by ULLRICH FICHTNER & SIMONE SALDEN
François Fillon at the UMP launch rally of the 2010 French regional elections campaign in Paris. PHOTO/Wikipedia
François Fillon has emerged as the center-right candidate for the French presidency. His choice is symptomatic of a country that has never left its conservative, Catholic roots behind.
The nave of Église Saint-Lambert de Vaugirard is dark, with only the crypt bathed in yellow candlelight. Every Wednesday evening at 8:30, young Catholics meet here in Paris’ 15th arrondissement for a prayer circle. The party headquarters of the Républicains, the conservative political party, are just 500 meters away.
The priest doesn’t want journalists to ask questions in the church, and certainly not any that have to do with politics. “This is a private gathering, please go,” we are told.
But some of the young men and women there do have something to say — outside in front of the church walls. “I think François Fillon is a good choice,” says Pauline, who has wrapped her thick blue scarf around her head. “I think he’s credible, also on moral issues,” says Marine, 29, who adds that she is opposed to gay marriage.
“Of course I voted for Fillon,” mumbles a young man, his hair carefully parted on the side. “He is the only sensible choice for a Catholic,” he adds, before turning up the collar of his overcoat and disappearing into the dark night.
With the choice of François Fillon two Sundays ago as the Republicans’ candidate for next year’s French presidential election, a France has spoken that is, at its core, much more conservative and Catholic than is readily apparent from the outside. They may be a numerical minority, but their concerns and aspirations are shared by many French.
Whether or not Fillon, the 62-year-old former prime minister with a predilection for bright red socks, will ultimately win the election, the Republicans’ experiment with holding public primaries was certainly successful. Whereas the socialists surrounding President François Hollande are currently tearing each other apart, the upstanding Fillon has taken up the battle against the inflammatory Marine Le Pen, head of the right-wing populist Front National.
Fillon’s success has caused a commotion in France’s political establishment, and not just because it was so unexpected. The excitement primarily results from the widespread feeling that a long-time political vacuum has suddenly been filled.
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