1 External links

Contents

1 Second Round 2 First Round 3 General Summary

Second Round

President:	Jacques Chirac, Rally for the Republic (RPR)
Opponent:	Jean-Marie Le Pen, Front National
Vote:	Jacques Chirac (Winner): 25,540,873 (82.21%)	Jean-Marie Le Pen (Opponent): 5,525,906 (17.79%)

First Round

Candidate	Party	Vote	Percent
Jacques Chirac	Rally for the Republic (RPR)	5,666,440	19.88%
Jean-Marie Le Pen	Front National	4,805,307	16.86%
Lionel Jospin	Socialist Party (PS)	4,610,749	16.18%
François Bayrou	Union for French Democracy (UDF)	1,949,436	6.84%
Arlette Laguiller	Lutte Ouvrière (Worker's struggle)	1,630,244	5.72%
Jean-Pierre Chevènement	Mouvement des Citoyens (Citizens' movement)	1,518,901	5.33%
Noël Mamère	Les Verts (The Greens)	1,495,901	5.25%
Olivier Besancenot	Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (Communist Revolutionary League)	1,210,694	4.25%
Jean Saint-Josse	Chasse, Pêche, Nature, Traditions (Hunting, Fishing, Nature and Traditions)	1,204,863	4.23%
Alain Madelin	Démocratie Libérale (Liberal Democracy)	1,113,709	3.91%
Robert Hue	French Communist Party (PCF)	960,757	3.37%
Bruno Mégret	Mouvement National Républicain (National Republican Movement)	667,123	2.34%
Christiane Taubira	Parti radical de gauche	660,576	2.32%
Corinne Lepage	Citoyenneté Action Participation	535,911	1.88%
Christine Boutin	close to UDF	339,142	1.19%
Daniel Gluckstein	Parti des travailleurs	132,702	0.47%
	Total	28,502,455	100%

General Summary

This election came as a shock to many commentators, almost all of whom had expected the second ballot to be between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin. Jospin's poor showing and the widespread splintering of the left-wing vote in the first round of the election meant that instead Jean-Marie Le Pen faced Chirac in the second ballot. The election brought the two-round voting system into question as well as raising many concerns about apathy and the way in which the left had become so divided.

In the months before the election, the campaign had increasingly focused on questions of law and order, with a particular attention towards crime committed by the youth, especially the youth of foreign origin. The Jospin government was criticized for its "softness" on crime.

There was a widespread stirring of national public opinion, and more than one million people in France took part in street rallies, in an expression of fierce opposition to Le Pen's ideas. Some held up protest signs stating "I'm ashamed to be French".

The choice between Chirac, who was at the time under investigation for actions carried out whilst he was mayor of Paris (see corruption scandals in the Paris region) and who was benefiting from Presidential immunity, and Le Pen, a nationalist often accused of racism and antisemitism, was one that many found tough. In the days before the second ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan "Vote for a Crook, not a Fascist". Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide.

See also: President of France, France, Politics of France

External links

Official French government links are in French.

• Official file of the French Constitutional Council
• Official results from the Ministry of the Interior