Who is who in the French presidential elections?

A majority of people in other Western countries are unfamiliar with the leading candidates for the French presidency, according to a recent survey.

The survey, which was carried out online in six countries, found that a whopping 88% of Americans had never heard of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal, centrist Francois Bayrou or right-wing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen, the four leading candidates for this year’s presidential election in France.

The numbers were only slightly better in Britain, where 76% of respondents ticked off the response “I don’t know any of these candidates”, though the country is just across the Channel from France.

In Germany, 62% said that they were not familiar with any of the four presidential candidates, while the figure was 47% in Spain and 43% for Italy.

For those who did hear of the candidates, Royal was chosen as the presidential candidate “who would best represent France around the world” in every country except France, with 30% of Italian respondents choosing her against only 7% for Sarkozy.

However, in France, where it counts, respondents preferred the interior minister by 36% to 21% over Royal.

In case you want to brush up your knowledge about the presidential elections, here are two sources that put you in the know:

French Elections 2007 (Telegraph.co.uk.)
French Élection 2007 (blog by Boz)

Source | Caricature source