The re-election of French President Jacques Chirac on Sunday was no surprise; the only question was what margin of victory he would secure over extreme rightwing challenger Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen. Mr. Chirac's 80 percent of the vote was, therefore, reassuring to all outside Le Pen's National Front as the left rallied to the neo-Gaullist president after its own contender, Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, was eliminated in the first round of voting April 21.
However, while the specter of France swinging to the far right was repelled, the election has brought to the surface troubling issues that the country's politicians have preferred to ignore. The question now is whether they will address these issues, including the future of the present constitutional system, or whether they will try to sweep them under the carpet once again.
As the results came in, both left and right agreed that it was time for a taking of the national stock. They took comfort from Mr. Le Pen's poor showing and promised to cater to voters who had been tempted to vote for him, notably young people, the unemployed and workers who feel marginalized by society.