France

By Marie Dupont

The second round of the French regional elections confirmed the defeat of the right wing parties. Indeed it was a historic scale of defeat. With 35 per cent the right received its lowest share of the vote since 1958. The left received its highest share, 54 per cent, in the same fifty two year period with the sole exception of the presidential elections in 1988. The left won 21 regions and the right only one – Alsace.

But the analysis of the results is more complex than that of a simple shift of votes from right to left.

By Marie Dupont

Last Sunday, 14 March, the first round of the regional elections in France saw a big shift in favour of the left – although there was a 52 per cent abstention rate. The Socialist Party won 30 per cent while the ruling UMP of President Sarkozy received 27 per cent. However in the second voting round the UMP will have no allies, while the Greens, who won 12.5 per cent and the Front de Gauche (Left Front), which won 7 per cent will call for a vote for the Socialist Party. The election overall therefore saw a big rejection of Sarkozy.

First published: 3 July 2007

There was no doubt as to the project of Nicolas Sarkozy when he was elected president of France in May this year. When the US launched the Iraq war this had not been supported by three of the four major European governments – those of Russia, Germany and France. Only Britain actively collaborated with the US. While the opposition of the European powers was mainly verbal, nevertheless this division between the imperialists undoubtedly helped strengthen the international anti-war movement and, to a limited degree, the resistance in Iraq.

First published: July 2007

Le projet de Nicolas Sarkozy au moment de son élection était tout à fait clair. Lorsque les USA ont lancé leur offensive en Irak, trois des quatre principaux gouvernements européens ne l’ont pas soutenu, la France, l’Allemagne et la Russie. Seule la Grande Bretagne a activement collaboré avec les forces américaines. Bien que l’opposition de ces puissances européennes ait été essentiellement verbale, cette division au sein même du camp impérialiste a incontestablement renforcé le mouvement anti-guerre au niveau international et dans une certaine mesure, bien que très restreinte, la résistance en Irak.