The Election In France

Tomorrow the voters of France go to the polls to pick a new president. The Socialist candidate, Segolene Royal, hopes to preserve the country's social welfare system and protect jobs for the middle class. Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative candidate, wants to free French companies from burdensome regulations to allow them to compete globally and create more jobs in the country's stagnant job market. France has had such bad luck recently with its sluggish economy and its failures to assimilate immigrants and descendants of immigrants from France's former African colonies,but whomever wins should give the country a fresh start. After twelve years of Jacques Chirac, France had gotten so complacent that it failed to realize the depth of its problems. The French seem more concerned about the country's future now, especially since Chirac, at 74, represents a tired past.