Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/04/30

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Subject: RE: OT [Leica] Steve Unsworth PAW week 17
From: "Steve Unsworth" <mail@steveunsworth.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 23:40:16 +0200

Well yes, there are 5 demonstrations in Paris tomorrow, including one by
Le Pen. The anarchists are due to arrive at Republique just before the
main union demo leaves. I think that the major flashpoint could well be
between the Le Pen March and a meeting to commemorate someone who
drowned after being thrown into the Seine by Le Pen supporters some
years ago. These are within a few hundred metres of each other and at
the same time.

Everyone I've spoken to has been appalled by what has happened. There is
another election for the parliamentary deputies in a few weeks time - I
think voting patterns will be a little different.

The French have a habit of using the first round as a protest and then
voting for the 'real' candidate in the second round. As you say it
backfired this time.

At the moment I plan to take some shots of the Le Pen march in the
morning and then go to the big march from Republique to Nation with a
French friend in the afternoon. Like me she's a coward when it comes to
violence, so don't expect too many 'action' shots :-)

Steve
- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Nathan
Wajsman
Sent: 30 April 2002 06:45
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Steve Unsworth PAW week 17


Hi Steve,

Indeed. Nice grafitti though, they should just leave it as is...

Actually, one thing that few media have stressed (except the Economist,
of
course) is that Le Pen only got a couple of % more than in 1995, hardly
a slide towards fascism in the French electorate; the real news is the
low vote for Chirac and the division on the left--the Communists plus
the 3 Trotskyites got 10.5% combined. If only half of those votes had
gone to the Socialists, Jospin would have won comfortably with Chirac in
2nd place and nobody would be discussing what in the world has happened
in France. I guess this result will teach people that voting for your
favourite kook in the 1st round is not always costless.

Nathan

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