With no major elections happening in France this year, the French have turned their attention to our presidential elections. And if the French could vote in the American election, there is no question that Obama would win. 80% of the French people prefer Obama, according to an international BBC poll and a TNS-Sofres Institute survey. Based on my interactions, it seems more like 100%.
One straightforward reason the French like Obama is that his issue stances are more closely aligned with the socialist French. One French student explained to me that McCain seems extremist in his views, Palin even more so. In a country where most children are born out of wedlock and where religious symbols are not allowed in school, the values of American conservatives can be shocking.
However, one must also wonder if Obama’s race a factor in the French people’s preference. They like that he is métisse, they like that a black man can be such a successful politician…abroad.
The thing about race in France is, it remains a taboo subject—you might offend someone even by saying race—but it’s ok to talk about race relations in other countries, especially the United States. They think we are obsessed with race, that we cannot construe any social issue without taking race into account. (Not far from the truth, of course.) So when it comes to Obama, the French are ready to pride us on our diversity, ready to congratulate us on getting past our long history of racism, but not ready to ask themselves why they could never have a black president in the near future.
For the time being, Obama’s candidacy allows them to continue ignoring such problems by focusing on American race relations. Or maybe “Obama” is simply easier to pronounce in French.
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