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| The French in London: Bienvenue, François Hollande? | The French in London: Bienvenue, François Hollande? |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| 1.02pm: I started the day with Dr. Philippe Marlière, who is a professor of French and European politics at UCL and has historic connections to leftwing politics in his home country, having been a member of both the Parti Socialiste and, more recently, the Nouveau Parti Anti-Capitaliste (NPA). | |
| Now, however, he is a member of no political party- even if it remains clear where his allegiances lie. | |
| Philippe marliere (mp3) Over coffee at a cafe in Tufnell Park, he explained to me why he thinks the forthcoming election is very open- and nowhere more so than London. In 2007, he points out, Sarkozy beat Royal here by only a few hundred votes. | |
It's interesting to know that because in fact it was an election that was nationally won very handsomely and easily by Sarkozy. So that shows one thing : in terms of right/left balance here it's pretty close. You can't really say anymore that London is a place where you have wealthy people voting for right-wing parties. Clearly I think this forthcoming election is a very open one. | |
| Historically, the French community has veered to the right, said Marliere. But demographic changes in recent years have changed that. | |
| Traditionally the French community- and I speak 20, 30 years ago or so- was voting more for right-wing candidates and parties. I think when you look back to when I came to London some 20 years ago I think essentially 'the French abroad' meant people working in diplomacy circles and business people; later on people in the City. | |
| Things started to change about 10-15 years ago with the flux of population- you know, younger, less wealthy people working in services, public services, education; you had also students attracted by British universities. So all in all I think has been very big changes regarding the French population living in the UK and in London. | |
| Hollande will probably soften his banker bashing rhetoric for the London audience, said Marliere, although it would be "suicidal" for him to appease them too much. | |
That's not what the French voting in France and also I would say a large majority of french people living in the UK expect of him. He's the candidate of the candidate of the main left, representing the left. So he's not going to say that; that would be suicidal. | |
| What he's going to say probably is tone down a little bit the criticisms about City bankers, bonuses, highly paid bankers...But on the other hand he will also stand firm on this position that things have to change. And he will also say that, in fact, we are in the situation we are in because of course bankers made major errors- they are responsible for the economic situation in the first place- but also politicians made errors. didn't act when they should have acted and didn't make the right decisions either. | |
| 10.15am: Bonjour à tous! | 10.15am: Bonjour à tous! |
| Today, to the delight of some and no doubt the derision of others, François Hollande- the erstwhile leader of the Parti Socialiste and current front-runner in the battle for the French presidency- is coming to London. He'll be lunching with Ed Miliband, categorically not lunching with David Cameron, giving a talk at King's College and generally raising his profile on this side of the Channel. | Today, to the delight of some and no doubt the derision of others, François Hollande- the erstwhile leader of the Parti Socialiste and current front-runner in the battle for the French presidency- is coming to London. He'll be lunching with Ed Miliband, categorically not lunching with David Cameron, giving a talk at King's College and generally raising his profile on this side of the Channel. |
| Why? Well, as anyone who has caught a whiff of croissant or crepe while strolling through South Kensington will know, there are quite a lot of French people here. Quite how many is difficult to pin-point, but the consulate reckons that anything up to 400,000 people could be resident- a figure that would mean there are more French people here than in Nantes (population roughly 283,000) or even Nice (population roughly 341,000). | Why? Well, as anyone who has caught a whiff of croissant or crepe while strolling through South Kensington will know, there are quite a lot of French people here. Quite how many is difficult to pin-point, but the consulate reckons that anything up to 400,000 people could be resident- a figure that would mean there are more French people here than in Nantes (population roughly 283,000) or even Nice (population roughly 341,000). |
| Wily political animal that he is, Nicolas Sarkozy realised what this could mean in electoral terms in 2007, when he paid a visit to the city of the Tamise (that's the Thames) and spoke to roaring crowds at the Old Billingsgate market. Now, it appears, his challenger for the Elysée is doing the same- and hoping for a similar recompense. | Wily political animal that he is, Nicolas Sarkozy realised what this could mean in electoral terms in 2007, when he paid a visit to the city of the Tamise (that's the Thames) and spoke to roaring crowds at the Old Billingsgate market. Now, it appears, his challenger for the Elysée is doing the same- and hoping for a similar recompense. |
| Today, while my colleague Angelique Chrisafis hops on the Eurostar in hot pursuit of the man himself, I'll be attempting to take the pulse of the French community here in London. What do they think of Hollande, and his bid to become France's first left-wing president since François Mitterrand? Are they, like an apparently large number of their brethren back home, determined to oust Sarkozy quicker than you can say 'cuban heels and Carla Bruni'? Or are they- perish the thought- more interested in the politics of their adopted country than that of the one they left behind? | Today, while my colleague Angelique Chrisafis hops on the Eurostar in hot pursuit of the man himself, I'll be attempting to take the pulse of the French community here in London. What do they think of Hollande, and his bid to become France's first left-wing president since François Mitterrand? Are they, like an apparently large number of their brethren back home, determined to oust Sarkozy quicker than you can say 'cuban heels and Carla Bruni'? Or are they- perish the thought- more interested in the politics of their adopted country than that of the one they left behind? |
| Join me on a leisurely stroll through London as I try to find out. If you want to get in touch, you can email me at lizzy.davies@guardian.co.uk or tweet me @lizzy_davies. | Join me on a leisurely stroll through London as I try to find out. If you want to get in touch, you can email me at lizzy.davies@guardian.co.uk or tweet me @lizzy_davies. |