m on March 21st, 2010

[UPDATE: Added video links] As the iPhone app beside this paragraph indicates, it was kind of a big day for the Parti socialiste in France, who managed to win control of 21 of 22 regional councils in metropolitan France. Only Alsace squeaked by with a UMP majority, and overseas, the UMP won control of the [...]

Continue reading about Pink-Letter Day in France

m on March 16th, 2010

Everyone in the US knows that the more removed an election is from a presidential election, with emergency special elections inhabiting the limit point away, the more turnout will be depressed. Furthermore, everyone in the US knows, since the Christian Coalition rode this pony into power, that the lower turnout is, the fewer votes you [...]

Continue reading about Only crazy people vote

m on March 15th, 2010

Here are a few things that I’ve read about since I wrote my generalized description of the regional elections in France last night: I wondered about the 53% rate of abstention (47% turnout) in comparison to previous elections. Turns out it’s pretty bad. The rate has been climbing over the past 25 years, though, 1998 [...]

Continue reading about Tiny Monday notes about the election

Tonight the polls closed on the first round of the sexennial elections for the 22 regional councils in France.1 In comparison to the US, the regional councils are sort of like state governments, and their primary dossiers involve education, transportation, and land use. Rue89 has conveniently put together a “Regional Elections for Dummies” page, but, [...]

Continue reading about Quick thoughts about the French regional elections