Election Day... à Paris.... "Votez"...

Election Day... à Paris...

"Le mot... du début"...

"Votez... Votez... Votez"...

Parisians... for a start... were told today to...

Vote... Vote... Vote...

Venturing out... to go to our local... "boulangerie"... for a stiff "express"... (that might demolish a bad... "mal de tête"... headache).... and their delicious croissants... we were met by a huge silence of the... "rues... boulevards... et places... de Paris".  The streets were quiet... "comme au milieu du mois d'août"... as if in the middle of August...

The city of Paris... seemed deserted...

"Tous les Parisiens"... it seems... were voting.

Perched on our high chairs... around the handsome large high tables, we indulged in... "notre p'tit déj du matin"... while avidly reading "les journaux".

One British newspaper headline... warned...

"French will swarm into UK... if Hollande triumphs"...

"Mon... Dieu"...

François Hollande... has threatened to tax the rich... by up to 75%... (for revenue over a million euros)... which reverberated... shock waves.... among the posh and wealthy in the capital... as well as the rest of the country... not to mention the shock effect it will probably have in Europe.

Monsieur Hollande... a self proclaimed "enemy of finance"... promised to... "promote spending over austerity and to renegotiate the Brussels pact... imposing budget discipline on eurozone countries". Hollande will also... "come out and spend money and raise tax and do everything that will suddenly change the French economy".

"Et... voila"...

London... has already been described... as "one of the largest French cities in Europe"...  It has often been referred to as... "France's sixth city"... due of course to the... huge flocking... of top notch Parisians who cross the British channel for a lower-taxed lifestyle... "Bof"...

Nicolas Sarkozy... has accused... Hollande... of leading France into bankruptcy if elected... and branded him a liar...

Not... nice...

Mr. Hollande retaliated... by portraying the President as... an "extreme right wing opportunist who is interested only in looking after the rich"...

Which is partly true... since "Sarko" is well known for his "bling bling" habit... of decorating himself with the latest designer... everything... and loving the company of the extremely rich and wealthy... including holidaying on their yachts...

Hollande... "Mr. Nice"... is hoping to win BIG... so that his left-wing programme would have a clear mandate.  He stressed... "If the French people must make a choice, they should do so clearly... overwhelmingly... so the winner... has the capacity and means to ACT".

Although Sarkozy is not a dream ticket... nor the ideal President to lead this grand nation... he would probably stop the French from migrating in great  numbers... to the dynamic city of London.

On the other hand Hollande... described as "le sang-froid de la vieille France"... will make a genuine and authentic president...

"For the people... by the people"...

"A la fin d'un... très long combat"... at the end of a long battle...

We wish... the two presidential candidates... awaiting the verdict... at 8:00 p.m. Paris time...

Whoever says... "Oui"...

To the Elysée Palace...

Tonight...

For the... coming...

Five... years....

"Bonne... Chance"...

a.

BREAKING NEWS... François Hollande... has just been elected... President of France.