Bill Maher on France

The following video is something I had to watch. Bill Maher is an interesting type of entertainer. He comes across as pompous, even to his fans. When I saw the title to this clip "Bill Maher on France", I had to watch because I didn't know what direction it would go. Thankfully it speaks to something that has upset me for a long time. I sure hope I never have to deal with another bout of "freedom fries" in my life. Or worse, someone trying to send back the statue of liberty because it was a gift from France( alright that was satire but some people... ). ...

Sarkozy wins French Presidential Election

As a French-American, I am always pulled towards France. Whether it be the country, the french language or french food. So I found it interesting that when I turned on my TV today and did a little channel surfing I came to C-Span. What caught my eye was the headline posted on the screen which was the same as the title of this blog post. I didn't really follow the election closely, and I don't know much about the two finalists ( Royal and Sarkozy ), but I did follow this election more than any other non US election. The following is just some brief points I wanted to point out about this election or about what I saw today. ...

First off, France uses a 2 round runoff election system for their presidential elections, as well as their national assembly, which is a system I really admire. If you decide not to follow the wikipedia link the basic idea is this, their are 2 elections, the first to get it down to the final 2 candidates and then the final election. They also seem to have more than 2 parties running their country. This system is designed more with multiple parties in mind, though I will admit it would not change a 2 party system into a multi party system ( at least not in one election ).

I also found Sarkozy's post victory speech interesting as well. France being a part of Europe may have played a large part, but I liked how he talked about many different places in the world than I ever hear about in the US. France most likely has more interest in these places than the US but there were quite a few of them. I also like how he said that he make sure France is a friend of the US but that he would make it clear that friendship between France and the US does not mean they will be a lapdog to the US ( my terrible memory translated ).

All in all, I will find it interesting to see how France changes under Sarkozy. Will the US and France, once again, have a stellar relationship? Will the upcoming French National Assembly elections strengthen or weaken Sarkozy's power.

Basically, it was fun to watch another countries presidential election unfold. As time goes by I plan on paying attention to more politics around the world as well as at home. This is my world, I'm paying attention to it a little more each day.