Politics 2012 is a collaborative blog that explores the upcoming French presidential elections from a youth perspective. The blog is produced by students at the School of Journalism at Sciences Po in Paris. All of the opinions expressed in each post are those of the individual authors.

Tue, 04/17/2012 - 08:59

Poll shows Le Pen admired by French Youth

Here’ s a stat that might interest you: according to a recent poll by Le Monde, Marine Le Pen is the most favoured candidate among voters between 18-24, with 26% of the vote.
Fri, 04/13/2012 - 11:25

It’s Time for France to Stop Subsidizing Dirty Fuel

Although environmental issues have not placed very high atop the agendas of the major presidential candidates, the question over France's massive energy subsidies loom large for whoever wins the presidency.
Thu, 04/12/2012 - 14:30

Mélenchon targets the Anglo-Saxon world

Le Figaro has called him the “petit Chavez“, others have seen him as the inspiring voice of discontent in France. And recently he revealed his latest adversary in the struggle against global capitalism: the English language.
Thu, 04/12/2012 - 14:01

Hollande’s worst election nightmare: Abstention

As we reach the final days of campaigning, all major polls suggest that France will be having a new president as of 7 May 2012. But the job is far from done for socialist frontrunner François Hollande.
Tue, 04/10/2012 - 09:52

Youth Against Ecology: What a Riot!

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers of La Défense, a business district in the north-western suburbs of Paris, a group of student demonstrators warmed up by heckling a child on a bicycle.
Tue, 04/10/2012 - 09:33

Web media push for online presidential debate

Ten. That’s the number of candidates running for the French presidency, and the problem of finding a way for all of them to debate together may find a solution online.
Tue, 04/10/2012 - 08:55

Hadopi: where do the candidates stand?

Hadopi was one of French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s most criticized creations but its very existence is now threathed with the upcoming elections.
Fri, 04/06/2012 - 13:59

Who is the real presidential candidate for the far right, Le Pen or Sarkozy?

Notice the near-perfect symmetry of the two curves above? It looks like Nicolas Sarkozy is peeling off votes from the National Front, doesn’t it?
Fri, 04/06/2012 - 13:31

Ultra-Catholics up in arms against abortion [slideshow]

Far right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen wants to stop refunding abortion. When people realized that despite her “dediabolization” strategy, she was standing her ground on this proposal, there was quite a political circus.
Fri, 04/06/2012 - 08:59

French election: The search for a cultivated president

The Sarkozy presidency has been, in one sense, one of great anomaly in the history of the Fifth Republic. The incumbent has been criticized for being insufficiently engaged in that essential domain of the French Republic: culture.
Thu, 04/05/2012 - 17:39

Sarkozy’s France: Where innovation goes to die

Oscar Wilde famously said: good men, when they die, go to Paris. Under Sarkozy, you could say that good companies go to Paris when they want to die.
Tue, 04/03/2012 - 11:21

French presidential elections get Googled

After the United States, Senegal and Egypt it was France’s turn yesterday to get the official Google election treatment with its own dedicated page for election news and information.
Mon, 04/02/2012 - 09:08

Socialist candidate Hollande launches webradio show

French presidential candidate François Hollande took his campaign to a new level with the launch of a webradio show this week, called Radio Hollande.
Mon, 04/02/2012 - 08:51

French election: Merkozy No More

Say farewell to the Merkozy dominance of Europe. The increasing likelihood of François Hollande getting elected as the the next French president is now now threatens an alliance that has been guiding European policy for the past few years.
Wed, 03/28/2012 - 09:05

Let Them Drink Evian?

March 22 was World Water Day, but before we open the faucet and knock back a few, there is something we need to talk about: nearly two million people across France do not have access to drinkable tap water.
Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:31

Sarkozy proposes censorship of terrorist websites after Toulouse shooting

In the aftermath of the shootings in Montauban and Toulouse, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that the government wanted to make visiting websites that promote terrorism, hate or violence a crime.
Sun, 03/25/2012 - 12:17

Hollande champions growth, but too soon

Socialist candidate François Hollande has picked a new bad guy that, for a change, isn’t the world of finance... instead, it's austerity.
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 19:58

Political blogs adapt to social media intensive 2012

A website that allows users to reflect, share opinions, and discuss various topics in the form of an online journal while readers may comment on posts.
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 14:25

Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey’s Parisian Tweets with Sarkozy

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey paid a visit to French president Nicolas Sarkozy and in the process, invented the tweet-meeting.
Tue, 03/06/2012 - 12:56

Islamic veil fines? He’ll pay them!

So far he paid 31 burka and niqab fines. Rachid Nekkaz, a whealthy French businessmen, set up a million euro fund in 2010 to pay fines for women who choose to wear the full Islamic veil in countries banning it.