Watching from across the divide France votes III 4 Edition

• Published in: International herald tribune
• Main Author: Philip H. Gordon and Charles A. Kupchan
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris New York Times Company 18.04.2007
• Edition: International edition
• Subjects: Bayrou, Francois; Bush, George W; Clinton, Hillary; Sarkozy, Nicolas; WASHINGTON
• ISSN: 0294-8052

Americans are paying a surprising amount of attention to the presidential elections in France. The race is the stuff of captivating headlines: Nicolas Sarkozy, the brash son of a Hungarian immigrant, breaks the traditional mold of the center-right. Francois Bayrou has come from nowhere to claim the center. And just as Hillary Clinton is a serious contender to become America's first woman president, so Segolene Royal, the Socialist candidate, is the first woman with a real shot at the Elysee. Even if Sarkozy wins, however, it is far from certain that he would reorient French foreign policy in the way many Americans expect. His instincts are sincerely pro-American, but he would be president of a country in which U.S. policies on a wide range of issues, from Iraq to the environment to the "war on terror," are singularly unpopular. Hemmed in by public opinion, Sarkozy already seems to regret his photo-op with George W. Bush last fall . If Sarkozy does not win, the path to a new era of French- American cooperation would be even bumpier. Segolene Royal shows none of the affinity for America that Sarkozy does. With former president Francois Mitterrand as her political mentor, she seems to embrace a traditional leftist skepticism about "Anglo-Saxon" economic, social and foreign policies. Royal has not been a frequent visitor to the United States, and she has sought to portray Sarkozy as too close to the current U.S administration.