French election update - debate last night and final vote on Sunday

With only two weeks separating the first run, this year with twelve candidates, and the final vote, there is little time to have more than one debate. Last night could have been the last chance for center-left candidate Segolene Royal to close the 4-6 point gap on center-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy. Both sides landed a few digs but in general it seems doubtful that Royal did enough though she was much more aggressive and combative than usual.

So what does this mean to the US, assuming Sarkozy maintains his lead and wins? On the surface, perhaps less friction between the two countries though in reality, France and the US work together very closely on key issues such as security. Business interests on both sides will remain business interests so not much change there either. Internal issues such as the economy and employment are of greatest concern in this election. The only relevant foreign that might ignite emotions (i.e. street protests) is the EU constitution. Sarkozy is against a referendum possibly because he knows the public does not support that dog with fleas nor are they in favor of such decisions being forced upon them without proper debate.

In the end, this will translate to smoother public relations on the surface but very little change behind the scenes.