The stories suggesting that the French Grand Prix will be back on the calendar in September 2013 could be true. The plan is to alternate the race with the Belgian GP and use the Paul Ricard circuit, near Toulon. This has very limited spectator capacity and poor access roads, but it is the venue that is best-suited to the modern F1, unless the French want to build a new circuit, nearer to Paris. This has been tried in several places but there has been opposition from greens and other political parties wanting to get one over on those promoting the idea. The reality is, however, that the French government is not going to do anything to stir up any trouble until after the next Presidential Election, which will be held in two rounds, on April 22 and on May 6. President Nicolas Sarkozy is competing against a number of other candidates, notably the socialist Francois Hollande. Sarkozy is doing OK in the opinion polls, with 34 percent of people responding saying that they are satisfied with his policies. This is not bad considering the Euro zone debt crisis, during which Sarkozy has worked hard to how himself to be a safe pair of hands, which is important when one considers that Hollande’s career has never even included the role of Minister in any government, which is sure to be an issue when it comes to questions about whether he is the right for the moment. Sarkozy may not be popular but the alternative is rather too worrying for many French people. It is thus not in anyone’s interest to be shown to spending money on something that is viewed as frivolous, as is the case for motor racing in many countries. The fact that there are going to be three French drivers in F1 next year, with a fourth on the way up, means that it is much more likely that money can be found for a race in the future. For the moment, however, it is unlikely that there will be any decision until after the election. Even then there may be a further delay as the next French legislative election, to decide on the membership of the National Assembly (and thus the Prime Minister) will be held on June 10. At the moment Sarkozy’s UMP is the largest party in the National Assembly, although the socialists are not far behind.

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