More than 47 million French citizens vote on Sunday in the first round on the presidential elections. Eleven candidates have been backed by at least 500 mayors, MPs, MEPs or senators, have qualified for the first round.
Assuming none wins a simple majority after Sunday’s voting, the two highest scorers face off in two weeks. The new president will need to win a simple majority on May 7.
The two-round system, also used in parliamentary, local and regional polls, was introduced in 1962 by Charles de Gaulle and has proved effective at keeping extremists out of power: You vote first with your heart, the French say, then with your head.
Realistically, only these five candidates have the best chance of ending up in the top two for the run-off vote in two weeks’ time:
FRANCOIS FILLON
Age: 62
Party: Republican Party (Les Républicains)
Political positioning: Right-wing conservative
Fillon, a former prime minister, is a socially conservative and pro-free-market political veteran who has called for deep cuts in public spending and major changes in the French workplace. He wants more controls on immigration, and he has said that Islam threatens traditional French values. While campaigning, Fillon was accused of embezzling public funds during his time in Parliament, upending a campaign that was in large part based on a projected image of probity. He has denied wrongdoing and refused to withdraw from the race.
BENOIT HAMON
Age: 49
Party: Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste)
Political positioning: Left wing of the Socialist Party
Hamon, a lawmaker and former education minister, left the government when his party shifted its position toward pro-business, austerity policies. An outspoken voice of dissent in his fractured party, Hamon has appealed to young socialist voters with an environmentally friendly, socially liberal platform, putting forth proposals to phase in a universal revenue, legalise marijuana and tax robots in the workplace. Although Hamon has secured an alliance with the French Green Party, the field on the left is still divided between him and Jean-Luc Melenchon, considerably lowering his chances of reaching the second round. The last time a Socialist Party candidate did not make it to the second round was in 2002.
EMMANUEL MACRON
Age: 39
Party: A newly created political movement Onward! (En Marche!)
Political positioning: Independent centrist
Macron, a former economy minister, was one of the main drivers behind the socialist government’s shift toward more pro-business economic policies, including allowing stores to open on Sundays. Last summer, Macron left the government and started his own political movement, which he says is neither on the left nor the right, leaving some wondering what he stands for. He has pitched himself as forward-looking and socially progressive and is running on a free-market, pro-Europe platform. The candidacy of Macron, a former investment banker, received a significant lift when the prominent centrist and three-time candidate Francois Bayrou announced he would endorse him.
JEAN-LUC MENENCHON
Age: 65
Party: Unbowed France (La France Insoumise)
Political positioning: Hard left
Melenchon, a one-time Trotskyite and former Socialist politician, left the Socialist Party in 2008 to create the Left Party, backed by the Communist Party. For this year’s presidential run, he created a new political movement, La France Insoumise. A fiery orator, Melenchon has attracted those on the left who were disappointed by the current government’s pro-business policies and hard-line approach to security. If elected, he wants to renegotiate European treaties or leave the European Union, reduce working hours and massively increase public spending to support economic growth. Like Fillon and Marine Le Pen, he is in favour of working with Russia on international issues like Syria.
MARINE LE PEN
Age: 48
Party: National Front (Front National)
Political positioning: Far right
Le Pen is the daughter and political heir to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front, a far-right, nationalist, anti-immigration party. Since becoming head of the party in 2011, she has tried to clean up its xenophobic image, leading her to split with her father and then oust him from the party. For years, she has put criticism of globalisation and Islam at the centre of her platform. If elected, she has promised to hold a referendum on a French exit from the European Union. She has led in the polls so far, but pollsters predict she will find it much harder to defeat an opponent in the second round of voting, where mainstream parties often work to prevent the National Front from winning.
