2017 French Presidential Election

The 2017 French presidential election will be held in two rounds. Thh3e first round will be held on April 23, 2017. In case no candidate is successful in winning a majority, the second round will be held on May 7, 2017, where a run-off election would be held between the top two candidates. On June 11 and 18, the legislative election would be held wherein members of the National Assembly would be elected.

The president of France can serve a maximum of two five-year terms. As such, François Hollande, who is the incumbent president of France and belongs to the Socialist Party, is eligible for a second term. However, Hollande announced on December 1, 2016, that he would not be running for a second term because of low approval ratings.

How does the election work ?

Only French citizens can take part in the presidential election. The candidates can only take part if they are successful in gathering 500 signatures from the elected officials. The elected officials are also referred to as sponsors; however, their signatures do not necessarily mean that they are supporting the ideas of that particular candidate.

The president of France is directly elected by the people. All the voters should be French citizens and they should be at least 18 years of age. However, voting in France is not compulsory. Elections in France are held on Sundays.

Who are the candidates and which party do they represent? Francois Fillon, The Republicans: The current nominee of the Republicans, Francois Fillon was the Prime Minister of the country from 2007 to 2012 under president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Benoit Hamon, Socialist Party: From 2004 to 2009, Hamon was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of France. President François Hollande appointed him the Junior Minister for the Social Economy at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance, and External Trade in May 2012. From April 2014 to August 2014, Hamon was the Minister of National Education.

Marine Le Pen, National Front (FN): The youngest daughter of National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine is a politician and an attorney. Time 100 ranked her as the most influential people in 2011 and 2015.

Emmanuel Macron, En Marche: An investment banker, Macron was the economic adviser to President Francois Hollande. In 2014, he took over as the economy minister.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, Parti de Gauche (Left Party): Jean-Luc Melenchon was the municipal councilor of Massy (1983), general councilor of the Essonne departement (1985), and senator of the same department (1986, reelected in 1995 and 2004). Between the years 2000 and 2002, he was the Minister delegate of Vocational Education.

2017 French Presidential Election Dates

France will follow, with its first round of the presidential election on April 23 and the second round (between the top two candidates) on May 7.

• First Round: Sunday, April 23, 2017
• Second Round: Sunday, May 07, 2017