French Sunday!

(read the small print!)

Today is Sunday 22nd April 2007, and things are slowly getting started. The first Voters, half of them with brains mashed from the Saturday evening out, and on their way back from the various night clubs, pass quickly through the Voting Offices at 8am, so as to be undisturbed for the rest of the Sunday "sleep-off", and the other half (the pensioners and older people) who can't sleep longer than 4-5 hours a night anyway, pass through, and then wonder what to do for the rest of this Sunday!

French Saturday night occupations!

In fact, various other "enterprises" profit more than others on days like these!

At 7.30am, the Institution of the Eglise profit from the situation, knowing that the elderly ladies who frequent the Sunday mess will be accompanied (for a change) maybe by their husbands, effectively doubling the congregation, and after the mess, everyone will trudge to their various polling stations, vote and "Hubbie" will take his well worn path to the Cafe, whilst "Wifey" will return to the family domicile to prepare Sunday lunch!

The church bells are trying to wake everybody up as I write!

Certain "entitled" French people will not vote at all. This applies to people like my neighbours 20+ year old son (and 100's of thousands of others of his age) who won't be up in time. The polling booths only open at 8am until 7pm, but when you go to bed at 7am (having spent the night disturbing everybody else) and get up at 6pm (in time for breakfast) then life is hard as a young voter!

In fact, like many of his ilke, he has found the perfect system for existing. A father, far away geographically, who sends 400 euros a month to keep the son far away, and a mother who gets another 500euros from the State as help for the "still living with mum" son. This enables "son" to have 400 in the pocket as spending money, and has food and board free of charge (if not, then he'll complain to the authorities, and Mum will lose her assistance!). Add to this the various little bits and pieces given by the State, the sale of soft (sometimes hard) drugs, the occasional little "break-in" somewhere, and "sonny boy" suddenly has his financial situation in hand - without lifting a hand (or a foot) in the Appartement where he sleeps/eats and stuns the neighbourhood with "Techno" music (only when Mum is absent, 'cos he's not as brave as that!).

A perfect system that could only be changed, thinks Sonny boy, by a load of stupid Politicians, so why Vote? Leave my system alone - it works for me!
(the supposed favourites)

My particular part of France will have little or nothing to do with these two supposed favourites. Almost the whole of the Southern France is racist, and as such, the ageing Mr le Pen is their favourite. They know he won't win, but it's tradition! A whole load more are "Chasse & Traditionalists" (Hunt and Tradition) - Yep, this party actually exists!

The important thing to remember is that the South of France (from around Lyon downwards, looking on your map) is sparsely populated, at least by the French. It's mainly Tourists (who aren't entitled to vote), and those French who "service" them (who haven't got time to vote), other French people like Neighbour's "sonny boy" (see above). Mixed up in this are a few 100 thousand Arabs, who - if eligible to vote - are decidedly NOT going to vote for the French Racist Parties (the Arabs have their own form of racism to be getting on with). So, dear reader, you can see that we don't really play a large role in Elections!

(unknown quantity - as you can see!)

The unknown quantity (some ladies may say quality as well) of other Parties is summed up by the fact that the Communist candidate is around 26 years old, and a Postman by trade. The candidate in the photo above is a dark horse, coming through on the outside bend to worry the favourites.

The rest of the Candidates are made up of an assortment of ladies and men who hardly anybody knows. One of them names himself the "Mayors of France" choice - but the Mayors of France don't know him too well!

In general, the following points should be made concerning Voting Day in France:

Normally there isn't just one Sunday, but 2! After today, when nobody has more than 50% then the best two will go at it again in two weeks time!

The church is full - for once! So are the Cafe's!

This time around, the turn out will be lower, as I understand that around 40,000 French people are busily running around London today!

For my part, I'm not entitled to Vote, still holding that famous bit of paper called a British Passport! I don't vote in UK either, since I haven't lived there for almost 40 years, and don't know enough about it - Anyway, the British, being British, have to be different, and are the only people in the World to vote on a Thursday, thus spoiling totally the weekend party!

Maybe that's because they're all in the Pubs every day anyway, and the weekend starts on Wednesday evening until Monday morning!

Just a final note. Here, where the weather has been magnificent all winter and Spring, today (Voting Day) is grey, misty - is this a providential sign?

Allez y - Allez y - Votez! Votez!

(my favourite-I'd like to see Part Two!)