Well the best “Liste” won, but I lost out by just a few votes, which was a little disappointing, but hey, all’s fair in love and politics.
Sunday morning Elaine, Sebastian and I wondered down to the Mairie with our voting cards, found our “Liste”, popped it in the envelope provided, gave our names, showed our cards and signed the big book of voters, simple as that. I couldn’t understand why there were voting booths, as everything seemed to be based on which list you picked up, how naive I was!!
Gerard phoned me about five o clock and invited us to come and watch the count.
I couldn’t believe how complex the system of voting was on the two election days. Just to give you an idea, there were about 1,100 people who voted on the first Sunday and it took over five hours to count the votes. We went to watch the count with just about everyone else in town and it was like Heathrow Terminal 5 on its opening day.
Five tables had been set up with a member of each “Liste” plus three neutral citizens seated around it and amongst the rugby scrum of people, these six people were given a pile of little blue envelopes to open check and then count. Now I had (incorrectly as it transpires) assumed that you voted for just one Liste … but oh no, you could cross off names, mix “Listes” and even add names to your “Liste”.
Mickey Mouse got at least six votes as did President De Gaulle. It was absolute chaos. One person opened the envelope, another had to check to ensure that only nineteen names were on the paper, another tried to shout out the names selected, then two people wrote down the result. The noise level within the room was incredible with everyone commenting on who was winning, the counters shouting out names, and neighbours and friends catching up on the local gossip.
Locals mingled with the candidates, wondered around the room stopping at tables to watch the count chatting and shouting to each other all the while. Chaos reigned. I commented to two or three people how chaotic it all was and each one said to me Richaaar “this is French democracy in action”. It may be democratic, but then why does it only take about half an hour to announce the new President once the national polls have closed!!
Anyway around midnight they announced the two winning “Liste” and ours was one of them.
Next Sunday it would be high noon between the existing Mayor and my lot, with the pub team and the oddball having fallen at the first fence.
Throughout the following week all hell broke loose. Neighbour wouldn’t speak to neighbour, shopkeepers refused to serve people, letters were sent around by both teams, rules of combat were smashed to pieces, meetings and rallies were held and vitriolic speeches were made. It really did get quite nasty with our old neighbours not talking to us because I was one of the team trying to defeat the incumbent who was “fantastique”
I was glad when Sunday arrived because I had had enough of the whole thing; god knows how the parties involved in US elections keep going…I was exhausted!! We went to the Mairie voted as the week before and then had a jolly good rather boozy lunch with a group of friends until it was time to attend the vote.
It was as busy as a week earlier but the local gendarmerie were in, in force and somebody had erected barricades around the counters tables and all I could think of was “Les Miserables”
We went through the same old rigmarole of shouting, counting, shouting again then writing down all the info required. The votes for Mickey Mouse and De Gaulle were slightly lower than a week earlier, but they still appeared. The rabble weren’t allowed anywhere near the count, but Elaine and I were let “Through The Barricades” (Spandau Ballet) because I was on a “Liste”
It was about eleven-o-clock when the buzz started that the incumbent was out. There was as usual a general pandemonium with everybody talking at once. The result announced by the outgoing mayor was that the majority of my team got through and I was just seven votes away from victory.
I have since put it all down to experience. Elaine asked me last week if I would do it again in six years time, my answer is, I am afraid, unprintable…I have done with politics.
I think it was Dan Quayle who said, "If at first we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
