Totally Frenched Out

From the blogger formerly known as Samdebretagne

Sunday, April 8, 2012

It's voting time

So here we are, two weeks away from the first round of the French presidential elections. My official voting card showed up last week, so I am all set to vote for my first French president. I have to admit, I'm not as prepared as I could/should be. C & I have been so tired at the end of the day lately that we usually just end up watching fluff American TV on the slingbox....so I am way more up on the American presidential runoff than I am the French one.

I have made an effort though, but it just hasn't gotten me anywhere. Looking at the various candidates websites, how do you weed through the muck? There's so much information there and half of it is just what they think people want to hear, so how do you know what they really believe in and what they really plan on doing if elected?  I know I'm not the only newbie French citizen out there, so I am happy to say I now have an answer for us.

I was reading Ouest-France the other day during a work trip and came across a small article talking about an online poll they had.  You answer 30 questions on various topics and at the end, it tells you which candidate corresponds the best to your beliefs. As an added bonus, you have the option of taking it in French or English, so even those of you who can't vote can at least hypothetically find out who you would vote for :

http://presidentielle2012.ouest-france.fr/la-boussole

(as a side note, only a French website would have such an awkward address)

Unfortunately however, like with most things in life, I fell right in the middle of all of the candidates.  It reminds me of those high school aptitude tests they used to make us take.  Mine were always all over the board - like "You should be a social worker. Or a forest ranger. Or a chef."  But the nice thing with this quiz is that you can click on each of the candidates afterwards to see how their answers compared to yours, and at least see if you disagree on big or small issues.  And now that I've done that, I've got a pretty good idea of who I'm going to vote for....but I'm going the French route and saying my lips are sealed!

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6 Comments:

Blogger deedee said...

My husband and I both took the test. It's very interesting and gives food for thought. Now, do I vote as my results say I should, or, do I vote "utile"? Still have a couple of weeks to decide.

April 8, 2012 at 7:09 PM  
Blogger L said...

I can't vote, but it was interesting to do. I too fall in a big empty space where no candidate represents my beliefs... Guess I'll have to try to influence B when he votes.

April 8, 2012 at 11:15 PM  
Blogger Alisa said...

Interesting... According to the survey, I'm closer to a different candidate than the one I thought. I'll still be voting for my original choice, though. This is my second presidential election as a French citizen.

All I know about the US elections this year is that no candidate shares my views, so for the first time since I've been old enough to vote, I'll probably be abstaining this fall.

April 9, 2012 at 2:48 PM  
Blogger Amber said...

I had surprising results! I thought I knew who I would support if I could vote but the test says differently. I think I'll be doing some more research just out of curiosity.

April 9, 2012 at 9:23 PM  
Blogger Lisa C. said...

How exciting, being able to take part in your first French Presidential Election! I kind of have an inkling on who you are rooting for...but hey, I may be wrong! I'm so glad that you are partaking! Is K voting?

Also, I want to thank you for your concern and comment that you left on my blog. All is not well over here but this is life, right? Thank you again, Sam. : )

April 11, 2012 at 1:15 AM  
Blogger kristen said...

It is so exciting that you get to vote!!! I took the test and find it very interesting that there was not one question around women's health rights... oh wait... it's France not America.

April 18, 2012 at 10:56 AM  

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