Candidates, voting system, voters: what you need to know about the presidential election

Europe 1 with AFP 11:10 a.m., April 22, 2022

Two candidates running.

Emmanuel Macron, 44, hopes to become the first president of the Fifth Republic re-elected by universal suffrage outside cohabitation.

Enarque, former investment banker, ex-Minister of the Economy of François Hollande, he became in 2017 the youngest President of the Republic, at only 39 years old.

In the first round, the centrist candidate came first with 27.85% of the vote.

Marine Le Pen, a 53-year-old lawyer, is on her third candidacy for the Elysée.

Long elected to the European Parliament, the far-right opponent is now a member of Pas-de-Calais.

Already a finalist five years ago against Emmanuel Macron, the candidate of the National Rally (RN, former National Front) had obtained 33.9% of the vote.

In the first round, she placed second with 23.15%.

Voting method

The Head of State is elected by direct universal suffrage, by uninominal majority ballot in two rounds, for a five-year term renewable once.

He must collect the absolute majority of the votes cast in one or two rounds, regardless of the participation rate.

The legislative elections will take place in stride with a first round on June 12 and a second on June 19.

The blank vote

The blank vote, which makes it possible to express a refusal of choice, is not recognized in France.

Since a law of 2014, these ballots are however counted separately from the invalid votes and annexed to the minutes of each polling station but they are not taken into account in the calculation of the votes cast.

Health protocol

The health protocol drawn up by the authorities does not provide for any restrictions.

No need for a vaccination pass or screening test and people positive for Covid-19 will be able to vote.

If the wearing of the mask and the rules of physical distance are not compulsory in the polling stations, the wearing of the mask remains however recommended.

The electors

The French people registered on the electoral lists will be able to vote for the presidential election, including those living abroad, who were nearly a million in 2017. Voting begins on Saturday in the French West Indies, in Guyana (South America), in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (French archipelago in North America) and in French Polynesia (South Pacific).

On Sundays, the polling stations in mainland France are open until 7:00 p.m., or even 8:00 p.m. in the big cities.

Traditionally, the French discover the face of the elected president on television screens at 8:00 p.m.

Voter card and power of attorney

At the polling station, the presentation of the voter's card is "timely", but it is not essential.

In case of loss, it is still possible to slip his ballot into the ballot box after presentation of an identity document such as a passport or an identity card.

Proxy voting was made more flexible at the start of the year: it now allows an elector to give proxy to another even if he does not reside in the same municipality, but the person designated to vote cannot do so elsewhere than in the polling station of the one who gave him this mandate.

It is possible to give a proxy until the day of the election, but it is advisable to do so in advance, given the processing times.

Eight presidents since 1959

Eight presidents have been elected since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958:

Since 2017: Emmanuel Macron (center)

2012-2017: François Hollande (left)

2007-2012: Nicolas Sarkozy (right)

1995-2007: Jacques Chirac (right), who chained a seven-year term and a five-year term

1981-1995: François Mitterrand (left), who served two seven-year terms

1974-1981: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (right), who completed a seven-year term

1969-1974: Georges Pompidou (right), died two years before the end of his mandate

1959-1969: Charles de Gaulle (right), elected by an electoral college for a first seven-year term then re-elected by direct universal suffrage in 1965. He resigned after losing a referendum in 1969.