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>Civil liberties should be as big of an issue (if not bigger) during elections as the economy.

This. Fixing broken economy takes years. Fixing broken civil liberties takes decades, if not centuries.

It doesn't have to be the kind of reform that takes decades:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1968

I think you may be referring to changes that preserve current power and political structures, but that's not required.

I can't help observing that de Gaulle's party actually increased its parliamentary majority to record levels in the election that took place in June 1968; it signalled the beginning of the end of De Gaulle's political career but institutionally the protests were a total bust.

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