Regional Elections March 2004

Looking through the party programmes for the regionals I was struck by the lack of original ideas in all of them.

So I decided to come up with some of my own. If you have any better ideas let me know, drop me a mail at peter@midi-life.com

For an e-Aude.
Expand ADSL connections to all villages and towns over 200 population.
Expand the Fac at Narbonne and Carcassonne to include a high powered Information Technology Department.
Build a high tech business Park in Narbonne and give technology businesses tax incentives to set up in the area.
Network up all the education establishments in the Aude, massively expand the teaching and use of computers at all levels of education.
With the CCI train SME's to take full advantage of IT and e-commerce.
Marketing the Aude
Creat a bio-Aude label and promote our environmentally the area as a leader in Bio policies.
Expand and enhance the national parks-particularly on the coastal,high Corbieres and Pyrennes areas of the Aude.
An Aude for People
Increase the frequency of TER trains in the area and to Montpellier, Bezier and Perpignan.
Work with SNCF to promote the discounts for workers who take the train.
Double the number of wind farms with a target of 30% of power supplied by renewable sources.
Toughen the building regulation about stand alone new build-avoid the Provence syndrome.
Relieve the pressure on young people and less well off caused by house price increases by expanding the HLm housing provision in rural as well as urban cantons.

That's for starters- and more suggestions welcome.

Left Unites as Right Fractures

Jacques Blanc is on the back foot going into election season. His uneasy coalition with the National Front shattered over the budget as the hard Right move into their traditional stand of opposition to everything. Just as on a national scale the centre right of Francis Bayrou broke from the L'UMP over the budget in a forlorn attempt at raising their pittiful profile and avoid electoral annilation in March. No such problem for the FN in Languedoc, recent polls conducted by Depeche du Midi and the Gazette du Montpellier show them standing at a firm 16% with a stronger than average presence in Carcassonne and Narbonne. Blanc's own L'UMP stands at 29% including in the alliance Bayrou's vocal minority. The independant Occitan party, which of possible appears to be even further to the Right that the FN kick along the bottom with 2%.

On the Left the Greens have already announced that they intend to stand alongside the Socialist Party, with the dynamic Mayor of Montpellier, Charles Freches heading the list. The Communist Party, after polling their members have voted resoundingly to join the United Left list in the Aude, Gard, and Herault. The situation in Roussillon however is more fluid, with an equally large majority of the CP voting to go it alone in the first round. According to the media's poll this united list stands at around 33%, with the CP standing alone getting 6%.

The Trots on the ultra Left have announced an alliance between the LO and LCR to form a single list which should take around 10% in the first round. Polling particularly strong amongst the young, and in the University quarter of Montpellier.

Jose Bove, the charismatic anti-gobalisation spekesman, stands at 11% but has shown no interest in standing.

Based on this poll the actual outcome will depend on two things, how the FN vote behaves in the second round and whether the Trot vote bothers to turn out for the second round. Whatever the final outcome it is going to be a very close call. This is the closest the Left has got to winning in 16 years and we can expect a very hard fought campaign to remove the shame of being governed by the likes of Blanc and his fascist allies.