I thought that elections were won and lost on the economy and I thought that governments always experience a mid-term slump. So, why has the incumbent government in France just won another by election in the middle of a recession?

On Sunday, at the second round of the election, the UMP candidate, former Judo star, David Douillet, beat the socialist party candidate by 52.1% to 47.9%. The election was held in a wealthy Parisian suburb in the district of Yvelines 12. The seat is usually a safe right-wing seat. So, in one sense there is no surprise. However, if ever an opposition party should be winning a by election, even if it then loses the seat at the next general election, then this is surely the time.

The first round score was as follows:

David Douillet (UMP) : 44,20 %
Frédérik Bernard (PS) : 21,87 %
Alain Lipietz (Greens) : 14,82 %
Richard Bertrand (Modem – centrist) : 7,72 %
François Delapierre (Left party) : 4,87 %
Christophe Le Hot (Extreme Right) : 3,14 %
Richard Gautry (SE) : 2,00 %
Bernard Huet (Other) : 1,24 %

So, this time, it looks as if the Greens and Left Party voters did turn out and support the socialist candidate. However, with only a slight increase in the very low turnout, the UMP candidate was able to win.