By Alison Flint
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| Courtesy of Time NewsFeed |
As of April 22, the French election has progressed to its next round, leaving Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande to fight for the office.
Ten candidates began in the Open Election, including Marine Le Pen, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and François Bayrou. For the first time in history, the incumbent did not lead the Open Election vote. Sarkozy finished second to Hollande with 27.1% of the vote to Hollande’s 28.5%, according to the Interior Ministry’s released figures. Since their victory at the Open Election, both candidates have been campaigning for the supporters of the eight unsuccessful candidates.
Sarkozy seems to be struggling to rally Le Pen’s backers. Mr. Sarkozy will be promoting his anti-immigration and preservation policies to woo the far Right, of which he needs at least two-thirds in order to win a majority vote. Although his political views coordinate well with the National Front, Le Pen’s party, Sarkozy’s most recent attempt to collect supporters was pegged as too forward. Hollande will probably need much less effort in recruiting the far Left of Mélenchon.
Hollande, who has never held a national-level office, became the Socialist Party’s presidential choice after front-runner Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of sexual assault. Hollande’s following has been nurtured by the French public’s general dissatisfaction with Sarkozy as well as with the talks in Europe’s financial crisis. Both candidates stress the importance of revitalizing Europe’s economy, but by bringing a new face into the talks, many French voters are hoping to loosen Germany’s dominance on Europe’s economic policies.
In domestic economic policy, Hollande has created a traditionally French platform involving a delayed increase in taxes for increased government spending to create jobs and combat France’s 10 percent unemployment rate. Sarkozy proposes the opposite strategy of tax cuts and restricted government spending, pledging to balance France’s budget by 2016.
Hollande and Sarkozy will face each other at the polls on May 6 for the final vote. If France should deny the incumbent’s reelection for the first time since 1981, the country would end 17 years of conservative leadership.
In domestic economic policy, Hollande has created a traditionally French platform involving a delayed increase in taxes for increased government spending to create jobs and combat France’s 10 percent unemployment rate. Sarkozy proposes the opposite strategy of tax cuts and restricted government spending, pledging to balance France’s budget by 2016.
Hollande and Sarkozy will face each other at the polls on May 6 for the final vote. If France should deny the incumbent’s reelection for the first time since 1981, the country would end 17 years of conservative leadership.