Having failed to make up ground in the final debate before this weekend’s French election (”polls showed that a majority of viewers rated Sarkozy ‘more convincing’ than Royal”), out of options, and apparently out of ideas, Segolene Royal is playing up the “possibility” of violence:

Socialist Segolene Royal warned Friday that France could slide into violence if Nicolas Sarkozy wins the presidency as the rightwinger extended his poll lead on the final day of the hard fought campaign.

Royal, seeking to become France’s first woman leader, said she was “issuing an alert” that a Sarkozy victory could “trigger violence and brutalities across the country.”

“His candidacy is dangerous. That is why I am asking voters to think twice,” Royal told RTL radio in one of her final declarations of one of the most hotly contested elections in decades.

I say she’s inviting it, and she wants it. Classy (/sarcasm).

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UPDATE: NixGuy has more, including a reminder about the 751 “no go” zones.

UPDATE 2: Good sports, as long as they win — Taranto at Best of the Web linked to this WaPo article, which had the following quote (bold is mine) –

Tony Essono, 32, an unemployed economist whose parents emigrated from Cameroon before he was born, said that despite years of anger and discrimination, people in La Courneuve were willing to put their faith in the ballot box “because they understand they can change something” by voting. But, he added, “if Sarkozy is elected, it means we haven’t been heard, and we’ll trash everything.”

UPDATE 3: Last Tuesday, the Times of London noted that Royal’s last-ditch attempts to demonize Sarkozy were getting plenty of French media assistance.

Front page? Heck, the overwhelming odds are that it didn’t get mentioned anywhere.

It should have been.

At CNNMoney.com, writers Alexandra Twin and Steve Hargreaves appear to be the only ones who even recognized the significance of yesterday’s positive market close (bolds are mine):

Dow: Longest bull run in 80 years
Major gauges hit new milestones, but just barely; investors mull jobs report, oil prices, talk of a Microsoft-Yahoo merger.
May 4 2007: 4:09 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Dow Jones industrial average squeaked out another record high Friday, making this the longest bull run in 80 years, as investors cheered tame inflation numbers, talk of big mergers and a jobs report that appeared just right.

….. The Dow has now risen in 23 of the last 26 sessions, marking its longest bull run since the summer of 1927, when the indicator ended higher in 24 of 27 sessions, according to Dow Jones.

Turning the tables on John Kerry, and building on the snark of Matt at Weapons of Mass Discussion — That would make it the best stock market run since, well, Herbert Hoover.

The pervasive lack of coverage is stunning. Two Google News searches (on “since 1927” [not in quotes] and “80 years,” [in quotes]) pulled up only one additional mention of the “bull run” beyond the CNNMoney item cited in this post — and at that link, the writer characterizes the once-in-80-year event as “the best in over half a century.” However, AHN’s Matthew Borghese did note that the S&P 500 is now “just points away” (about 1.5%) from its all-time high.

I also looked for coverage of the “bull run” at the home page and business home page of the New York Times on the web. There was nothing on the Times home page beyond the normal ticker. The coverage of the stock market was the very last linked item on the Business section home page; the related underlying article made no mention of the “bull run.”

Friday’s stock market news is on Page D4 of Saturday’s Washington Post print edition, with no “bull run” mention.

Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.

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UPDATE: I have to wonder if the “Terror Discount” is beginning to go away. If so, there may be a stock market “surge” on the horizon — one good surge leading to another, so to speak.

UPDATE 2: Business beat reporters can’t claim that they had no idea that the record was taking place. The widely-read Briefing.com, which issues 30-minute updates during the trading day, had this to say in its 11:30 a.m. report yesterday –

The major indices remain in positive territory, but they haven’t shown a lot of giddy-up today.

We suspect the advance is being constrained somewhat by an expectation that a pullback in the market is inevitable following a run for the Dow over the past month or so that has not been seen since 1929!

So before yesterday’s trading, the Dow was already on its best “bull run” in 78 years. That was also lightly covered the previous day.

From Ridgecrest, CA:

Published: Monday, April 30, 2007 11:19 AM CDT

George and Matt got a raw deal being dumped in the desert as babies to fend for themselves. But luck was on their side Monday with the chance arrival of Chi, a 4-year-old Cairn terrier mix.

Chi (pronounced “chee”) was out on his favorite romp in the desert off West Drummond Avenue with his guardian, Donna Scharf, when he happened upon the two 4-week-old orange tabbies, George and Matt (named after the sexy duo Clooney and Damon), hidden deep within a creosote bush.

“It was just by happenstance that Chi found them,” Scharf said. “He pretended he was a pointer dog. He just froze and stood at the bush.”

Chi’s behavior was so odd that Scharf had to see what Chi was reacting to. There, deep in the bush, she saw the two tiny helpless kittens. Scharf was shocked at her best friend’s discovery, but at the same time proud that her one-time shelter dog saved the day. She sprung into action and recruited Karen Sanford, a family friend and hospice worker to rescue the kittens and get them to the shelter.

George and Matt are in good shape considering. Shelter workers and volunteers will do the best they can to socialize, feed and love the little orphans. In two weeks to a month the handsome duo will be ready for adoption. Finding orphaned kittens is not as rare occasion as we would like to believe. At springtime the shelter is inundated with pregnant females, brought in as strays — some too young to be away from their mamas. But for everyone brought into the shelter, how many are dumped in the desert, Scharf wonders.

Scharf has a soft spot in her heart for orphans and cast-offs. Her lovable mutt, Chi, was once a cast-off, an unwanted. The two years since she adopted Chi from the shelter, she never ceases to be amazed at her sweet dog’s love and intelligence.

“Chi is such a loving dog. It’s amazing,” Scharf said. “He spends a lot of his time laying by my dad, who is terminally ill. It’s the sweetest thing.”