What the hell, France?

Exit polls suggest that the National Front is now the primary party in France, although voter absenteeism is high.

Did they forget that France was one of the primary architects of the EU? Have they all forgotten the motto and explanation of the three colours in the flag? What France is supposed to stand for?

While this is a depressing development, maybe it will be enough to give the current batch of insipid politicians¹ a swift kick in the gonads. Things have to change! that much is clear. But not in the way the FN would like (I guess that would be Ebola, huh?).
With respect to the FN’s “ideas”, I would quote Jewel: “anyone can start a conflict, it’s harder yet to disregard it”.²

¹ I think I read in the regional paper that Mr. Hollande is the most disliked President since the start of the fifth republic (circa wartime). He might even rate as the most disliked since the Napoleonic era. He’s so disliked that people are actually starting to ask for Sarko to come back. Wow.

² I would notionally say the same thing to Farage, but that would first require me to take him seriously. Given that I perceive him as a cross between Al Murray and Mr Bean, I’m surprised anybody takes him seriously. I suppose in the ‘80s we all knew that Lord Sutch was a nutter. These days, these dangerous days, we’re all so fed up of the way things are that we are actually voting for the nutters, racists, bigots, and worse. Time to recall the phrase – we reap what we sow.

I suppose in the ‘80s we all knew that Lord Sutch was a nutter.

Oh yes?
So none of the MRLP policies could ever become law?
Except quite a few have, because MRLP were not quite so looney as portrayed.

Conversely Forage¹ portrays himself and compatriots as sane, but quite clearly they aren’t.

¹ Why take the name seriously?

Unfortunately, it was written. In a society where starvation and war seem to be far away, people find new ways to be scared. Destructive ones. That’s a classic syndrom, already described by media specialists (I can’t remember its name). Americans find a sort of solution to this problem with frequent new wars. A way to maintain a ‘scared enough’ level in the population.

Problem with FN is not (only) nationalism. Problem is that their first official aim was (and is probably still) to stop republic in France. Of course a lot of people believe that with FN, bad people will be scared by the government. They just forget that in a dictature, good people will be scared too (and probably more).

In fact they don’t forget, they just don’t know. Stupidity is the key. Bad times are in front of us.
Sorry for the bad english :)

I think people don’t understand the point of the EU.
The French are crazy, the Germans are crazy, the Dutch are crazy.
If you combine all that crazyness, it’s still less than 50% of the crazyness of the British.
Our crazyness is what unites us, I’m proud to be in the EU and part of it’s crazy culture.
Far better crazy than Putin or Obama & the imperial senate.
People really need to get a grip.

@ Steve:

So none of the MRLP policies could ever become law?

One of their early manifestos pointed out hypocrisy of voting age, so it is no real surprise that they managed to get some traction behind that.

All day pub opening? Kind of applicable for a party that hung out in pubs. I’ll leave it to somebody else to argue whether or not this was ultimately a good idea.

They didn’t get cat crossing places on roads. Probably just as well as the mind of a cat would not support such a preposterous idea as a two-legged hairless creature telling a cat where to cross the road. The only thing that needs to be told, apparently, are chickens.

Sad that Catmando died at the roadside. Too many cats go that way. Well, I know the Dog&Partridge in Yateley (used to work in a so-called office nearby) and while I wasn’t aware that the Loony Party hung out there, I do believe I recognise the cat in the photo on Wikipedia. I may even have stroked (the co-leader of a well-known political party – is this my claim to fame? ;-) ) him. If it is the same cat, he was a right softy really.

@ David:

people find new ways to be scared. Destructive ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMPQc6ZITD0

Problem is that their first official aim was (and is probably still) to stop republic in France.

Which is so utterly contrary to everything that modern France thinks it stands for.

Stupidity is the key.

Yes. The (small) saving grace is that the FN did not win with a 25% vote. The FN won with a 25% vote from the minority that actually bothered to turn up and vote. In our little nowhere place, the voter turnout was an appalling 34%. I think the UMP (Sarko’s party, I think they’re sort of like the Tories in UK terms) was the highest. FN was somewhere at the bottom, where they belong.

Bad times are in front of us.

Yes. Europe, as an institution, needs to get its act together and re-engage with the voters. This means Germany is going to have to change the record as the austerity drive is turning people away. Hollande is going to have to do some serious soul searching to work out why France is not showing signs of recovery yet. It is not a surprise that in times of economic hardship, nationalist sentiment takes precedence. How can we alter this? How can we convince the voters that they are French and European? It will, of course, be an interesting battle in the halls of the EU given that we’ve just gone and elected (here, the FN; in the UK, UKIP) people whose sole ambition is to bring down the EU. Yeah… useful.

If you combine all that crazyness, it’s still less than 50% of the crazyness of the British.

Oooooh, I’m so not wading into that one! :-D

I’m proud to be in the EU and part of it’s crazy culture.

Me too. But I don’t see it as a “culture”. I know that I will be French about the same time that I become Japanese – which is never. I think it is a mind-set you have to grow up with. But that’s okay, for I am British, they are French, and we are both Europeans.
I wrote on my blog a long time ago: People that know me will know that I am very pro-European in principle, it’s just stupid little things like this and all the misdirected red tape and ill-concieved legislation coupled with member countries that treat it all as a giant Pick’n’Mix bag that ruin the whole concept of what Europe could be. In essence, Europe as a collective group could take on America and China and become the place where it all happens, like back in the 12th(ish) century or whenever it was the Europe last had any cohesive influence (even if it was Visigoths or somesuch). But this will not happen with the current leadership, or any on the horizon. We need a massive paradigm shift from both the leaders and the ordinary citizens to accept that we are Breton, we are Welsh, we are Liverpudlians, we are Euskadi, we are East Enders, and we are Europeans. Not to eradicate local identities in a stomping mess of uniformity and blandness, but to embrace all of our differences and make them a part of a greater collective; much as Texans are Texans, but they are also Americans.

People really need to get a grip.

People really need to remember that democracy is not a spectator sport. Even if you feel “meh, they’re all alike”, you should vote. Because if you do not, your voice will be replaced by somebody who may have vastly different views from you. I’m getting a real sense of déjà vu here – back around 2001/2002 it was Chirac vs FN for the presidential vote, wasn’t it? The FN got in to the final face-off vote because of apathy in the first round of elections. France then crapped itself and came to its senses. Unfortunately, this time there’s no second round to think “oops”. It’s been done. One of the architects of the EU has thrown the most power to the group who wants to do away with Europe, in the European elections. It would almost be funny if it wasn’t such a <meep>ing tragedy.

All day pub opening? Kind of applicable for a party that hung out in pubs.

They all do.
BTW. National Executive for CAMRA, and West Midlands police have something in common. So basically you can be in a position of power in two organisations and be a responsible adult with regard to beer.

I’ll leave it to somebody else to argue whether or not this was ultimately a good idea.

Without a doubt. After a brief increase the overall alcohol problem decreased when all day opening arrived. The incidence of tea and coffee drinking in pubs also increased.
The other week I was in a pub at around 08:30 a few days running. The liquid was tea, to go with the full english breakfast. They were serving beer and a couple of people were using the availability, the other 30+ people had tea or coffee.

Treat people as adults and they behave like adults.

The opposite seems to be on the rise in France from all accounts, increasing lack of familiarity with alcoholic drinks in the child population and then when they can legally drink they go totally british and throw up in the streets.

They all do.

Err… Wasn’t their headquarters a pub for a while?

The incidence of tea and coffee drinking in pubs also increased.

Hmm, by then, and sick of being treated as a second rate person due to my preference to not drink alcohol, I decided to source my tea fix at garden centre restaurants. I suppose it has all changed, but I used to know the attributes (and opposite) of pretty much every garden centre within maybe a thirty mile radius of Farnham. The one just off of Fleet (Redfields?) was nice. As was Badshot Lee (according to Google Maps, it is actually called “Squires”), they did nice jacket potato.

Treat people as adults and they behave like adults.

When has any British government in my lifetime ever done that? ;-)

The opposite seems to be on the rise in France from all accounts, increasing lack of familiarity with alcoholic drinks in the child population and then when they can legally drink they go totally british and throw up in the streets.

Indeed. Once upon a time it would shame a family for at least four generations if a person was mishandling their alcohol in public.
Now if you see a teenage girl soaked in pee and with vomit down her front, clinging onto something to manage to stay upright; if she was to be taken home, her parents are just as likely to be proud than they are to ground her for life.

I pick on girls for a reason. A report in the regional newspaper said that an interesting trend they was noticed was that drunk teenage girls tend to suffer incontinence and make fools of themselves (taking their clothes off, singing loudly, etc) while drunk teenage males tend towards random acts of violence, beating each other up, and so on. I wonder if they drink different things, or if there is some sort of cultural (macho?) thing going on here? [thinking: weren’t the British “ladettes” pretty violent at times?]

Either way, the older generation, country-raised people, and those who aspire to be in a better social class, all find this sort of behaviour absolutely shameful.
I agree.

I wonder if they drink different things, or if there is some sort of cultural (macho?) thing going on here?

Alcohol lowers inhibitions. Basically the old excuse that someone was violent¹ because they were drunk is tosh. They are merely² more emphatically whatever they are when they are sober.

¹ Or any other socially unacceptable behaviour
² Merely seems a bit loose as a tag.

I am British, they are French, and we are both Europeans

I attended a group equalities workshop the other week.¹ When discussing British culture, I forgot all about Morris dancing and explained that I personally identify more as European than English or British.

They are merely more emphatically whatever they are when they are sober.

This also came up in the above workshop. Alcohol is no excuse.

¹ Delivered by a former police officer, who’d spent a decade or so at the London Met, IIRC.

This also came up in the above workshop. Alcohol is no excuse.

Frequently used as such by various oiks appearing in court and represented by dodgy characters with membership of the legal profession.

1 Delivered by a former police officer, who’d spent a decade or so at the London Met, IIRC.

The Met have experience of the organisation I volunteer for helping to run an event with an attendance of >60,000 over five days.
We’ve been told by the local constabulary on several occasions that years of our clients all drinking for their whole time on the premises¹ have produced fewer rowdy incidents than one year of the horse of the year show, among other “family” events.

¹ Well, what would you expect with beer festival attendees?