On Sunday, habitants of the 6th canton (district of a town) of Nice will go to the polls to elect a new Conseiller Général (It’s kind of like a Local Councillor).

This is a by-election, after the elected UMP candidate was disqualified for breaking the rules on funding. The area in question is Nice 6, which is a big district spanning from Libération through Pasteur and up to Cimiez.

Obviously, I’m going to present to you a very impartial and balanced view:

Votez pour nous!

I’ve been on the Campaign Team for the Parti Socialiste; our candidate is Xavier Garcia. I’ve been particularly involved with this because he is also the man who welcomed me to France and offered my current job. I am thus especially indebted to him for his kindness and hope you will all join his Facebook group, even if you can’t vote, or even if you can’t understand French. Hopefully, I have helped him as much as he has helped me. (You might recognise his website from somewhere…)

The Candidates and Parties

There are 11 candidates, ranging from the Communist Party to the Socialist Party to the UMP and the National Front, with plenty in between.

Amazingly the Left is more united than the Right, (how is that possible, you cry?) with just the PCF (Communists) and the PS (Socialists) and the Greens.

The Right on the other hand, (as it would be) is privy to Sarkozy’s UMP, an independent friend-of-the-embittered-former-mayor, a whole host of other tiny independents and of course the National Front, the older brother of the BNP. I haven’t seen more than a poster from them, but I have heard they’ve been around.

How to say NO

A question I am frequently asked is “Don’t they all hate you?” The answer is in fact, no! Of course there is an abundance of right wingers, but they don’t get angry, they just say “no thanks, I’m from the Right” so we say “Okay, have a nice day” and move on. The Lefties are the ones who are generally more energetic, particularly the old ones against “the reactionary Right!”

One man does stick in my mind though, we knocked on his door and he told us that he “always voted but neither left nor right.” I think he was FN…

Leaflets and Literature

I’ve learned a great deal about effective campaigning (I’ve learned plenty of what-not-to-do as well, from the other parties of course). Perhaps it’s a French condition, but they all seem to love writing long letters with lots of text.

I’ve collected most of the literature I’ve seen while out and about which ranges from the very very good, to the very very bad. So here are a few of the highlights:

My favourite include an early leaflet from the UMP which focuses mainly on the personality of the mayor, Christian Estrosi, rather than the local candidate. In a style that suggests “Our glorious leader presents to you… some guy!” Estrosi’s name features first, is bigger, and is in a brighter colour than the gent who is actually running.

Then a Communist piece (in monochrome BLUE ink, just to add to the confusion) which spans four pages of nothing but text. Which a sort of questionnaire at the end of each proposition, where the choices are “I share this view” or “I do not share this view” or “I have a different view” – That’s Communism, I suppose!

Who is going to win?

I don’t know. I think the PS has put forward the best campaign, but there are a lot of UMP voters out there anyway. The French system dictates that there are two rounds of elections, so hopefully we will get through on Sunday to round 2, which will be between just two (maybe three) or the bigger candidates.

Stay Tuned.