Does euro crisis foster extremism?

Washington (CNN) -- The French will vote next week to elect a new president.

The April 22 election pits incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy against challenger Francois Hollande. Sarkozy, a conservative, argues that France did well compared with other European countries in the Great Recession. Hollande, on the left, urges a more expansionary program of government spending to create jobs.

Normal politics, in other words.

But the vote to watch is not Sarkozy v. Hollande. It is Sarkozy plus Hollande.

The French constitution establishes a two-round voting system. The idea is to ensure that the ultimate winner obtains an outright majority of all votes cast. The system's side effect is to invite the French to use their first ballot as a protest vote.

Thus in 2007, the nominees of the two big parties won 57% of the vote between them in Round 1, with the remainder scattered among the hard-right National Front and various categories of radical left-wing parties.

It is that small party vote that is the vote to watch in 2012. Read More

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