The French Presidential election campaign got underway today with the first vote scheduled for April 22, and a run-off between the top two of round one on May 6. Michael Stickings has a good primer.

I have not been paying an awful lot of attention to this so I consulted with one of my French friends over the weekend. While not being able to give me some tangible guidance he pointed out that he had a hard time seeing Ségolène Royal making it to the Élysée. The reason? "She doesn't like people" and that confirmed my suspicion that the Socialist Party's candidate is too frosty and career-driven to connect with the French electorate. Sarkozy is far better positioned to capitalize on populist sentiments that currently exist across the political spectrum. For now my money is on a Sarkozy-Royal final, with the former the clear favorite to win.