
They have already taken sides and eliminated all but their two preferred candidate, saying that the final round will be between Sarkozy (Right) and Hollande (Left).
We all know that the press is very biased and to some extent controlled in France, Recent political scandals over the years have exposed riggings with fake voters, some of the legal processes are still underway or in a simple static limbo status waiting to be forgotten.
Will the French voters try and vote for alternatives to the traditional left / right ?
The media are basically saying that the majority of votes which will be given to any candidate other than the favorite two, are only protest votes.
Is this really true ?
Are the French becoming brave enough to actually take the chance and change the political landscape?
They do have a reputation of being “moaners”, always wanting to change, ranting and complaining, but never have the courage to change things in case their savings or way of life change.
The average French person is very fed up with the world crisis, European politics, domestic problems, new taxes and RADARs.
The French voter who does not vote for the traditional two left / right candidates may actually believe in the party he is voting for and not protesting.
He may have lost confidence in a Europe that he does not recognize with unknown borders.
He may believe that there are server ecological problems, where industrial lobbies push their way through and impose themselves without consideration.
He is the most taxed citizen in the world, but has to repay Banks going bankrupt and money that has vanished for years.
His children carry huge bags full of books to school, where there is a great problem of teacher absence and hours with no lessons. Student fee for universities s will soon be given a dramatic increase, so the future students and parents are panicking.
There are many kinds of “the average French Person” who will vote.
Much will depend on whether he lives in the metropolises or the countryside. There are great problems with property prices in the cities, where rent is about 30% of the income, traffic congestion and increasing crime.
Whilst in the countryside, desertification is critical, farms are now managed by a single person with massive bank loans, schools can be many miles away.
The age group is also important, with pensioners witnessing their incomes never increasing whilst (despite official figures) inflation is rife. The 30 – 50 age group are being informed that they will have to work for many more years before being entitled to a pensions. The young are being told that they need to have better diplomas whilst the job queues never end.
In this article, I’ve used the word French and France, but I’m sure you agree, this could be almost any country in the world.