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NEWS ABOUT: French elections

François Hollande to Run Against Sarkozy

Longtime party official says he can restore 'French dream'

(Newser) - The French Socialists have a candidate for next year's presidential elections (and, surprise, it's not DSK), so now preparations can really begin for the Nicolas Sarkozy showdown, reports the BBC . The Socialists yesterday chose François Hollande—a longtime party official who has never held a ministerial-level office—... More »

First French Women Fined for Wearing Veils

Veiled woman running for president of France

(Newser) - Two French women have received the country's first fines for wearing a full-face veil—and they hope the fines will be the first nail in the coffin of the ban. The Muslim women, who were fined more than $100 each after wearing the veils while trying to deliver a... More »

Poll: French Voters Prefer DSK to Sarkozy

But most don't want Strauss-Kahn to run

(Newser) - If French voters had to choose between Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential election, the incumbent would be out of a job, a new poll finds. Some 54% would opt for the former IMF chief currently charged with attempted rape, according to the Independent , which notes... More »

As Case Implodes, Strauss-Kahn Allies Eye Presidency

Turnaround in case shakes up French politics

(Newser) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn's old job has been filled, but supporters waking to the news that the sexual assault case against him is collapsing have a new one in mind for him: president of France. Before his arrest, the former IMF chief was considered a leading contender to unseat Nicolas Sarkozy... More »

Le Pen Would Beat Sarkozy: Poll

Online survey puts far-right leader ahead, 23% to 21%

(Newser) - An online poll that puts far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the lead for the first round of next year's presidential election has France in shock, reports the BBC . Le Pen, who took over from her father as head of the National Front party, took the lead in a Le ... More »

Carla Bruni: I'm Not a Lefty Any More

Sarkozy can now count on wife's vote

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni celebrate 3 years of marriage this week, and she's giving him quite the anniversary present: She'll probably vote for him next year. Bruni—who supported the conservative French president's Socialist rival in 2007 and told interviewers two years ago she was "instinctively left-wing"—... More »

Sarkozy's Party Suffers Defeat at Local Polls

Voters steamed over economy, president's marital drama

(Newser) - French voters dealt Nicolas Sarkozy another blow today in the second round of local balloting. The maverick president's right-wing UMP party lost mayorships in Strasbourg and Reims to opposition socialists, who also gained Toulouse and held on to power bases in Paris and Lyon, the BBC reports. UMP retained control... More »

Sarkozy's Party Loses Ground to Socialists

Parliamentary elections show left is alive, but Sarkozy's majority still solid

(Newser) - The French left refused to roll over and play dead in parliamentary elections yesterday, giving Nicolas Sarkozy a smaller majority than expected. Sarkozy's Conservative Party won a strong enough mandate to push through its ambitious tax cuts and easing of labor restrictions, the New York Times reports, but loses some... More »

Sarkozy Preps for Landslide in Parliament

Projected majority for UMP could signal mandate for new Prez

(Newser) - More Paris news: Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party is making a beeline towards a landslide in the French parliamentary election, according to first round polls. UMP could win at least 383 of 577 seats, meaning a serious mandate for Sarko to push through rightish economic reforms. But the election is anyone's... More »

Sarko, Ségo Shake Things Up

William Pfaff on how the French election knocked the country out of its doldrums

(Newser) - France has been gripped by a serious case of political stagnation, and the recent election between two bright young things—Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal—has smashed it out of its stupor, William Pfaff reflects in the New York Review of Books. More »

Unions Fire Warning Shots At Sarkozy

French labor leaders hint at general strikes

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy could be on a collision course with French labor unions over  his "economic evolution." The president-elect wooed voters with proposals to extend the 35-hour work week, slash welfare, curb the right to strike and cut taxes. But even as Sarkozy headed to Malta before taking office... More »

Ou Est Mme. Sarkozy?

President-elect's elusive wife spurs speculation about First Lady's role

(Newser) - To add frisson to the French election, new president Nicolas Sarkozy is already facing questions about his rocky marriage to his glamorous second wife, Cecilia. The London Times reports the former model, who once said she was "bored stiff" at the idea of being France's First Lady, was conspicuously... More »

Sarkozy Sees Mandate for New France

Vows to bond with U.S., break with nanny state

(Newser) - Newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared an economic revolution for France and closer friendship with the United States to thousands of jubilant supporters at Paris's Place de La Concorde last night. But there were riots in Bastille and car burnings in the suburbs as disappointed Socialists reacted to the... More »

Sarko Takes French Presidency

(Newser) - Nicholas Sarkozy, a right-leaning Hungarian immigrant's son, will be the next president of France, according to initial results from the final round of elections there. Sarkozy's victory within an 85% turnout dashed the hopes of a galvanized Socialist Party, and its candidate Ségolène Royal, of placing the first... More »

Royal Slams Sarkozy in French Debate

Socialist assails conservative for 'law and order' failures

(Newser) - Socialist candidate Ségolene Royal scored points for passion and toughness, and conservative Nicolas Sarkozy for policy brilliance in the French presidential debate last night. Commentators said Royal, who was trailing in opinion polls, helped close the gap by seizing the offensive, turning the tables on the notoriously combative Sarkozy.... More »

French Winners Woo Centrist

With 7 million supporters, Francois Bayrou is courted by left and right

(Newser) - Defeated presidential candidate Francois Bayrou is now the most wanted man in France, as Sarko and Ségo compete to woo his seven million voters. Socialist Ségolène Royal has appealed directly to Bayrou to form an alliance, while right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy is rebranding himself as a centrist-friendly “... More »

Sarkozy, Royal in French Runoff

(Newser) - Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal won the first round of voting today to succeed French president Jacques Chirac, CNN reports. Based on vote counts from hundreds of polling stations, Sarkozy drew 30.46% of the votes, and Royal  24.41%. They will face each other in a runoff... More »

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