Turn The Page

As Nicolas Sarkozy prepares to take on Segolene Royal for the presidency of France, pundits take note of the slow decline of the French communist. The communists were the stars of the French Resistance, but time has done them no favors. This season's crop of presidential candidates grew up after the war, were not shaped by it directly, and possess a different outlook from those who went before them. It's not all about France and the stout-hearted resistance. It's a little bit about what the Americans did for France, a few notes in the anti-American symphony that may be reaching its climax.

Marie-George Buffet (communist) and Dominique Voynet (green) made pathetically poor showings in the election. The Trotskyists hit a 25 year low, but it's not their policies that are to blame. No indeed, the smart voters knew that these candidates were going to lose so they voted for Ms. Royal to ensure her presence in the run-off. Convoluted reasoning, but it's hard to deal with rejection (as any author knows).

What of the anti-globalists, the anti- EU constitution contingent, the communist revolutionaries and all the rest? They can proudly point to the success of their policies, of course. The EU constitution met its death in France, and it does not look likely to be resurrected any time soon. The free market in all its cold and callous disregard has not been kind to the short work week, the mandated holidays, and job creation. In the ghettos, young Arabs have little hope of finding work in what the left would think of as a worker's paradise. Rioting, unrest, but you've been granted a long week end if you happen to land a job.

The last Israeli kibbutz to practice socialism has gone over to the dark side, embracing capitalism because socialism doesn't work. The people of France are beginning to make the same move, to leave the happy dreams of socialism behind because they are living with the results and they are not happy. They would like France to take the lead in Europe, to reclaim its once lofty post as the dominant nation. Getting back there is going to be very, very painful.