Fallout of French Election

They will be feeling the lash for voting the wrong way.

"Socialists seized the French presidency"  

Clear on how the corporate pre$$ and banker mouthpiece views your selection? 

Silly me, I thought you guys had an ELECTION over there!

"Investors wary of change in France; Fear Socialist win will delay reforms" by Liz Alderman  |  New York Times, May 07, 2012

PARIS - Street crowds in Paris were cheering Francois Hollande’s victory, but with unease rising about the future of the euro union, investors around the world were on edge.

Hollande’s campaign captured the imagination of an austerity-wary public. But investors fret that he will spend more than he should to juice a flagging economy, rather than move ahead with labor market and business reforms that economists say France sorely needs to lift competitiveness and prevent it from getting caught in the euro’s resurgent troubles.

“Markets will not attack France right away,’’ said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “But there is a risk that if Mr. Hollande does not act early on, France will become the next sick man of Europe.’’

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Hollande’s campaign rhetoric unnerved some investors, who drove France’s borrowing costs higher recently.... 

It's called f***ing you.

But for all his populist rhetoric, Hollande knows the boundaries, economists say.

Oh, NO!!!!!

Ultimately, he is unlikely to push outsize spending increases that would invite financial markets to attack France in the way they have recently moved against Spain.  

Related: Spanish Rage at Royalty

Hollande so far has proved to be unlike any Socialist before him, by campaigning on a pledge to balance the budget by the end of his first presidential term in 2017.  

A pseudo-Socialist!

Another key issue for investors is the state of French labor markets. France has a wealthy, diversified, and resilient economy and a highly skilled and productive labor force.  

And that is what is truly behind the drive for austerity: to destroy that class so the banksters can have all the loot.

It boasts a cadre of world-class companies. Despite a 35-hour workweek, high payroll taxes, and a militant workforce, France is the fifth-largest economy and has one of the highest rates of foreign direct investment in Europe.

Well, the AGENDA-PU$HING CORPORATE MEDIA just TIPPED IT$ HAND there!

But many economists are skeptical that France will be able to move toward greater openness, especially in its rigid labor markets. 

I'm starting to have that feeling about the result.

High social charges that companies pay to help finance France’s generous welfare system, combined with lengthy hiring and firing processes, deter employers from adding significant numbers of jobs.

Yeah, welfare is only good when it is tax loot going to the wealthy.

Labor market costs are among the highest of any country in the 17-member euro monetary union.

Analysts say Hollande needs to give unions more of an incentive to work with management to prevent confrontations that can lead businesses to consider moving work toward other cost-competitive destinations.

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"Socialist Francois Hollande elected in France; Nicolas Sarkozy’s loss tied to austerity measures" by Steven Erlanger  |  New York Times, May 07, 2012

PARIS - With 95 percent of the vote counted, official results showed Francois Hollande with 51.6 percent of the vote while Nicolas Sarkozy, of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement, had 48.4 percent, the Associated Press reported....  

Sarkozy almost stole it!

Francois Hollande's victory will also be seen as a challenge to the German-dominated vision of economic austerity as a way out of the euro crisis....

French voters may not like belt-tightening, but both Hollande and Sarkozy have promised to balance the budget in the next five years....  

So the French voted for change and got.... SIGH!

“Francois Hollande is the president of the republic, he must be respected,’’ Sarkozy said after calling Hollande to congratulate him. “I want to wish him good luck in the midst of these tests.’’

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The French version of political fooleys:

"French presidential debate features a barrage of barbs; Last opportunity for Sarkozy to draw blood" by Angela Charlton and Jamey Keaten  |  Associated Press, May 03, 2012

PARIS - President Nicolas Sarkozy, a US-friendly conservative who linked up with Germany’s Angela Merkel to try to get Europe’s finances in order, faces an uphill battle in Sunday’s balloting: He has not led Francois Hollande in a single poll this year.

The debate had shaped up as Sarkozy’s last stand, and last chance to draw blood against Hollande, who has been methodical in an almost picture-perfect campaign to avoid gaffes and erase any doubt about his ability to lead a nuclear-armed nation with a permanent UN Security Council seat.

“It’s a lie! It’s a lie!’’ Sarkozy asserted in one heated exchange on economic policies. The Socialist contender, meanwhile, forcefully denied some of Sarkozy’s claims, insisting, “I never said that.’’

The campaign has largely focused on domestic issues such as the weak economy, immigration, and integration of French Muslims. Yet the outcome is considered crucial to the rest of Europe as well because France is a major economic engine as the eurozone tries to climb out of a debt crisis....

Sarkozy lashed out at his critics....

Hollande called for national unity and social justice....  

Oh, yes, the HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE CAMPAIGN RHETORIC!!

Both the Socialists and conservatives have sought ways to attract voters who during the first round cast their ballots for Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right anti-immigrant National Front party. Le Pen won a stunning 18 percent of the vote.

Sarkozy denounced those who compared him to France’s Nazi collaborators because of his tough campaign rhetoric on immigrants, or to billion-dollar investment swindler Bernard Madoff.  

Yes, who remembers Pierre Laval?

“Borders are not a bad word,’’ Sarkozy said about his calls to limit the number of immigrants France takes in.

Hollande, meanwhile, took a similar position to Sarkozy when it came to special treatment for France’s large Muslim community.  

:-(

He said he would not allow separate menus in public cafeterias or separate hours in swimming pools for men and women to satisfy Muslims’ demands, and also said he would firmly support France’s ban on the face-covering Islamic veils.  

So much for change if your a Muslim. 

Related: Putting a Veil Over France

Yeah, I'm sure those women are the ones responsible for all your troubles, Frenchie!  You just never mind the criminal bankers and their government collaborators. 

Update: Amnesty says laws in Europe on Muslim garb foster prejudice


I have been saying that for years. It's all scapegoating to divert your attention from the real villains. 

The contenders quibbled over statistics, at times over small margins; they scoffed sarcastically; and they spoke over each other, pointed fingers, and raised their voices. The two presenters repeatedly pleaded about running over time.

In other words, it was like an AmeriKan pos presidential debate.

Above all, the two men bared their familiarity with each other after years as stalwarts of their respective parties.

The debate was preceded by the kind of dramatic build-up normally reserved for a heavyweight boxing championship, though analysts say past debates have never swung a French election, regardless of who comes off better in the showdown.

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"Debate showing leaves Hollande poised to win in France" by Jamey Keaten  |  Associated Press, May 04, 2012

PARIS - Socialist candidate Francois Hollande appeared to solidify his chances at winning France’s presidency Thursday after voters welcomed his strong showing in a debate against beleaguered incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hollande also won the support of a prominent centrist who came in fourth in the first round of elections.

The conservative Sarkozy has trailed Hollande throughout the campaign in polls and needed a knockout performance in Wednesday night’s debate. Pollsters said the mild-mannered Hollande was surprisingly resilient in the bitter back-and-forths with his longtime rival.

“Now the campaign is pretty much finished,’’ said Gael Sliman, a pollster at BVA agency. “With the exception of a completely unforeseen catastrophe in the next 48 hours, Francois Hollande is going to win the presidential election.’’

The result of the runoff will set the course for the next five years for France, a nuclear-armed country with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. It could reshape debate in the 17-nation eurozone - which Sarkozy has helped guide along with Germany’s Angela Merkel - on how to best resolve the European debt crisis amid sluggish growth across the continent.

Centrist leader Francois Bayrou dealt Sarkozy a new blow Thursday night. Bayrou said he would not give his voters specific guidance for Sunday’s vote, but will cast a ballot for Hollande....

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Related: Polls favor Hollande in French elections 

French Not Fooled

We shall see if this "Socialist" government is no better than the one the Greeks got. 

Next Day Update: 

I don't know if it's an omen or.....

"Hollande’s plane was hit by lightning in flight....

Hollande [also paid] homage to Jules Ferry, a defender of colonialism best known for instituting compulsory free education in France - a gesture signaling Hollande’s stated priorities of education and a better opportunity for youth, with youth unemployment in France at about 25 percent.

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