French election ---left right?

Question

I have to write a paper on the French Presidential elections but I dont get all this right and left stuff...can someone please help me?

Answer 1

Nicolas Sarkozy on the right, favour radical change in the relationship between the government and the economy. They argue that for the last 30 years, under both left-wing and right-wing governments, the French have been misled into believing that things could go on without real reforms. One may say that they favour a Thatcherite approach to change. Others on the right (Dominique de Villepin) as well as some on the left argue for gradual reforms. In comparison, the refusal of the French electorate to vote for the proposed European Constitution was interpreted by some as a popular refusal of libéralisme, which the European Union is perceived to embody. Some such as Laurent Fabius have argued that the Socialist Party should thus have a more "left-wing" line.