10 jours avant le 1er tour

The official French presidential election campaign began Monday. The candidates can now paste up their inspiring posters and handbills all over France, specifically, on the gallery panels installed outside of 85,000 polling stations.

With French unemployment at [Abrupt pause. ???], well, whatever it is, and economic growth at, uh, [Abrupt pause. ???], whatever that is, job-poor low-growth France wants every French project to go to a French company.

Alas, Frenchie no want job.

PRÉSIDENTIELLE: UN GROUPE AMÉRICAIN
POUR COLLER LES AFFICHES DES CANDIDATS
[PRESIDENTIAL RACE: AN AMERICAN GROUP TO PASTE CANDIDATE POSTERS]

PARIS 31 mars 2007 (AFP) - Depuis 2002, les partis ont le choix pour leurs affiches officielles de campagne, qu'ils doivent coller sur les panneaux métalliques installés devant les bureaux de vote: mobiliser leurs militants, bénévoles donc, ou faire appel à des professionnels de l'affichage.

Mais les militants ne sont visiblement plus très motivés. A la grande satisfaction de Clear Channel France, qui vient de décrocher ce marché juteux. Avec environ 1 million d'affiches à coller, soit une grande et une petite pour chaque candidat, devant chacun des 85.000 bureaux de vote, ce sont trois millions d'euros que va empocher la filiale de l'entreprise texane, basée à San Antonio.

[Since 2002, the parties have a choice for [putting up] their official campaign posters, which are pasted on metal panels installed in front of polling stations: mobilize their militants [scil., party members], that is, at no cost, or contract posting professionals.

But the militants apparently are not very motivated. To the great satisfaction of Clear Channel France, which has come to own this lucrative market. With approximately one million posters to be posted, both large and small for each candidate, in front of each of 85,000 polling stations, that's three million euros snapped up by the subsidiary of the Texas enterprise, based in San Antonio.]

Graffiti: 100 MILLION DEAD
(G) Marie-George Buffet, Parti Communiste Français
(C) Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, Still Running Strong In France
(D) Olivier Besancenot, Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire

[Photo hat tip: Carine at E-nough!]

U*2 over at ¡No Pasarán! picks up the story:

Clear Channel has in hand signed authorisations from all 12 Presidential candidates, including the most extreme America haters on both ends of the French political spectrum: José Bové and Jean Marie Le Pen. Clear Channel will be paid by the French préfectures (with French taxpayers' suckers moolah) to the tune of 2.02 euros for the posting of large format posters and 1 euro for each small format poster. The multinational estimates the profit margin to be 50% for this contract that will entail 8 days of work for 1,000 people starting on April 9 at midnight. Tell that to the 3 Trotskyst candidates and the altermondialiste globophobic-Luddite running to the extreme Left of the French Communist Party.

The American multinational was the only company that answered the call to tender.

... Despite an ever growing French hatred of all things American and the constant use of Uncle Sam as a bogeyman by French candidates on the Left and the Right, Clear Channel has pledged to deliver a professional service for all the French presidential candidates, from one political extreme of the spectrum to the other. "All French political parties will be treated equally without any judgement as to their positions" declared Philippe Jay, Director of Business Development and Institutional Relations at Clear Channel France. La classe, quoi !

Pernicious globalization steals the bread from out the mouth of lackadaisical France.

PFFT (What is this?): France betrays France 3 | Pricey militant indifference 4 | Rayonnement français 0