Think the U.S. Election Was Dirty? Look at France
Flag-waving and mud-slinging.
The final round of the French presidential election is just three months away, but the race is already dirtier than the one in the U.S. last year. All three front-runners -- independent center-left politician Emmanuel Macron, center-right candidate Francois Fillon and nationalist populist Marine Le Pen -- have faced accusations of financial wrongdoing.
French voters are cynical about their politicians. Last summer, a survey by Harris Interactive for the French office of Transparency International found that 54 percent of the French believe their country's elite to be corrupt, for the most part. That share goes up to about three-quarters for local and European legislators, the president, and the national government. Scandals are part of daily life, and they won't necessarily affect the outcome of the election, but the circus is in full swing, anyway.