Francois Bayrou for President of France

Of all the places I would expect the anti-Communist community to find a political hero, France was just about the last on my list. Nothing against the French people, who themselves are not happy with Communist China for a host of reasons. However, once I discovered that Jack Lang would not be running for President, it appeared 2007 would see no anti-Communists in Paris' presidential field. I had no idea who Francois Bayrou was back then, and I certainly didn't expect the gentlemen would be so bold as to call for a conditional boycott of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Yet that's exactly what he did, so he now has my support, for what it's worth. I doubt I have many readers in the French Republic, but I apparently have at least a few, and I am now asking them to vote for M. Bayrou.

I am aware that Bayrou is currently in third place, which means he would miss the run-off, but some polls put him very close to current second-place candidate Segolene Royal. If he can pass Royal (or Nicolas Sarkozy)between now and April 22 (voting day), he can make the run-off. From there, anything can happen.

Moreover, Bayrou is the only candidate who has made such a bold move, and as such, support for him would reveal that the French people will no longer tolerate the craven policies of Jacques Chirac toward Communist China. It would make France the second major industrial democracy in less than two years to elect an anti-Communist to power (Canada was the first with Stephen Harper), and could very well encourage other democratic nations to take a second look at the Beijing Games.

I admire both M. Sarkozy (for views on domestic affairs, which is obviously not relevant to this blog) and Mlle. Royal (for her tough statements on Iran and its nuclear program), but with this call, M. Bayrou has trumped them both. To all French citizens who read this: Votez Bayrou, s'il vous plait.