[Atlantic Bridge]

Huh? Chirac is left-wing.

No. Absolutely not. He is a moron but not part of the French left. Besides "schadenfreunde" is not suitable here since this scandal could lead to Ségolène Royal as the new madame la présidente of France. She is the "Hillary Clinton of Paris".

Being a member of the Socialist party PS (that are REAL socialists - not only socialists by the broad US-definition) and being the concubine of François Hollande (the chairman of the socialists) she is a real pain in the a**. Do not be blinded by her pretty appearance. She is a intolerant hard-core socialist. The trans-atlantic relationship will freeze to antarctic temperatures if she comes into power.

It would be helpful to back Nicolas Sarkozy in the moment since he is the most reasonable voice in this madhouse.

[austinTparty]

Yes and no. Chirac is for more government intervention and less labor market flexibility than Lionel Jospin. Socially, he may be more conservative than the French Socialists, but that's not really saying much. Ségolène Royal is arguably more reform-oriented than Chirac, but with the Socialists behind her, not much would be accomplished. Counter-intuitively, it may take another Socialist President to really screw things up enough to give the French the stomach for real reform. Sarkozy is a populist who I wouldn't trust as far as I can throw him. There is no real voice of reform in the bunch. The French "right-wing" is arguably to the left of the German SPD in many ways...

[LK44-40]

Your comment on the disarming-looking Mde. Royal is interesting.

If I had seen your comment sooner, I would have added you as an addressee to my #9. Although I have made something of a hobby of watching France, I do it mostly from afar. I am always interested in the opinions of folks closer to the situation.