Elections in France.
If Segolene Royal wins, she will become the first female president of France. Her rival Sarkozy, who appears to be winning, is labelled 'right-winger' in the link (3) pasted in this post, as was Chirac in another Yahoo news report. Don't know anything about him at all.
Article (3) is the main bit of news I wanted to paste here, but not sure if everyone knows about Royal yet.
A couple of months ago maybe, the news showed a bit of background on Royal. She's got some scary 'controversial' views:
(a) Seems to support the French part of Canada becoming independent. She's not even French-Canadian, what does her opinion matter?
(b) She praised China's justice system. Of course she would, she's a borderline communist herself.
(c ) Anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian - see article (2) below.
(1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0...12,00.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Ségolène Royal in Quebec gaffe</b>
Wednesday January 24, 2007
Ségolène Royal was criticised yesterday for the latest in a string of diplomatic gaffes after she appeared to call for independence for Canada's mainly French-speaking Quebec province, provoking an unusually strong rebuke from the Canadian prime minister.
Ms Royal, the Socialist presidential candidate, has been accused of a series of blunders by supporters of her centre-right opponent Nicolas Sarkozy. <b>Recently in Beijing, she praised the speed of the Chinese justice system, while avoiding the question of human rights.</b> But yesterday she told reporters she supported "sovereignty and liberty" for Quebec. Her comments followed a meeting with the head of the minority Parti Québécois, which wants Quebec to secede from Canada.
Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper warned: "Experience teaches that it is highly inappropriate for a foreign leader to interfere in the democratic affairs of another country."
Quebec held referendums on secession from Canada in 1980 and 1995, with a majority voting against.
Ms Royal denied interfering in Canadian affairs, saying she meant only that "the people who vote are sovereign and free".<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(2) http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopN...yal-lebanon.xml
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Segolene Royal chided for Mideast meeting</b>
PARIS, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Opponents say Segolene Royal, the Socialist candidate for president of France, was naive when she met with a Hezbollah politician in Lebanon.
Ali Amar, a member of the Lebanese parliament, denounced Israel -- which he called "the Zionist entity" -- and the United States. He compared Israel's policies to those of Nazi Germany, The Independent reported.
"I would only have one point of difference," she said. "I cannot refer to Israel as an 'entity' as you do. The state of Israel exists and has a right to security."
Royal later said that her interpreter did not translate the Nazi reference.
But politicians on the right said the incident showed Royal out of her depth.
"To allow the allies and friends of France, whether the U.S. or Israel, to be insulted without reacting is a serious mistake," said Francois Fillon, a center-right ally of Nicolas Sarkozy, who is also running for president.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(3) http://au.news.yahoo.com/070504/15/13cfv.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Friday May 4, 10:22 PM
<b>France's Royal warns of violence if Sarkozy wins</b>
PARIS (Reuters) - France risks violence and brutality if right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy wins Sunday's presidential election, Socialist opponent Segolene Royal said on Friday.
On the last day of official campaigning, opinion polls showed Sarkozy enjoyed a commanding lead over Royal, who accused the former interior minister of lying and polarizing France.
"Choosing Nicolas Sarkozy would be a dangerous choice," Royal told RTL radio.
"It is my responsibility today to alert people to the risk of (his) candidature with regards to the violence and brutality that would be unleashed in the country (if he won)," she said.
Pressed on whether there would be actual violence, Royal said: "I think so, I think so," referring specifically to France's volatile suburbs hit by widespread rioting in 2005.
Royal went on the offensive during a fiery television debate between the two on Wednesday night when Sarkozy, portrayed as ruthlessly ambitious by his opponents, questioned whether she was cool enough to become France's first woman president.
Sarkozy's performance buttressed his lead in the polls and a TNS Sofres poll published on Friday showed him at 54.5 percent, compared to 45.5 percent for the Socialist. An IPSOS poll put him on 54 percent against 46 percent for Royal.
A senior Royal aide conceded the situation was serious.
"I have said that if the difference between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal was more than 5 points, the second round would be difficult," Royal's adviser Julien Dray told RFI radio.
"We will have to wait and see what is happening at the polls on Sunday and draw the consequences afterwards," he added, saying long-standing divisions within the Socialist camp "have not always helped things."
Analysts say a fresh defeat for the Socialists, who have not held the presidency since Francois Mitterrand retired in 1995, could spark a crisis in the party which has not undergone the painful reforms of other European leftist parties.
<b>VIOLENCE</b>
However Royal refused to concede defeat, saying opinion polls could not be trusted.
"There is therefore still hope for those who think that it is all still to play for," she said during a last minute campaign whirl through the northwestern region of Brittany.
At the start of her campaign, Royal refused to refer to her opponent, but with time running against her she has changed tactics and has relentlessly lambasted him this past week.
On Friday she said he had exacerbated social tensions during his time as interior minister and added that he was unable to enter some neighborhoods for fear of provoking violence. The suburbs were hit by widespread riots in 2005.
"When a candidate has so much nerve to tell lies and counter-truths and cannot even go everywhere in the country, then yes, I think this candidature is a risk."
A relaxed Sarkozy laughed off her comments.
"She's not in a good mood this morning. It must be the opinion polls," he told Europe 1 radio.
Sarkozy topped the first round vote on April 22 with 31.2 percent of the ballot against 25.9 percent for Royal.
Campaigning for the second round ends at midnight ahead of voting in some of France's overseas territories on Saturday.
The rest of the nation will vote on Sunday. France has 44.5 million registered voters. Polling stations close at 1800 GMT and the first projections of the result are due soon afterwards.
The election marks a generational shift for France with conservative Jacques Chirac, 74, retiring after 12 years in power. Sarkozy and Royal are in their early 50s and for the first time in a presidential run-off, neither candidate has served as head of state or prime minister.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->If Sarkozy is no better than Royal, the French are in for a bad time. So I hope for their sakes that he's decent at least.
If Segolene Royal wins, she will become the first female president of France. Her rival Sarkozy, who appears to be winning, is labelled 'right-winger' in the link (3) pasted in this post, as was Chirac in another Yahoo news report. Don't know anything about him at all.
Article (3) is the main bit of news I wanted to paste here, but not sure if everyone knows about Royal yet.
A couple of months ago maybe, the news showed a bit of background on Royal. She's got some scary 'controversial' views:
(a) Seems to support the French part of Canada becoming independent. She's not even French-Canadian, what does her opinion matter?
(b) She praised China's justice system. Of course she would, she's a borderline communist herself.
(c ) Anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian - see article (2) below.
(1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0...12,00.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Ségolène Royal in Quebec gaffe</b>
Wednesday January 24, 2007
Ségolène Royal was criticised yesterday for the latest in a string of diplomatic gaffes after she appeared to call for independence for Canada's mainly French-speaking Quebec province, provoking an unusually strong rebuke from the Canadian prime minister.
Ms Royal, the Socialist presidential candidate, has been accused of a series of blunders by supporters of her centre-right opponent Nicolas Sarkozy. <b>Recently in Beijing, she praised the speed of the Chinese justice system, while avoiding the question of human rights.</b> But yesterday she told reporters she supported "sovereignty and liberty" for Quebec. Her comments followed a meeting with the head of the minority Parti Québécois, which wants Quebec to secede from Canada.
Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper warned: "Experience teaches that it is highly inappropriate for a foreign leader to interfere in the democratic affairs of another country."
Quebec held referendums on secession from Canada in 1980 and 1995, with a majority voting against.
Ms Royal denied interfering in Canadian affairs, saying she meant only that "the people who vote are sovereign and free".<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(2) http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopN...yal-lebanon.xml
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Segolene Royal chided for Mideast meeting</b>
PARIS, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Opponents say Segolene Royal, the Socialist candidate for president of France, was naive when she met with a Hezbollah politician in Lebanon.
Ali Amar, a member of the Lebanese parliament, denounced Israel -- which he called "the Zionist entity" -- and the United States. He compared Israel's policies to those of Nazi Germany, The Independent reported.
"I would only have one point of difference," she said. "I cannot refer to Israel as an 'entity' as you do. The state of Israel exists and has a right to security."
Royal later said that her interpreter did not translate the Nazi reference.
But politicians on the right said the incident showed Royal out of her depth.
"To allow the allies and friends of France, whether the U.S. or Israel, to be insulted without reacting is a serious mistake," said Francois Fillon, a center-right ally of Nicolas Sarkozy, who is also running for president.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(3) http://au.news.yahoo.com/070504/15/13cfv.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Friday May 4, 10:22 PM
<b>France's Royal warns of violence if Sarkozy wins</b>
PARIS (Reuters) - France risks violence and brutality if right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy wins Sunday's presidential election, Socialist opponent Segolene Royal said on Friday.
On the last day of official campaigning, opinion polls showed Sarkozy enjoyed a commanding lead over Royal, who accused the former interior minister of lying and polarizing France.
"Choosing Nicolas Sarkozy would be a dangerous choice," Royal told RTL radio.
"It is my responsibility today to alert people to the risk of (his) candidature with regards to the violence and brutality that would be unleashed in the country (if he won)," she said.
Pressed on whether there would be actual violence, Royal said: "I think so, I think so," referring specifically to France's volatile suburbs hit by widespread rioting in 2005.
Royal went on the offensive during a fiery television debate between the two on Wednesday night when Sarkozy, portrayed as ruthlessly ambitious by his opponents, questioned whether she was cool enough to become France's first woman president.
Sarkozy's performance buttressed his lead in the polls and a TNS Sofres poll published on Friday showed him at 54.5 percent, compared to 45.5 percent for the Socialist. An IPSOS poll put him on 54 percent against 46 percent for Royal.
A senior Royal aide conceded the situation was serious.
"I have said that if the difference between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal was more than 5 points, the second round would be difficult," Royal's adviser Julien Dray told RFI radio.
"We will have to wait and see what is happening at the polls on Sunday and draw the consequences afterwards," he added, saying long-standing divisions within the Socialist camp "have not always helped things."
Analysts say a fresh defeat for the Socialists, who have not held the presidency since Francois Mitterrand retired in 1995, could spark a crisis in the party which has not undergone the painful reforms of other European leftist parties.
<b>VIOLENCE</b>
However Royal refused to concede defeat, saying opinion polls could not be trusted.
"There is therefore still hope for those who think that it is all still to play for," she said during a last minute campaign whirl through the northwestern region of Brittany.
At the start of her campaign, Royal refused to refer to her opponent, but with time running against her she has changed tactics and has relentlessly lambasted him this past week.
On Friday she said he had exacerbated social tensions during his time as interior minister and added that he was unable to enter some neighborhoods for fear of provoking violence. The suburbs were hit by widespread riots in 2005.
"When a candidate has so much nerve to tell lies and counter-truths and cannot even go everywhere in the country, then yes, I think this candidature is a risk."
A relaxed Sarkozy laughed off her comments.
"She's not in a good mood this morning. It must be the opinion polls," he told Europe 1 radio.
Sarkozy topped the first round vote on April 22 with 31.2 percent of the ballot against 25.9 percent for Royal.
Campaigning for the second round ends at midnight ahead of voting in some of France's overseas territories on Saturday.
The rest of the nation will vote on Sunday. France has 44.5 million registered voters. Polling stations close at 1800 GMT and the first projections of the result are due soon afterwards.
The election marks a generational shift for France with conservative Jacques Chirac, 74, retiring after 12 years in power. Sarkozy and Royal are in their early 50s and for the first time in a presidential run-off, neither candidate has served as head of state or prime minister.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->If Sarkozy is no better than Royal, the French are in for a bad time. So I hope for their sakes that he's decent at least.