Went to see Sarkozy yesterday with my gf, and it was quite an experience, indeed.
First, and I kind of expected it, the UMP war machine trumps the PS and the Modem's combined. I went to see Hollande and Bayrou too, and it was nothing like it. French flags on every seat, tons of propaganda tracts handed by happy-to-oblige Jeunes Pops. It's the middle of the afternoon, we're in a remote, smallish indoor stadium north of Tours. And there's thousands of people. Sixty year olds and up, for the most part. The security is pretty strict, for obvious reason, and it takes ages to get into the place. We finally get to sit down. The long wait begins; for two hours straight, people keep flowing into the place. The Jeunes Pops hand out corny signs ("Si vous votez Hollande, vous aurez la Grèce"), and ask people to brandish them proudly; ten minutes later, they come back, asking the sign holders not to hold them during the meeting. When the bombastic music starts playing, no empty space remains. The crowd is cheering, chanting off-beat Marseillaises and waving dozens of flags.
Guillaume Peltier opens the show, brimming with confidence and enthusiasm, in a speech I could not qualify without proving Godwin's law right. The local mayor, Briant, ends the row; his piece would make Jean-Marie Bigard proud. Vulgarity abounds. He even mocks Eva Joly's injury: "Je me suis dit, en la choisissant, les Verts sont tombés sur la tête. En fait, c'est elle qui est tombée sur la tête! Mais tomber de 2%, ce n'est pas tomber de haut!". The crowd loves it. Around us, people are in stitches.
Here comes Sarkozy, and the crowd goes crazy. His speech is nothing to write home about: he's pandering to the FN voters, much like he did in 2007. He still follows Buisson's strategy, and it shows. Standard Sarkozy fare.
In the end, what really shocked us - which may show our naïveté - is the astounding xenophobia of the UMP crowd. We could not believe our ears. On the bus, waiting at the gates, in the stadium itself, it never failed. As soon as middle-aged or elderly white people started talking (whether they knew each other or not), it always was about the job-stealing, system-abusing Muslims converting our children to Islam.
"My neighbors are foreigners; the wife's Albanians, the husband's Lebanese. They own a low-rent apartment, and they're unemployed. Well you won't believe it, but they're building a spa!"
"You heard about those Muslims handing out Korans in the street? I'm telling you, in ten years, they'll be in charge..."
"That Eva Joly, she's not from here, isn't she? Well why doesn't she go home?"
"I'm not racist, but..."
Hilarious and frightening. Well, all in all, it was quite the depressing experience. Figured I could share the pain on Gaf. Two more weeks!
