Mythology and Reality of Democracy: An Illustration

The second round of the French election, to be held on July 7, carries some interesting lessons about democracy. In each circumscription where no candidate obtained more than 50% of the votes in the first round, those who got more than 12.5% are allowed to run in the second round. A political party or coalition whose candidate came third or lower may have an interest (and an informal obligation under electoral agreements) to pressure him to drop off in order not to split the votes among the two...