France goes American

French and American Flags next to each other

There are increasing signals that the country is gearing-up for an American style Presidential election campaign. The campaign for next spring’s poll is not officially under way, but in fact it started months ago, and that alone, is American. Last week Ségolène Royal was elected candidate for the socialist party after an American style primary campaign, which included three televised debates with her two party opponents. Card members of the ruling centre rightUMP party will choose their candidate on the 14th of January. Radio France International’s Nick Champeaux zooms in on the two main political figures in France, Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, and attempts to find out who is the most American…

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country? Who is the author of that quote? President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s inaugural address, 1961, pretty obvious. But Ségolène Royal, Mèle town hall, Poitou-Charentes, France, 17th of November, 2006, is an alternative answer that is also correct.

Following her landslide victory, Royal said she would carry on her “participatory” campaign. “Get together and ask what you can do for your country”, she said. Wearing her trade mark white suit, Royal called on every French citizen who has proposals to make for France, to get in touch with her team, because citizens she believes, are the best experts. Joseph Smallhoover is president of the French branch of the Democrats Abroad organisation. He says Royal’s strategy is very American.

Nicolas Sarkozy speaks during the party congress in Paris

We have seen in the socialist party over the last few months an enormous push to get new members, broadening the base, and now going on saying “we’re going to talk to the people”, to me it sounds like town meetings à la Clinton for instance, and the way that lots of other politicians in the United States, on the Democrats side but also on the Republicans’ side have been going for years. “Let’s hear what the people have to say”. The candidates will tell you that that contact on a daily basis with people who are asking difficult questions is very informative.

In the meantime citizens are also flattered because they feel important again?

Absolutely, having someone of a national stature come by to find out what you have to say, that makes a big difference.

Royal’s main rival, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, is also enthusiastic about the US. Although his command of the English language is not very good, he has made several trips to Washington as Interior and Finance minister. Sarkozy has organised US style multi million Euro rallies. He has also hired people from the Boston Consultancy Group, to help his UMP party organise efficient brainstorming sessions.

He’s been doing focus groups, he’s been approaching it from a very organised and scientific way. Looking at the opinion polls, seeing what people are really worried about, and also being very careful to scientifically approach the media.

And that’s American?

Absolutely. Some of the best American politicians know very well to use the media to their best advantage. I am not saying that’s a good thing, but if you know how to make sure that you’re on the front page of the paper every day, if you know how to make sure that you’re on the first two to five minutes of the evening news at eight o’clock, that will help keep you in the mind of the voters, hopefully positively, not always, but as they say, any publicity is better than no publicity what so ever.

Ségolène Royal

Ségolène Royal is also a media savvy politician who certainly knows how to smile, whenever cameras are around. Are there any US politicians who can be affiliated to Sarkozy or Royal? Joseph Smallhoover isn’t too sure about Sarkozy. But he says Hillary Clinton, Bill’s wife, and Ségolène Royal, the partner of the socialist party’s Secretary General, François Hollande, have a lot in common.

Both of them have as life companions very powerful political figures in their own right. Both of them are clearly independent thinking women, both of them are women, which is a novelty in both societies. On policy grounds it’s too early to talk about that, but there is one that I think is key for both of them, and that is that they don’t necessarily toe the party line, Hillary Clinton is an independent thinker, Ségolène Royal is the same, she hasn’t said that she won’t respect the socialist party’s platform, but she has said “we should go out and listen to the people, to hear what have they have to say as possible solutions to the problems”. Well that says to me that she says “we did this platform, it’s very nice, but it’s a platform”.

Royal is the first ever woman presidential candidate who has a strong chance of winning the election in France. Unlike Sarkozy, she recently made the front page of Time Magazine. But being too American can have downfalls. When Sarkozy had his picture taken with US President George W Bush last September, he may have actually lost votes. Paris, Nick Champeaux, RFI.