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The Spectacle Blog
First out of the box, the Wall Street Journal is calling the French presidential election for François Hollande, by a good, four-point margin.
View all comments (37) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Wlady Pleszczynski
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/05/06/sarkozy-defeated
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On to you| 5.6.12 @ 1:43PM
So I guess he doesn't have to deal with Netanyahu any more.
Bob S| 5.6.12 @ 1:59PM
And France commits political suicide.
Jack in Wi.| 5.6.12 @ 2:27PM
France committd political and moral suicide a longtime ago, just like this country. They had a choice to make, terrible or worse. It is just like we have had in this country the last 7 elections. This present one may be the worse choice yet, Romney or Obama.
Clint| 5.6.12 @ 4:44PM
Sacre Bleu !
Mittens Et Barky Oiseau.
Mickey| 5.6.12 @ 7:10PM
Jack and KKKlint agree. Yawn, what a surprise.
Clint| 5.6.12 @ 9:29PM
Bibi's Garçon De Cabine, Petit Micky.
Bob Grant | 5.6.12 @ 9:52PM
JaCkLINT are one and the same.
Clint| 5.7.12 @ 6:26AM
That's A Lie, Mittens' Kitten Grant.
That's An Israel Firster Smear Bund Goebbels Propaganda Lie.
I'm Surprised You Would Even Attempt To Play It.
Occam's Tool| 5.7.12 @ 11:41AM
Clint: please tell me when you have disagreed with Jack? No, I don't think you are the same person. But I fail to see why you would be upset about being confused with him. I would not be upset over being confused with, say, Dr. Right, or Nick, or TLP, or Ken, or John II, or especially Stuart Koehl.
Occam's Tool| 5.7.12 @ 11:42AM
By the way: Goebbels was not an Israel Firster. I think the data on that is well docmented. :)
Occam's Tool| 5.7.12 @ 11:42AM
Sorry: documented.
Bob Grant| 5.6.12 @ 2:45PM
Francois Hussein Hollande wins!!
I heard he already wants to LOWER the retirement age to 60, vastly increase taxes on those making over 1 mil Euros, and add 60, 000 brand new teaching positions.
All THIS during a severe economic slowdown?
The World is going insane.
USSAlabama| 5.6.12 @ 3:16PM
Yeah, when they get that 75% tax rate we may have to consider re-opening Ellis Island.
RJ| 5.6.12 @ 3:49PM
And hopefully, America's liberals will immigrate to socialist France, leaving us to live in freedom and prosperity.
Unger| 5.7.12 @ 1:43AM
RJ, this is what American liberals do not understand about socialist Europe -- they would not be welcome there. Sure, a French professor and his wife from Lyon or Bordeaux will host a visiting American liberal of some distinction, offer a half-day city outing, a dinner. But should that American liberal decide, "Ah, Pierre, my good French friend, this is the life! Yes, yes! We've decided to sell the house in San Jose and bid a forever adieu to the U.S.A., we're....we're coming here! In six months Pierre, we can be neighbors!"
Watch Pierre's face collapse. He'll be speechless. (and Pierre is thinking "neighbors?!" -- wake me from this nightmare)
Socialism is a very weird malady of the worst order; socialism is NEVER friendly, never welcoming. Socialism can fake hospitality for a long weekend -- but not for the duration.
Visiting liberal academic dons descend on places like Cambridge and Oxford for their six month sabbaticals. I have come to understand why it is only six months; the "hosts" cannot bare it any longer.
Odd that American liberals have never grasped how their seeming "fellow travelers" in Europe can abide with them.
Unger| 5.7.12 @ 3:25AM
I apologize. Several severe typos above like the spelling of "bare" when it should be "bear," as in 'bear the burden of....'
Also, in the last sentence, the word 'can' lacks three more letters to make it 'cannot.'
Pardon. All I can say is, "Je m'excuse!'
Bob K.| 5.6.12 @ 8:10PM
60,000 new teachers for the 6,000,000 new Muslims who will immigrate to France during his tenure!
Bob Grant | 5.6.12 @ 10:02PM
Wahabbi school teachers, no doubt.
France is, shall we say, Le Screwed!!
RJ| 5.6.12 @ 3:12PM
As a conservative, who lived in France for a while, I am not bothered by the French electing a socialist. France is more alien to America than any other country in Western Europe, probably because few French people immigrated to America so whatever French culture we absorbed was indirect.
The French are always going to march to a different drummer than we do. Whoever they elect as President will not be very friendly towards the United States; Jacques Chirac, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Georges Pompidou, and, of course, Charles de Gaulle, who wasn't really an ally in WWII. On a personal level, the prior French socialist President, François Mitterrand, was the friendliest of the group. We know that socialism doesn't end well, but they want more of it. So be it. They will help provide an example for the world to learn from.
Vern Crisler | 5.6.12 @ 3:49PM
Personally, I think countries that vote socialists or semi-socialists into office should suffer the consequences for years to come. Hopefully, the French will suffer as much as the people of North Korea.
So also America, for voting semi-socialists into Congress and the Presidency, should suffer unemployment and social decay for many years.
It's not that I like to see my own country in such dire straits, but it seems to me that people just have a hard time learning the lesson that socialism doesn't work. Until they do learn the lesson, then let them get a taste of what it's like in North Korea.
It seems the only way to get through to the moron voters in all countries.
Bob Grant| 5.6.12 @ 3:56PM
Can we expand this to states in this country as well?
What about a border around California, Michigan, and Illinois?
RJ| 5.6.12 @ 6:41PM
Getting through to people that expanded government does not work is surprisingly difficult. I live in California and was on my former employer's new site selection team over 20 years ago. The decision was that no new business would go to California because it was uncompetitive. In the more than two decades since then, the situation has gotten much worse and I keep wondering when will we start a reform movement. As you may remember, when Democrats were being swept from office across the nation in 2010, they added to their already sizable majorities in California. Every state-wide office in California is Democratic and the results were not close. The remaining Republicans in the legislature are so small a minority they are generally irrelevant. I don't know how we are going to get out of this mess, but eventually the state and local governments are going to have to deal with a lack of money with means other than their current plans of increasing taxes.
Unger| 5.7.12 @ 1:54AM
RJ, I too would almost like to see France crumble under its own folly of gargantuan state pensions, early forced retirements, subsidized medicine, subsidized medications, strangle-hold unions that cripple industry. Because, like you, I want to think that France's collapse could perhaps warn off a Netherlands, an Austria, an Ireland.... After all, no one really takes Greece and Greeces foibles, follies, and failures seriously. Greece has been a failure forever and only survives because of the billions infused due to northern Europeans craving sun, sea, and sand. Greece is only 10 million people.
However, the collapse of France....
My worry is another one entirely: It is this. The weakest nation on muslims, sharia, jihadis, cell groups, cultural implosion, and mosques on nearly every block is Belgium. Belgium is a goner and particularly the Walloon region shares much culturally with France.
My concern is that a failing France will provide the islamoterrorists and sharia/Wahabbi takeover a supreme, prized plum on the Atlantic, on the Channel, on the Med, and with right good infrastructure for the next serious chapter in world muslim domination.
As arm chair economists, we can cheer the real world example that France offers us of how and why socialism and liberalism fail. However, as one who sees and knows what comes next as we go Sharia/Wahabbi, I am not cheering the white liberal fool secularists in France.
Frog in Uniform| 5.6.12 @ 4:48PM
Just like Jack said, we had to choose between terrible and worse, so this wasn't much of a choice anyway. Besides as we say "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" or " the more it changes, the more it's the same" Before it even began, the election was stolen from the people. Let me explain this. Monsieur RJ, have you ever heard about a very exclusive think tank called "Le Siecle"? Watch the members' list and you'll find Sarkozy along with Holland and most members of the former administration and most members of the next. Those people claim to be political foes while having lunch together on a regular basis, and they decide who belongs to the club and who doesn't (Marine Le Pen never did and never will). The existence of that club was one of the best kept secret in France. So while I just loathe Holland and his gang of socialist loonies, I had not much respect either for Sarkozy, his arrogance, his dishonesty and the way he wasted his five year stint. Holland didn't win, and Sarkozy didn't lose, Le Siecle won.
Needless to say, I didn't vote this time.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Siècle
RJ| 5.7.12 @ 1:34AM
Bonjour,
No, I have not heard of "Le Siecle" and thank-you for pointing it out. Perhaps somewhat related to your point, my experience is that the French government has a significant ownership stake in many major French companies that that it influences who serves in senior executive positions. I remember one high level executive who was very unimpressive and I was told he had political backing. Too bad. Unfortunately, America has taken big steps in that direction over the last 20 years. Best of luck to you.
Frog in Uniform| 5.6.12 @ 5:06PM
Just to make sure it's there:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Siècle
Audace| 5.7.12 @ 2:15AM
Monsieur Frog i. U., I know that Nico Sarkozy was an outsider due to his upbringing, family ancestry, schooling, etc. No, not a pure outsider, but certainly not the elite of the elites that have run France since 1955.
So, if he is part of "Le Siecle," it is only in these last three years, maybe four correct? Wasn't this a big part of Sarkozy's appeal to the French as he was an "outsider" (of sorts) and that helped with votes to get him to the Elysee Palace, oui?
Sarkozy wanted to bust into this group of "insiders" as mayor of Paris and was overall rebuffed, yes? And now had to be let in as the President of these last years. I mean, just as he wants to rub shoulders, there are members of Le Siecle who will always wish for favors from Le President. But he has not been a welcome member, correct? He just doesn't have the pedigree required -- as has been explained to me.
That said, yes, I fully understand that France is just governed by its elites. The now (in prison?) DSK -- Dominique Strauss Kahn IS part of that "insider" group and thus it was expected would be shielded from his own undoings, yes.
Also, Marie Le Pen could have theoretically (a bit of an "if") been part of the insiders (she is certainly well privileged); however, what does her "in" is her father. The "insiders" despise and abhor him, correct?
Please -- get the ASO editors to give you a weekly column here. I'd love it. Despite all its strange ways, I love France immensely --- the France, that is, well outside of Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. It was, to me, always everyday pure fascination. From Les Alpes to the Val de Loire, Bretangne to little places like Sete on the sea. If I could have a wish, I'd live for a decade just outside Colmar. Le Grand Nation is indeed, to me, mind boggling at times and many junctures, but vraiment incroyable on a whole host of levels. (aside from the rising tide of mosques and islam)
If you reply and share your insights as to what you know there in France, I am truly grateful. I have not been back since 2008, so I am just really out of touch. Merci.
Frog in Uniform| 5.8.12 @ 5:01PM
Thanks for your insights Monsieur Audace and thanks for loving a country that has changed so much I hardly recognize it at times. I'm partial to Brittany, Corsica and Languedoc, regions where my ancestors come from and just hate big cities with an exception for Toulouse. I already explained to the readership what I do for a living in this topic:
http://spectator.org/archives/.....-and-the-r
and wouldn't have much more to add as a TAS writer without becoming really boring. Besides I don't have enough command of the English language and reading anything written in broken English is a real pain. Le Siecle is very much in power and Sarko never really belonged to it, but he was close... His original sin was to be partly jewish (on his mother's side) and to have noble origins. In France you can't be a Jew if you don't belong to the loonie left and you will never be really liked (respected yes, but not liked) if you have a "de" before your family name. I guess "Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa" was too much in some circles closely related to the same butchers that committed genocide in Vendee, Brittany and Lyonnais during the Revolution, slaughtering nobles, priests, farmers, scientists ("The Revolution doesn't need scientists" they said before sending Monsieur de Lavoisier to the guillotine) That tradition of murdering your own people is still honored to this day as most graduation ceremony at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration bear the name of a Revolution vampire.
I see France becoming more and more islamized and this may be the undoing of that atheist mindset.Those who pee on churches will be first to be kicked in the butt to attend mosquees!
Again thank you, Monsieur Audace, and come back one more time before France changes for the worst.
Clint| 5.6.12 @ 5:07PM
touche'
Bob Grant | 5.6.12 @ 9:49PM
Douche.
Clint| 5.7.12 @ 6:36AM
Uh Oh !
Petit Chat De Mittens.
alışveriş | 5.6.12 @ 5:30PM
i dont like him :)
Richard Baker| 5.6.12 @ 7:39PM
France won't really notice much difference, will they? The country is a socialist haven already.
Pelleas| 5.6.12 @ 7:59PM
VIVE LA FRANCE!
This was more a referendum among the French elecorate rejecting the creepy cynical coalition that Sarkozy was trying to form with the ultra -Rightwing La Pen forces to win the election.
Pelleas| 5.6.12 @ 8:00PM
..Le Pen, that is...
Skippy| 5.7.12 @ 3:55PM
Too Bad.
LePen might have forestalled the end of France.
Au revoir, mes amis.
Occam's Tool| 5.7.12 @ 11:38AM
France is a Dead Man Walking anyway.
Well, when Mitt gets elected, thanks to Hollande, I can watch the dollar get stronger, my stocks do better, my take home pay go up, AND my gold go up as Europe dies.
Did I mention that I have stock in Phillip Morris International so I can profit from Euros dying of Lung CA?
Phuque the Phrench.