August is, in general, a lazy month in politics. Not so in France this year. The qualification deadline for France’s Republican presidential primary is September 9th. The dozen or so centre-right candidates are struggling to assemble the requisite support of 2,500 party members, 250 elected officials and 20 MPs. Even Alain Juppé, the front-runner and former prime minister, has yet to collect the required signatures. His main rival, the former president Nicolas Sarkozy, won’t share the list of members’ names. Yet the November primary may be the “real” French presidential election. President François Hollande, or any other centre-left contender, is unlikely to reach the two-candidate second round next spring; the run-off will probably be between the winning Republican and Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front. To keep her out, centre-left voters will back the Republican candidate. Hence all those anxious politicians working their smartphones poolside, from Cap Ferrat to Cap Ferret.