French Vote Shuts Out Child-Custody Figure
French citizens voting in Los Angeles and San Francisco Sunday reelected one conservative and one liberal to the Conseil Superieur des Francais a l’Etranger , a worldwide council that advises their country’s national assembly on the affairs of its citizens abroad.
The voting eliminated any question about the eligibility of Sherman Oaks businessman Jean-Yves Prate, a candidate on the conservate slate, who was charged with felony child abduction last week after allegedly taking his three children to France to escape a custody dispute.
Prate was seeking to unseat liberal member Bernard Ivaldi of San Francisco as part of the conservatives’ plan to demonstrate their strength before France’s legislative elections. To serve Prate would have had to reside in the United States.
The issue became moot when conservatives outpolled the liberals 62% to 36%. Under the unusual rules of the election, either side needed one vote more than 75% to win both seats.
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