The question of whether or not non-French people (i.e. people who do not have French nationality) should have the right to vote in local elections is not a new one. It is, in fact, one of François Mitterand's famous 110 Propositions pour la France, platform upon which he was elected in 1981 and which informed much of his influential two-term presidency (1981-1995).

This period also marks the last time the French Left was able to sufficiently quell its internal bickering to play a leading role in national politics. Keep that in mind as we examine this particular waste of legislative time and effort.

The Law

Last Tuesday, the French Senate narrowly passed a proposition that would grant long-term foreign residents (that's me!) the right to vote in local elections and even, in some cases, to run for local office. Mitterand's original argument still stands: we work, we pay (lots of) taxes and we participate in our local community, so why shouldn't we have a voice in how those taxes are spent and how that community is run? Seems reasonable to me. It is, however, just a proposition: see below to learn what has to happen before anything actually happens.

Those Concerned by the Proposition

It is important to note that this law only applies to those of us from non-European Union countries: To the great chagrin of the French far right, in the big happy family that is modern Europe residents of any member country automatically have the right to participate in local elections where they live (thus the occasional French town with a foreign mayor).

So, how many of us are there? Hard to say: depending on who you ask, anywhere between two million and 11 million. While France is and has always been a country of immigrants—even today, nearly 30% of French citizens were born to at least one non-French parent—comparatively easy access to French citizenship keeps the number of full-on foreigners like me relatively small. Whatever the real number may be, it is a lot of voters to think about; on the other hand, it cannot possibly merit the amount of ink being spilled all over the French press right now. What's going on here?

Reality

First, the proposition will never, ever become law. In this Le Monde article, titled "Foreign Voting Rights: Why the Adopted Measure Can Never be Applied," one learns that the proposition needs to be voted on in the Assemblée Nationale to become law...and the Assemblée Nationale is dominated by Sarkozy's conservative UMP party, currently busy pushing an anti-immigrant agenda in an effort to prop up the unpopular president's standing amongst far-right voters tempted by Marine Le Pen and the new, mildly less fascist face of the Front National.

Thus far, this story ought to sound familiar: when was the last time political wrangling didn't interfere with sound lawmaking in Washington? But wait: it gets worse. Here is an exact translation of Le Monde's description of this proposition's future:

...(even after the proposition is voted down in the Assemblée Nationale), its parliamentary voyage won't be finished because Assembly members don't have the final word on this sort of text. In case of disagreement, it returns...once again to the Senate. Were it one day to be adopted by the Assemblée Nationale, it must then be sent to the President, who will in turn either put it to a referendum or keep it in a drawer."

So: to avoid having it rot in the dreaded presidential "drawer," all we need to do is get the text passed by the UMP-dominated Assemblée Nationale, have it re-voted in the Senate, and then convince an anti-immigration president to voluntarily put it to a referendum, one that polls indicate would pass easily, thus handing the far right yet another rope with which to hang Sarkozy's re-election campaign. Piece of cake.

{Have I mentioned that Sarkozy himself is the son of immigrants?)

In any case, it doesn't seem like anybody in the Parti Socialiste sees the situation any differently: according to party official Martine Aubry, the passage of this proposition "is an honor to the left-wing Senate majority and does just what it was supposed to do: make the Assemblée Nationale hear the voice of progress, of solidarity and of the Republic."

In other words, both sides yapped extensively on the taxpayer's dime, riled the public via journalists, declared victory and went home. Hmm...maybe it is just iike Washington after all.

That's OK: I didn't really want to vote anyway.