End of cohabitation

France’s long period of cohabitation is over. The results of the first round of parliamentary voting in France look like confirming a centre-right government, alongside the presidency of Jacques Chirac. I’m not a close follower of French politics, but three things strike me about the result.

First, it’s time for the right in France to put up or shut up. The slow progress on a range of reform measures has long been put down to the paralysis induced by cohabitation. Now, the nearly content-free campaigning of Chirac will either be exposed or he and his allies have to come up with an effective governing programme.

Second, what happened to the respect for the democratic process that the presidential embarrassment supposedly engendered? It looks like turnout was around 65%, which is high by Anglo-Saxon standards, but low everywhere else — including France.

Third, why was cohabitation such a problem? The US, notably, has thrived when executive and legislative branches are in different hands. That sounds like democracy to me.