Do the French have a greater sense of democracy than we do?

It certainly seems that way.

It would be great if we could get 85% voter turn out. Hell, it would be great if we could just get 50%.

France's advantage is that they have more parties to choose from. I also like the system they use to elect their president, which encourages such a situation.

All 50 states here in America should change their election laws to require a runoff election to determine who gets the electoral votes if no candidate has a majority. That would encourage people to vote for the minor parties. Maybe that would give the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution parties a chance to win the election, as well as independents and even smaller parties.

Americans choose between 2 bad options every 4 years because they are scared to choose other options. I think it would be beneficial if a majority were required to carry a state. Such a system might have made Ross Perot president instead of Bill Clinton, which would have been a significant improvement.

The French are motivated to vote because they can choose from diverse candidates, such as Communists, Greens, know-nothing centrists running on their looks, moderate conservatives, and fascists. While it is unfortunate that the French don't have a Libertarian Party to have the option of voting for, such an option would probably increase turnout even more. The US and UK should change their election systems to ensure a diverse field of candidates. After all, politicians support diversity in just about everything else, why not elections as well?

The French still believe that it matters who you vote for, and that your vote makes a difference.

In both the US and the UK past experience has shown that it doesn't make the slightest difference which party is in gouvernment, the policies stay the same, and the rule of the rich and the total indifference towards and disregard for the wishes of the not so rich majority is a given.

Hello, i'm a french girl and my english is not so good but i will try to explain you.

A lot of people work only for paid the appartement, the food and gazoline... No distractions...

Sarkozy is not so democrate, he say "the France you love it or you go out"... I don't think that this very democrate...

I leave France in 3 weeks for Belgium, i don't want of Sarkozy like president.

A lot of people have been to vote because they don't want to have the same think like in 2002 "Chirac/Le Pen".

In France a lot of people call Sarkozy "the new Hitler"...

The Sarkozy police go in the school to find childrens how don't have french papers and they put them and their family in a plane... Some families are separate because the father have the french papers but the mother no, so in the plane...

I don't know if you have understand my small english but i've try.

And don't think that the french don't love the americans peoples, a lot of don't like the politic of Bush but Bush is not all the americans peoples. I love the USA heaven if i haven't been in your contry but i hope to go in California after Belgium and i must improve my english if i want to be unterstand of you...

Big kiss from the south of France...

Sense of democracy includes the sense of the option of not voting at all, in the case there is basically no one to vote for. So I can't see any "grater sense of democracy" in France. And I DON'T think Victor Hugo, or any civilized French writer of his kind, would have ever voted for a pro-NATO party or candidate, AFTER THE COLD WAR ENDED. No, those wonderfull French writers would have never forced their leaders' policies upon any other nation. I think they would have voted for Le Pen instead.

When our quality of life falls as far as in France, I think we too will have a high turn out. Their debt is 10X our vs GPD; their unemployment is more than twice ours and most telling of all, their suicide rate is twice that of the US. Once things get that bad in the US, voter turnout will also be high.

because some Americans are so dependent on the government that they kind of hope that someone else will vote them in office, and when they dont like the decisions they complain about it. some Americans just are not political and they stay in the dark.

no, i dnt like french people