French Elections: Sarkozy v. Royal

Cilliza called the French election quite well. Royal finished a strong second, permitting him to claim good insight into French voters' intentions. Sarkozy came in first, as predicted, but the conservative would have welcomed a stronger showing, and a weaker showing for Socialist Royal. Right-wing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen dropped 5% from his 2002 second-place showing down to 11.5%, the first time the now-78 year old has shown declining strength in a presidential election. Centerist François Bayrou's 18.5% showing makes him the kingmaker in the Round Two battle between Sarkozy and Royal. The election drew an astounding 84% of French voters to the polls--a record. Royal certainly gets credit for a part of that huge turnout--no female has ever done better in a French national election.