EDITORIAL ELECTION ENNUI TUESDAY'S L.A. ELECTION TOO IMPORTANT TO SIT OUT.

THE French, it seems, love democracy more than Angelenos.

How else to explain that while 85 percent of citizens of France turned out to choose a new president last week, fewer than 8 percent of registered voters voted in Los Angeles' last municipal election in March, with the future of public schools at stake?

Sacre bleu.

Granted, France was electing a president, and not just school board members or state Assembly members. And, unlike most races for California's elected seats, the Nicolas Sarkozy-Segolene Royal match was a highly competitive race.

But still, it's sobering to know that while Angelenos are taking their democracy for granted three times a year, Europeans are showing us up in a big way. Hey, this is the country that made democracy famous.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles has another election -- and another opportunity to be humiliated again by those democracy-loving Europeans.

The stakes may not make the difference for the future of an entire country, but they are high on a local level. The two Los Angeles Unified School District races in the San Fernando Valley and the South Bay could very well change the course of public education in Los Angeles.

That's not an overstatement. If Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's two reformers -- Tamar Galatzan and Richard Vladovic -- prevail over their challengers, the mayor will have the majority he needs to start implementing real structural changes in both the governance and the bureaucracy of LAUSD.

And even in the city races where there is virtually no competition -- such as the 39th Assembly district, where Felipe Fuentes, the candidate hand-picked by local political honchos, is the shoo-in; or the Los Angeles Community College board -- it's important to vote.

If people don't vote, then the political machine has won, and it's empowered to continue working to depress future voting.

Politicians have continued to promise redistricting reform, but until they see that the voters are serious about voting, it's unlikely they will jeopardize their own job stability.

That's not good for the city, for California, for the country. And it doesn't look well from abroad, where they are actually exercising their right to vote.

Don't let election boredom hijack democracy. Vote on Tuesday. It's your right. It's your responsibility.

Vive la democratie.