[KantianBurke]

Guess the Jews prefer voting for a man who turns a blind eye to muslim attacks on them rater than vote for a politician who would eliminate the violence. Just goes to show that Jews prefer socialism to their safety. Hmm...maybe things haven't changed in these past 50 yrs..

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #1

Those who attacked synagogues and cemetries are the ones who hate Le Pen or support Le Pen ?

[Catspaw]

"I don't like Le Pen at all because he is anti-Semitic," Bivita said. "He doesn't like Jews. He doesn't like Arabs. He doesn't like anybody else except the French. This shows that the French are two-faced. They say one thing and they go and vote for somebody like Le Pen."

(Discreet cough)...aren't the Jews who were born and live in France French? Aren't the Arabs who were born and live in France French? Who exactly IS French?

[Tacis]

My view is that LePen's victory ISN'T a thunderclap of endorsement of the policies and theories that he espouses. Rather, it is a rejection of the filth, corruption and dishonesty of the ultra left. The way the French system works, voters knew that the first estage was perfect for a gesture.

In the long run, Chirac, the incumbent, also not the cleanest politician around (but, this is Europe), was going to win. French voters can send a message in each estage. So, instead of having the tired leftest prance about in the finals, the voters rejected him AND ALL HE STANDS FOR, and paired LePen in the finals. LePen will lose badly and Chirac will win in a landslide, riding France of Jospin and the leftists, who have "co-governed" for 5 years. Without the extreme leftists (who, in France, are called Dakotans d' Sur), maybe Chirac can control immigration and reduce crime. I'm hoping that the whole thing gives a chill to our communist lunatic party, especially, in the Senate as the cleansing elections approach.

[dogbyte12]

27.6% voted none of the above in this election,... 19.7% for Chirac, and 17.06% for Le Pen, and either Le Pen or Chirac will become the country's leader. As screwy as our system is, their's stinks.

The object in France is to be far away from everybody else politically, I suppose. If 70% of voters in France were Conservative, and 30% liberal. But there were a bunch of conservative parties, and only 2 socialist/liberal parties, the runoff could easily be between the 2 liberal sides, who capture combined less than 30% of the vote.

[Snuffington]

How strange. Le Pen got enough votes to force Chirac into a runoff, but Reuters couldn't seem to find a single person who voted for him to interview for their article. They seemed to have no trouble finding plenty of people who oppose him however.

It's shoddy, biased journalism like that which drives people toward candidates like Le Pen. They get sick of being manipulated.

From the news reports I've read, I honestly can't tell if Le Pen is truly a nutcase, or just someone who resists the socialist/internationalist new order and is being subsequently demonized. I've seen the press cry wolf too many times to take their warnings seriously.

[Unam Sanctam]

Well I do feel sorry for the French Jews, caught between a left wing that doesn't lift a finger to condemn the anti-Semitic violence of recent weeks and a far right Holocaust denier. Vive Chirac!

[Michael2001]

I don't know much about French politics, but I have seen nothing so show that Le Pen dislikes Jews. I believe his second in command is married to a Jew. I have a feeling the Jews would prefer him to the Muslims.

[skeeter]

All of a sudden Reuters is worried about anti-semitism again.

Truth is at the rate the current government is letting in Algerian moslems France's jews would likely be better off with an anti-immigration president in charge.

[arm958]

Poor, poor French. They don't know what conservatives are. Perhaps someone can explain to them that there is a political realm between socialism and facsism.

[cicero's_son]

"In any case these elections reinforce our determination to work to change things."

How so, Fouad? By dousing Synagogues with gasoline and lighting them on fire?

[ikanakattara]

This is France, not the US. Getting rid of Muslim immigrants will NOT solve the problem of French anti-semitism among the French right-wing.

[PuNcH]

The socialists went rioting in the streets and broke windows as they love to do and they also waved communist flags.

I guess the mass murder of millions and millions of people that flag and communism has stood over is just a "small detail".

I would like to see a more objective source of how french jews feel about Le Pen than just a liberal news-media representing people as they see fit.

[montag813]

a dangerous sign of French intolerance of minorities.

The ONLY "minority" in France who should be scared of Le Pen is the Arabs. Jews have nothing to fear, but they love the Marxist climate there. Why would Israelis want such left-wing skunks among them. Wasn't Rabin, Barak, Beilin and Sarid enough?

[PLK]

"Tonight, on the left but not only on the left, many people are simply crying. This is not the France we love."

Could these people get any more sappily melodramatic. Sheesh....get a life! Also, note that she corrected herself with, "..but not only on the left."