France, Without a Struggle, Is at a Loss

In Chartres, France, people holding blackboards showing the most important election issues for them, including health, peace, education and unity.
"PARIS — It’s unprecedented: In the course of a few months, French voters, the media and polls have knocked several of the biggest contenders out of the presidential race. First, it was Cécile Duflot, the main leader of the Greens, who was defeated in her party’s primary. Then came Nicolas Sarkozy, a former head of state, and Alain Juppé, a former prime minister who for months had been a heavy favorite — both eliminated in the primary for the right and center-right. After that it was the president of France himself, the Socialist François Hollande, whose unpopularity led him to renounce even running. Finally, out went Manuel Valls, until very recently France’s prime minister. He lost the left-wing primary. ..."
NY Times
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