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French Jews plan for April presidential vote
Nicholas Simon / Paris
Jewish leaders have launched a series of meetings with candidates in France�s forthcoming presidential election in the hope that the concerns of the country�s 600,000 Jews will be considered when campaign platforms are formulated. But a new factor Jews are watching closely is the courting by politicians of an emergent vote among a population of North African Arab origin that outnumbers Jews 10-1.
Only about half the adults among the estimated 5 to 6 million Arabs in France are citizens with the right to vote. But even if many younger Arabs are turning their backs on society at large, it is estimated Arabs could count for 1 million votes. French Jews were alarmed last summer when newspapers published excerpts of an internal Socialist party report recommending the party cease courting Jews and start taking strong pro-Palestinian positions in order to attract Arab votes.
Most Jewish leaders have sought to play down the issue in order not to fuel the idea that it was more beneficial to court Arabs than Jews. But Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk said late last year: "It is clear the interests of the Muslim community are now being taken into account more than those of the Jews."
The election is scheduled for April 21. Polls show that the two favorites are outgoing center-right President Jacques Chirac and Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. Community leaders scorn the idea there is a specific "Jewish" vote.
Experts say Jews, who have a high turnout rate of more than 80 percent, are as evenly divided between mainstream left and right as other voters. But political lore does hold that a major reason Valery Giscard d�Estaing narrowly lost a 1981 reelection bid was that Jews voted massively against him because of his high-handed attitude toward Israel. There was no "Jewish factor" when Chirac was elected in 1995. But Jews were thought to have voted more for him than for his Socialist rival, Jospin, in recognition of Chirac�s support of Jewish causes when he was mayor of Paris.
"What we are trying to do is make our concerns understood to candidates in the hope they will take them into account when drawing up their programs," says Roger Cukierman, president of CRIF, the roof body for French Jewish groups. Jewish leaders have two main concerns: community safety after Arab youths attacked synagogues and Jewish schools; and the Foreign Ministry�s perceived one-sided stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Cukierman met with Fran�ois Bayrou, a centrist, and center-rightist Alain Madelin, the only candidate to give full backing to Ariel Sharon�s policies, as well as other third-party hopefuls. Patrick Devedjian, a Chirac spokesman, recently met CRIF leaders, apparently on the president�s behalf. Jospin has not yet officially thrown his hat in the ring. When he does, it is assumed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a favorite to be prime minister if Jospin is elected, will handle his campaign with fellow Jews.
(March 11, 2002)
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