municipal elections

While all of you in the States have been bombarded with stuff about the primaries, we're about to do municipal elections here. Each arrondisement (administrative neighborhoods of Paris, very old) votes for people to represent them to pick the mayor of Paris. These electors are the ones who actually pick the mayor, but it looks like everyone takes these elections pretty seriously.

Last weekend Catherine said one of the parties (Socialist, I think) organized a bike ride around the southern part of the arrondisement where people rode around and around the circle in the Place d'Italie. I'm not sure what this was supposed to accomplish, but it amused her. Just now she gave me the materials each party sends out to people so I could look over then, and they are interesting. There are more parties here, and with Sarkozy doing so badly in public opinion (he got down to 30ish% approval way faster than Bush and now is lower than Bush ever was - the other say I saw a graffitied "SarkoSSy") all the opposition parties gleefully tear him apart. Here's a rundown of their general thoughts (I'm translating so it's possible I've gotten something wrong):

Independent workers' party - more HLM (like low-income) housing in the district because Sarkozy is threatening old and young people's abilities to rent in Paris and a ceiling price for HLM; public money going to useful construction projects; lowering of water price; against making universities "independent" [of the state] because it would let them fall into "the hands of private interests".

National Front party (Sarkozy's) - they hate the Green party; stop gang violence because “Paris perd son cachet, son âme, son identité!” [Paris is losing its cachet, it's spirit, its identity!] and part of this is to allow less immigration and stop building mosques and cathedrales; a more direct election of municipal offices; make people not feel forgotten...? I'm not sure I get that one (Pire, de nouveaux égoïsmes, s’installent à l’égard des familles, des commerçants, des classes populaires et des classes moyennes. Tous ont le sentiment légitime d’être oubliés, délaissés, abandonnés.) This is the only party on whose list of supporters I see a very large number of retirees

Some dudes who like diversity - diversity; make the tramway longer! (no one uses the tram); more retirement homes; build more schools (but they're seriously everywhere, on like every block) and make them more handicap accessible; make hours for municipal leisure activities (sports buildings and such) longer - this is why they don't even have a name, Parisians hate to work. But they have the two time French boxing champion supporting them!

Véronique Vasseur (more on her later) - hates the Commies/Greens/Socialists because they make the roads dirty and make people lack ambition; she's the doctor who wrote the book about the Prison de la Santé, so she wants the conditions there to be better, though I hear she doesn't care about the conditions at the places they keep illegal immigrants when they find them; make the tramway longer!; more video surveillance!

The Greens (who generally have the most interesting jobs) - general ecological stuff, the most interesting of which is to set up a "fruit and vegetable" food stamp type thing; they have a list of international supporters including one José Bové, militant paysan et altermondialiste (militant countryman [really "peasant"] and alternative worlder. Hm.

"100% Left" party - more apartments built by the river; more open meetings of the arrondisement admin and all of Paris; free parking at train stations and quays; more welcoming reception for those coming to Paris without papers; it has a possibly unsurprisingly large amount of student/professorial supporters.

"Pour un 13e de Terrain" party (not really a party..) - more culture (example: make Chinatown prettier!); a very large retirement home for 13ers; improve traffic (?); more cultural intergration

Alternative Left party (I do believe these are the more radical Communists in disguise, and also have José Bové's support) - redistribution of wealth (that's all it says!); seizing of vacant buildings for HLM housing; let those without papers wander Paris instead of putting them in temporary housing where they can't work; and my favorite, they want to give me the right to vote (le droit de vote et d’éligibilité pour les étrangers non-communautaires). I'd probably vote for these guys because one of their platforms is "pour combattre la misère." Many on the list definite themselves as a "fighter" for something or another.

The "Workers' Fight" party - mostly they complain about Sarkozy, and want to sanction him

The "Make Paris More Humane" party - more housing; make the tramway longer!; offer more community classes for things like gardening and sports

Most of the people running, by the way, are not politicians; they have regular jobs and are just people who live in the 13th. First round of elections are this Saturday, and the second next Saturday.