French presidential election

A French presidential election chooses the president of France, usually through a two-round popular vote. The president serves a five-year term.

Two-round system: An electoral system in which a second vote is held if no candidate wins the required threshold in the first. France advances the top two first-round candidates when none wins an absolute majority.
French Second Republic: The French republic that existed from 1848 to 1852, with a president elected by popular vote. Its direct presidential election was an earlier French precedent, before the Fifth Republic.
Emmanuel Macron: French politician who became president in 2017 and won reelection in 2022. His two campaigns demonstrated how a new centrist movement could win the presidency.
French legislative election: An election that chooses members of France’s National Assembly, usually through two-round constituency voting. It elects legislators rather than the president, though its timing often follows the presidential vote.
Cohabitation (France): A period in France when the president and the parliamentary majority belong to opposing political camps. Presidential-election outcomes interact with legislative elections to determine whether cohabitation occurs.
French Constitution of 1958: The constitution that established France’s Fifth Republic and defines its political institutions. It sets the presidency’s role, term, and election framework.
Charles de Gaulle: French military leader and statesman who founded the Fifth Republic and became its first president. His constitutional reforms made the presidency central to the new political system.
Marine Le Pen: French politician and National Rally leader who reached the presidential runoff in 2017 and 2022. Her repeated runoff appearances mark the far right’s growing electoral reach.
French municipal election: An election that chooses municipal councils in France, which then select mayors. It fills local offices rather than the national presidency.
French presidentialization: The growing concentration of political leadership and electoral competition around France’s presidency. Direct election gives the president a personal mandate that can dominate party politics.

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