The next month may be a dangerous time to drive in France, as traffic violations have escalated with the approach of the May 5 presidential election. Road deaths increased significantly in the months leading up to the last two presidential elections in 1988 and 1995, because a general amnesty for tickets of all sorts, from minor parking infractions to speeding to reckless driving, has been a French tradition after each election since the presidency of Charles de Gaulle. The French are counting on it again, and neither leading candidate has suggested the tradition will be abandoned.
