Al Jazeera Consults E-Government Bulletin Editor On French Elections

There is a ban on political adverts on TV in force throughout the election and so the internet became an important way for candidates to send messages to voters. Headstar director Dan Jellinek was asked to join political commentators to discuss the latest developments for an Al Jazeera TV programme.

Alongside journalists from Le Monde and other French publications, Dan was asked about how the Presidential candidates used the internet to rally their supporters. Nicolas Sarkozy was an interesting example of a new development in online political campaigning, said Dan. Sarkozy's campaign team developed some amusing content that enabled visitors to select a piece of music and observe a Sarkozy animation go through his moves on the dance floor.

This sent the message that Sarkozy had a sense of humour about himself, and was also a pre-emptive strike against satirical online content that might be launched by his critics, said Dan. The Al Jazeera Newsbytes programme also highlighted the way Sarkozy's main challenger Ségolène Royal used the internet, particularly to ask the public to send in policy suggestions. The programme also noted the fury that greeted Jean-Marie Le Pen when he tried to set up a campaign office in Second Life: the building was burned to the ground.