Aren’t the French strange?! In many countries, members of parliament cannot simultaneously hold local office. In France, the opposite is true. An elected representative who wishes to hold any sway in the political village at Paris must show that he is also the uncontested leader of his fiefdom!! The more rural his local seat (and therefore the more recalcitrant the inhabitants towards an outsider as candidate) the more glorious his victory! Thus Mr Lambert, a Senator and President of Orne Council, is standing in the by-election of a rural district in his county; even though he is currently elected in a town where the electorate are far more politicised and tend to follow national voting trends.

We shall see on Sunday if he is elected. In which case, we can imagine that he will be taking the head of the local governmental lobby – defending their interests against the powers that be (especially when it comes to the economy). Lambasting the administration of which he was once a minister holds no contradiction. These are the mysteries of French political life!

Until then!