Can Bayrou, the French presidential candidate, revolutionise France ?

The French presidential candidate François Bayrou (UDF, centre-right) has secured, according to a survey carried out this week, 20 % of voting intentions for the first round of the elections. "Bayrou, prophet of national reconciliation, is now making a real breakthrough", considers Paul-Kleis Jager. "He is spreading the idea of a national government of reconciliation within which the centre-left and centre-right would together rule over the country. This would be a real revolution in a country that has not had a coalition since Henri IV and the governments of the national union under Charles De Gaulle. ... It is difficult to tell where Bayrou will end up landing. Those who say they will vote for him seem less convinced by the candidate than repelled by the duel between Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy. And on a sociological level, Bayrou is still supported too much by the higher strata of the class system and too little by the working class."

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