General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCounting on Votes From Paris-on-Thames (French citizens living in the UK)
In the campaign for the first round of Frances presidential election on Sunday, the main candidates have not forgotten the voters of Paris-on-Thames. That is the nickname that headline writers have given to London, with an estimated French population that rivals that of Nice, Frances fifth largest city.
So how will they vote on Sunday? In most previous elections, a smaller and generally more affluent French community leaned towards the right. But the outcome of the last election in 2007 showed them broadly following national trends.
It is a constituency the candidates cannot afford to ignore. François Hollande, the Socialist challenger, was in London in February to press the flesh...
Paris and London are just two hours and 15 minutes apart by high-speed train and, as European Union citizens, the French face no barriers in taking jobs in the British capital.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/counting-on-votes-from-paris-on-thames/
I didn't realize that there were that many French citizens living and working in London alone. I wonder how many live in the UK altogether.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)when I'm out dancing - quite a few French girls resident here in the UK
muriel_volestrangler
(101,361 posts)The majority are below the age of 40; there are more women than men; and one third work in the public sector, particularly education. These are the voters any future president has to attract. Hollande, the Socialist party candidate and frontrunner in the presidential race, was not on enemy turf yesterday in London, although expats generally vote for the right in their homeland. He was certainly addressing a wider audience, but one that has had every reason to be as jaundiced about Sarkozy's erratic, ego-fuelled rule as their compatriots at home. On the themes Hollande chose to address, a Europe that can provide jobs, growth and opportunity for the young, he preached to the converted.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/29/francois-hollande-a-welcome-visitor
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