Presidential Election in France (2007)

The election dates were established by decree and brought to the attention of the Minister of the Interior at the Council of Ministers on October 24, 2006 . ^[one]

• Sunday , April 22 : first round.
• Sunday May 6th : second round.

For the first time in a presidential election (previously used in a referendum on the European Constitution in 2005 ), citizens voting in overseas departments, communities and territories (a total of 821,600 registered voters) ^[2] located west of the metropolis will be able to vote a day before the official date. This includes the following territories: Guadeloupe , French Guiana , Martinique , Saint Pierre and Miquelon , French Polynesia , as well as embassies and consulates on the American continent. The data of these polls were published only at 20:00 Paris time, when polling stations throughout the metropolis were closed. Thus, in the mentioned territories the elections were held on Saturday: the first round - April 21 , the second round - May 5 . ^[3] Residents of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon were the first to vote. The last to be closed areas on the Cape Verde islands .

Key candidates

•  

  Francois Bayrou , Union for French Democracy

•  

  Jean-Marie Le Pen , National Front

•  

  Segolen Royal , Socialist Party

•  

  Nicolas Sarkozy , Union for the Popular Movement

First Round Results

The official list of candidates was published by the Constitutional Council on March 19, 2007 . ^[4] Percentage of votes cast in the first round of the 2007 election. For candidates who participated in the previous presidential election, the collected votes of the corresponding year are indicated.

The first round of the presidential election was marked by an exceptionally high level of participation: 83.78% ^{[5] [6] of} registered voters voted. This is comparable to voter turnout in the presidential election of 1965 (84.8%) and 84.23% in 1974. In the first round, Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolen Royal won more votes than Francois Bayroux (who won the Atlantic Pyrenees in his native department) and Jean-Marie Le Pen . Since no one received an absolute majority, the second round of elections was scheduled for Sunday May 6 with the participation of Segolen Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy .

Francois Bayrou said that in the second round he would not support any of the candidates. His immediate plans are to create a new Democratic Party on the basis of the Union for French Democracy led by him.

Round Analysis

At the national level, Nicolas Sarkozy received 31.18%, and Segolen Royal - 25.87%, while in the 2002 elections, Jacques Chirac received 19.88%, and Lionel Jospin - 16.8%. Right-wing centrist Francois Bayrou tripled his result compared to 2002 from 6.84% to 18.57%. The far-right candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen , this time received only 10.44% compared to 16.66%, which was devastating for socialists in the last election of 2002. Since in March-April Nicolas Sarkozy significantly changed his position to a more right-wing one, many commentators believe that as a result he lured part of the traditional ultranationalists from Le Pen. ^{[7] [8]} . In general, the left wing received 36%, the centrists - 18.5%, the right wing - 33% and the ultra-right - 10.6%.

In addition to the 4 main candidates, the remaining participants in the presidential race received only a small number of votes, in contrast to the previous presidential election. Olivier Bezansno (Revolutionary Communist League) received less than 5% of the vote (4.11%), which would allow him to receive state compensation for the political campaign. Traditionalist aristocrat Philippe de Villiers received 2.24%, Communist Marie-Georges Buffet - 1.94 (compared with 3.37% received by Robert Yu in 2002, which, incidentally, then cost him his post in the Communist Party) . The green candidate (Dominic Vuane) received only 1.57% compared to 5.25% received in 2002 by Noel Mamer. Arlette Laguille from the Labor struggle also received significantly less: only 1.34 instead of 5.72% in 2002. 15.4% of voters did not vote.

With a total participation of 84.6% of voters, the 2007 elections reached a level of participation unprecedented since 1965, when voter turnout was 84.6%. Moreover, most French citizens rejected the protest vote, although the Left’s slogan “Anyone, not Sarkozy” may have added the votes of Bayrou and Royal.

However, the polarization of the political scene during the election campaign with the vote “against Sarkozy” also appeared from the left flank. Many traditional pro-left voters this time voted for Sarkozy, as they saw strong opposition to Royal even in her own Socialist Party. For example, former socialist Bernard Tapi , Max Gallo , who supported the left candidate in 2002 ( Jean-Pierre Schevenmo ), and Eric Besson chose to support Sarkozy in this election. ^[9]

On the other hand, some statements and views of Sarkozy regarding law and order, immigration and even genetics alienated him from his potential supporters, ^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]} , who as a result decided to vote for Bayru.

Socialist centrists Michel Rocard and Bernard Kouchner called for an alliance with Bair. Such a tactical alliance can influence the results of the parliamentary elections in June 2007, as it can determine the fate of the parliamentary majority. Former Socialist Minister Claude Allegre spoke out for such an alliance. However, Royal herself strongly criticized this position of Rocard. The secretary of the Socialist Party, François Hollande , husband of Royal, did the same. ^[15]

Immediately after the first round, all left-wing candidates (except Shivardi, who called for a boycott of the election) spoke out in support of Segolen Royal . Francois Bayroux initially announced that he would not support any of the candidates who entered the second round. However, he later stated that he would not vote for Sarkozy, which gave commentators an opportunity to talk about the hidden support of Royal and even about certain of his agreements with the socialists. In a statement on May 2, 2007, Jean-Marie Le Pen called on his supporters not to vote for any of the candidates. Thus, of the 10 candidates who did not qualify for the second round, only Philippe de Villiers supported Sarkozy.

The second round was held on May 6, 2007 , its results were announced by the decision of the Constitutional Council of France on May 10 ^[16] . The polling stations opened at 8:00 local time. Voting lasted 12 hours. Formally, the vote was supposed to go until 18 o’clock, however, since local authorities extended the work of polling stations for 1-2 hours. 83.97% ^[17] of registered voters participated, including the appearance of French citizens abroad amounted to 42.13% of registered voters abroad.

The Constitutional Council proclaimed "Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy as President of the French Republic starting from the expiration of the powers of Mr. Jacques Chirac, which, by virtue of Article 6 of the Constitution, will take place no later than 24 hours on May 16, 2007."

Sarkozy’s inauguration took place in the Champs Elysees on May 16 in the afternoon.

• Presidential Election in France (2002)
• Presidential Election in France (1995)
• Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy

• Results of the first round on the website of the Constitutional Council