From Boz at French Election 2007:
Debate Debrief
UMP candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist candidate Segolene Royal debated tonight in their first and final debate before this Sunday’s election runoff. Obviously I cannot summarize a two hour debate right now...I haven’t even watched it. But here’s some quotes for those who didn’t see it.
Sarkozy opened the debate after a random selection. Topics ranged from every domestic problem imaginable to foreign affairs. According to CNN:
Sarkozy often seemed to hold back in the debate, which ran over the scheduled two hours, rarely staring Royal in the eyes and talking instead to the pair of presiding journalists.
As a note, I am leaving sections out of these quotes, and they are not in order.
Royal: “There are democratic forces moving in Turkey which need to be consolidated.”
Sarkozy: “Even if it is a non-religious country, it is in Asia Minor. I will not explain to the French schoolboys that the borders of Europe are with Iraq and Syria. When one makes of Kurdistan a European problem, one will not have advanced things.”
(...)
Sarkozy: “On nuclear power, are you on the side of Mr. Chevènement or on the side of the Greens?”
Royal: “Do you know what is the share of the nuclear power?”
Sarkozy: “We have half of our electricity which is of nuclear origin.”
Royal: “No, 17% only.”
(...)
Royal: “To play with the handicap as you have just done is properly scandalous...One reaches the height of political immorality...It is your government which removed not only the Handiscol plan, which removed the assistance-teachers and who makes that today less than one child out of two who was accomodated five years ago in the school of the Republic are not it today.”
Sarkozy: “There are three times more handicapped children provided education for today than your time, to Madam.”
Royal: “It is not true!”
Sarkozy: “Do not point at me with your finger. To be a president of the Republic, it is necessary to be calm.”
Royal: “When there are injustices, there are healthy angers, there are angers which I will have even when I am a president of the Republic.”
IMO Royal consistently refused to answer the tough questions. She cannot alienate the Greens by saying yes to the Nuclear question, yet she has no alternative solution.
Royal came off like the schoolyard bully, and Sarko like the School principal.
Just as a random aside, I liked this remark:
When one makes of Kurdistan a European problem, one will not have advanced things.”
Very insightful.
Royal: “Do you know what is the share of the nuclear power?”
Sarkozy: “We have half of our electricity which is of nuclear origin.”
Royal: “No, 17% only.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Odd... Neither one of them is right about the percent of power provided by nuclear energy.
Eighty Percent!!!!!
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/gue/2006/0323.html
Seventy seven percent!!!
http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller13.html
Seventy six percent !!!
How could they be so unknowing about one area where French technology is in the lead!!!?!
ROFLMHO!!!
It looks like Sarko is countering painting her the “over emotional woman”. I was skeptical before, but now am beginning to believe he could actually pull this off.