French Presidential Election; 2nd round thread

[Keystone Phil]

Bayrou will not endorse either candidate (BBC)

[Keystone Phil]

Does anyone know what time the debate will begin for us folks on the East Coast across the pond?    Also, will France 24 be covering this debate online? I'd love to watch a live stream.

[Keystone Phil]

Does anyone know what time the debate will begin for us folks on the East Coast across the pond?    Also, will France 24 be covering this debate online? I'd love to watch a live stream.

[Keystone Phil]

Does anyone know what time the debate will begin for us folks on the East Coast across the pond?    Also, will France 24 be covering this debate online? I'd love to watch a live stream.

The debate begins at 3 pm your time. I don´t know if France 24 will show it, their website says nothing ... Just watch ARTE TV or TV5 instead

I'm sure I'll get a lot of questions at work as to what the hell I am watching. 

[Keystone Phil]

Watch out ! As a PA Republican you'll probably get lynched for watching a "FRENCH" debate. Get your Freedom fries ready ...

I don't blame them for mocking me. I have a known hatred for the French but I am interested in following their elections and Sarkozy is actually a good guy for the U.S.

[Keystone Phil]

I just tuned in and it seems pretty heated. 

Royal really is quite patronizing.

[Keystone Phil]

I love that Royal even realizes that she is recognized as a condescending b---h as she tells Sarko, "Stop playing the victim. No, I'm not being condescending"...in a condescending way.   

[Keystone Phil]

Ah, poor Segolene, getting all worked up.

"No, I will not calm down."

Remember that line, folks. Madame Royal just lost the election. It's over.

[Keystone Phil]

And she keeps saying, "I didn't lose my cool" over and over again even as the debate moved on. "I'm just angry." I love it! Sarko - winner.

[Keystone Phil]

"Awwwwww, did I hurt your feelings?"

She dips the hole deeper! I can't wait to see this b---h owned on Sunday!

[Keystone Phil]

Ah, poor Segolene, getting all worked up.

"No, I will not calm down."

Remember that line, folks. Madame Royal just lost the election. It's over.

A lively debate ...

It's over. The woman just had an emotional breakdown and won't move on. She lost the election with that outburst.

[Keystone Phil]

Prediction (and I am bad at French elections, as you've discovered)

Sarkozy 53.4
Royal 46.6

After today's Royal outburst, I'm pushing Sarkozy up a point to 54.4 and I personally think he could get over 55.  It's always easy to sense when a candidate is definitely going to lose, and this is that day.

She had an outburst today, too? You've got to be kidding me. I love it.

[Keystone Phil]

With 100% of the clinically insane precincts reporting, it appears Ms. Royal will be the winner...

[Keystone Phil]

Prediction (and I am bad at French elections, as you've discovered)

Sarkozy 53.4
Royal 46.6

After today's Royal outburst, I'm pushing Sarkozy up a point to 54.4 and I personally think he could get over 55.  It's always easy to sense when a candidate is definitely going to lose, and this is that day.

She had an outburst today, too? You've got to be kidding me. I love it.

Are you talking about her threat of having her supporters riot if she is not elected?

I don't know. It was Sam who said she had another outburst.

[Keystone Phil]

My prediction

Sarkozy - 54%
Royal - 46%

[Keystone Phil]

***Attention Americans following this election - C-SPAN will be broadcasting France 24's coverage of the election from 2 - 5 PM EST***

[Keystone Phil]

Vive Sarkozy! I guess Royal wasn't "hot" enough for France, BRTD.

I loved that corny countdown they had before they could declare Sarko the winner. Amazing how quickly they know the winner.

[Keystone Phil]

I read a claim on the Socialist website a while back that Sarkozy secretly supported the Iraq War, because he was rather quiet during it. If that's true, we're dealing with one massive irony.

It's already a massive irony - The U.S. had to turn to France for a foreign policy victory.

YES! Can't say I could be happier with the result. This result actually makes me proud to be part French.

Me as well, although I have to say I still have a negative opinion of France it went from "extremely unfavorable" to "very unfavorable"

I still hate the French but I guess I can agree with them/applaud them for something. 

[Keystone Phil]

What encouraging words he offered, let's hope France can come together and we can all work together to mend the mess the last 40 years has been.

Hear, hear. I look forward to a France that will be a real ally. I'll still dislike the French though with the exception of Sarkozy because he's just awesome. 

[Keystone Phil]

Hear, hear. I look forward to a France that will be a real ally. I'll still dislike the French though with the exception of Sarkozy because he's just awesome. 

No credit to the 53.1% who carried him?

I knew that was coming. The answer is still no. I guess I can applaud them for some of their political positions but I just have an overall extreme distaste for the French. Their arrogance and rather snobby and rude behavior makes me physically ill but that's not the point here. They did a good job yesterday.

[Keystone Phil]

I knew that was coming. The answer is still no. I guess I can applaud them for some of their political positions but I just have an overall extreme distaste for the French. Their arrogance and rather snobby and rude behavior makes me physically ill but that's not the point here. They did a good job yesterday.

Have you actually known any, personally?

Thankfully, no. 

Listen, you're not going to get me to change my mind on this. Call me stubborn, call me a prick...whatever. I don't like the French. It really isn't worth your time though I have noticed that recently you've been taking jabs at me (for whatever reason).

Now if I was to come across a French person that was kind to me and I liked the person then I'd be just as kind in return. When I meet someone, I try my hardest to treat them as an individual. I wouldn't insist on disliking someone who happened to be French even if I actually liked them.

[Keystone Phil]

]

I agree it isn't worth my time.  I didn't set out to take jabs at you, either, but you've made more irrational posts lately than anyone here on the Left, which is why I assumed you were just despondent over Santorum's defeat.

So you want to take the opportunity to bash me and say that I am still bitter about Santorum's defeat? Whatever. Seriously, pal, grow up. You have something against me and so you decide to attack every little post that I make which you may disagree with. And then to poke fun at me by saying that I am like this because Santorum lost is especially pathetic. That stopped being funny around January. Time for new material.

Unlike you, I am taken seriously here. To say I've made more irrational posts than anyone on the left on this forum is really silly also especially when your only argument of me being irrational is the fact that I don't like the French and I don't think the GOP will win Senate races in Colorado and probably won't take Virginia if John Warner retires. Yes, completely irrational.  

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Well, since we want to be arrogant about this, I'll keep this going.

I never said I never met French people. Since you want to make this into me not being worldly enough, I'll let you know that I have dealt with the French in their own country. I've been to Europe twice which, for someone my age, is quite a privilege. On the way to Italy last year, my group had to make a stop in Paris. We were met with the typical rude French behavior and while my personal experience wasn't as nasty, I had others who accompanied me on the trip tell me how they were angry with the attitude that they were given.

So I wouldn't start telling me how I've never met anyone who happened to be French or insinuate that I'm clearly not worldly enough to engage in such a discussion.

[Keystone Phil]

In fairness Phil, having bad experiences from two visits to Paris still doesn't make a dislike for all French people any less irrational.

Well, it was one quick stop in Paris. I said two trips to Europe. 

I wasn't saying that my encounters while over there were justification. He was claiming that I had never met anyone who happened to be French which I was simply disproving.

Anyway, I have met the French during my travels and it does seem to back up my feelings. Some here are saying Paris does not equal France and that's fine but I doubt that every rude person on our Air France flight to Rome was a Parisian. I know people that have gone to France and complained about the same thing.

However, as I have said before, I treat people like individuals when I meet them. If I met someone who happened to be French and I liked them then I'd treat them accordingly.

Again, as I said before, call me whatever you want in terms of my personal problems with the French. My problem here was that HardRCafe has gone out of his way to pick fights with me over the smallest things.

This wasn't meant to be a discussion about how some of us feel about the people. It was a simple comment that could have been met with no hostility. When Hashmite saw that I said that I dislike the French, he said "You better not show that around me!" in what I believe was a light hearted manner. That's what should have been done with me and we could all go back to discussing the election. I will say, though, that I take offense if someone wants to make me out to be any less worldly about foreign cultures and people like HardRCafe tried to do with me. I am not some "Oh my God! I hate the French! Freedom fries and freedom toast!" I have had my experiences and I'll make my judgements based on those experiences.

[Keystone Phil]

So I wouldn't start telling me how I've never met anyone who happened to be French or insinuate that I'm clearly not worldly enough to engage in such a discussion.

Have you actually known any, personally?

Thankfully, no. 

Well, I don't know any personally (which was the question) but I have met and dealt with enough of them. 

I love continuing this conversation as I listen to one of my favorite songs - La Marseillaise. 

[Keystone Phil]

It has never crossed your mind that big city people tend to be rude in every country and that Parisian behaviour reflects mainly that? (i.e. Peking, New York, Berlin, Stockholm are all in their respective countries known for the same thing)

I understand that but I think that the French, overall, have quite an attitude. Like I said, I have dealt with the French outside of Paris.