These figures are preliminary. Sarkozy and Royal will go against each other in the second round of the French elections in two weeks time. The first figures state that Sarkozy has received 29 percent of the votes and Royal 25 percent. In other words, the right will go against the left in the second round. The centrist candidate, François Bayrou, received roughly 18 percent of the votes and so it will be interesting to see if he urges his voters to vote one way or another. The National Front candidate Jean–Marie Le Pen, who went to the second round in 2002, finished fourth with 11 percent.
J.S.
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As we await the results of the first round of the french presidential elections, I thought one could take a second to think of the 32 victims killed by that lunatic at Virgina Tech last week. I managed to hear on the radio a few days after the fact that a media outlet received a package from the killer which I guess contains photographs of him and no doubt his “motivation”. It is at times like this where I wonder if the media realise that they are not outside of this world, and that their actions can and will have an effect on the future. Yes, I realise that the freedom of the press is a fantastic freedom, but one can also be free to decide not to publish something. Or indeed, it doesn’t have to be on the front page for days on end. There were 32 people whose lives, each complicated and filled with joy and sorrow, were ruthlessly cut short. Each one of them I’m sure had things that were dear to their lives and yet none of them decided to kill someone in order to draw attention to it. A powerful lesson is learned by other lunatics out there: if it’s crazy enough, if it’s bloody enough, you too can have the bullhorn of the world for a week.
Jonathan Smith
