• A triumph for French democracy

  French voters reaffirmed the basic right-left cleavage of their politics yesterday by deciding that Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal will compete in the final round of the presidential election on May 6th. It was a magnificent demonstration of democracy in action, as 85 per cent of voters turned out compared to 60 per cent in the first round five years ago. They have opted in a politically coherent way for the two most serious candidates. p
  

• Youth justice reform

  Last week the Government announced that it is to put in place a system of justice to deal specifically with young people who get into trouble with the law. These measures have been long promised, and many of them were contained in the six-year-old Children's Act, much of which remained unimplemented because of a lack of resources. The fact that the implementation package comes so long after the Act was passed should not take away from the warm welcome it now deserves. p
  

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