When are the presidential elections in France 2nd round? In the second round of the French presidential election, former political opponents will unite against Le Pens

Today, perhaps a historic vote awaits – the first round of elections in France will take place on Sunday, April 23. According to analysts, Emmanuel Macron, the leader of the independent movement “On the March” and “Forward”, as well as the head of the National Front, Marine Le Pen, will enter the second round.

Note that the latter is often compared to Trump; both of them are known for their populist statements and promises. The Russian authorities are very interested in Le Pen and she does not hide it. The head of the National Front has begged Russian banks for money for her election campaign in the past, and French journalists suggest she may receive it in the future.

The Russian media only hears about Marine Le Pen, since the Kremlin put its money on this candidate. However, when the elections began to approach, statements in the Kremlin media became more cautious, because the victory of the radical was no longer obvious, but even vice versa.

This is the most unpredictable French presidential election in recent years. 11 candidates are taking part in the elections. Only six out of ten French people have decided who to vote for. European capitals are keeping a close eye on France as the future of the EU is at stake.

FrekZit could prove fatal for the EU. The head of the National Front movement believes that after the victory of Trump and Brexit, its victory will be inevitable. Analysts say that if this happens the EU will be destroyed within a year. In Italy, the right is already expecting success from Marine le Pen; they expect that this will boost their ratings in the country.

Macron's campaign complains that thousands of cyberattacks are aimed at their party's servers, and by incredible coincidence, they all lead to Russia. Vladimir Putin is counting on Le Pen to win as it would deal a fatal blow to the European Union.

However, the Linkfluence company found out that not only from Russia are they trying to influence the outcome of the elections in France, but also from English-speaking users. More than 20% of messages on the Internet relate in one way or another to Marine Le Pen. But other candidates have only 5% at most. The majority of support for the right-wing radical comes from Trump supporters.

Second round of French presidential elections on May 7. There may still be quite a few surprises and unexpected turns in the end. Perhaps this was the dirtiest presidential campaign in France; of course, it could not have happened without the Russians.

Preliminary results of the first round of the French presidential election are expected at 21:00 Paris time. Expected turnout is 80%.

According to the latest poll results, Macron comes first with 24.5% of the vote, Marine Le Pen is second, with 23% ready to vote for her, Francois Fillon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon are third, with 19% each.

French presidential elections take place every 5 years. The new order has been in force since 1962, when the constitution of the Fifth Republic was adopted. This document established direct voting. The president can be re-elected. To win in the first round, you must receive an absolute majority of votes. Otherwise, the two leaders advance to the second round of voting.

How are elections held in France?

French presidential elections are held for all citizens over 18 years of age. The only condition is that they should not be limited in their civil or political rights.

A French citizen who is 23 years old has the right to apply for the position of head of state. In order to register, he needs to collect 500 electoral signatures. These include members of parliament, general councils, and territorial assemblies. Moreover, the electors must represent at least 30 departments or overseas territories of France.

If it was not possible to choose a president in the first round, a second one is appointed. In it, the winner is determined by a simple majority of votes.

Announcement of elections

Parliament has the power to call elections for the President of France. This is done after the expiration of the 5-year term of office of the current head of state.

In addition, there are cases in which early elections may be announced. This is the death of the president, the voluntary resignation of the head of state, the removal of the president from office as a result of impeachment. In all these cases, until a new senior official is elected, the duties of the President will be temporarily served by the Speaker of the Senate. However, he has a limited list of presidential powers. For example, it does not have the right to dissolve parliament, propose constitutional changes, or hold referendums.

Powers of the President

The key powers possessed by the President of France are determined by the relevant article of the Constitution. The president is obliged to monitor compliance with the constitution and ensure the normal functioning of public authorities. He is the guarantor of the independence and integrity of the country's territory and monitors the implementation of international treaties.

Interesting fact: the President of France is also one of the princes of Andorra. This is a dwarf state located on the border of France and Spain. The second monarch of this principality is the Spanish Bishop of Urgell.

The powers of the head of state in France can be divided into two categories. The first is personal powers. These include those that do not require parliamentary approval.

This is the appointment of a referendum, members of the constitutional council, speeches to parliament, the use of emergency powers to overcome the crisis.

The second group is powers that require parliamentary approval. First, there are personnel changes, including the appointment of a prime minister and the formation of a cabinet of ministers. Secondly, the signing of decrees adopted by the Council of Ministers, the convening of extraordinary sessions of parliament, resolving issues of defense and international relations, the right to pardon.

President-centric model

The president-centric model of governing France, as it is often called by analysts, was created by Charles Do Gaulle and his close associate Michel Debreu.

With this model, the relationship between the president and the speaker of parliament is built strictly according to the formula formulated by de Gaulle himself, who did not go into details of government work, but only determined the main directions of development.

Over time, this model evolved, including under the influence of constitutional reforms. Today, powers are distributed more flexibly, and the political responsibility of the highest bodies of state power is as high as possible.

2017 elections

The next French presidential elections will take place in 2017. Voting will take place on April 23. The French will elect the President of the Fifth Republic for the 11th time. The previous head of state, Francois Hollande, who has led the country since 2012, decided not to run for a second term. After his term of office expires, he will end his political career.

The date of the French presidential election was determined by parliament. If it is not possible to identify a winner in the first round, the second round will take place on May 7.

Start of the election campaign

In fact, the election campaign started three years before the vote. Already at that time, the three main political parties nominated candidates who should lead the fight. True, a lot has changed since then.

The Socialist Party nominated the current President, François Hollande. He announced his withdrawal from candidacy in 2016.

From the Republicans, Nikolai Sarkozy, who had already led France from 2007 to 2012, was vying for the role of the main candidate. However, in the primaries he lost to his party comrade François Fillon.

Marine Le Pen expressed her decision to run for president from the National Front party. She continues to fight today. On her initiative, thematic platforms were held in which politicians sought to find out what problems needed to be solved first. Issues related to industry, social sphere, youth policy and ecology were discussed.

Presidential campaign leaders

At the moment, a list of participants who will run in the French presidential elections has already been formed. Candidates each actively conduct their own campaigns, trying to gain the support of as many supporters as possible.

Currently, 11 candidates have collected the required 500 electoral signatures. However, most experts agree that the main struggle will take place between five politicians.

Traditionally, it is expected that many French people will come to the French presidential elections. Many analysts are now trying to make a forecast. Many of them give the palm to Republican Francois Fillon. In the early 2000s, he was Minister of Labor and served as Prime Minister under Nicolas Sarkozy. After Georges Pompidou, he is the second longest-serving speaker of parliament.

He had a good chance of success, but lately his presidential campaign has been plagued by scandals. Recently, journalists found out that his wife was fictitiously employed and received wages.

Another candidate is the leader of the Forward! Emmanuel Macron. A former investment banker, he has served as Minister of Economy in the French government since 2014. He resigned shortly before the official start of the election campaign. Macron published the program "Revolution", which became a bestseller for ordinary voters.

Marine Le Pen will lead the National Front party in the French presidential elections. This politician's rating has traditionally been low. However, her chances of success have increased significantly in recent years, as she and her supporters propose strong and drastic measures that could help solve the problem of illegal migrants. Le Pen is the daughter of the famous French nationalist politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, who is known, for example, for his friendship with the leader of the Russian National Bolsheviks Eduard Limonov.

In 2012, Marine Le Pen already participated in the presidential elections. Then she received just under 18% of the vote, finishing third, behind Hollande and Sarkozy.

Another strong candidate is represented by the Socialist Party. This is Benoit Hamon. In the internal party primaries, he defeated Manuel Valls, who was considered the leader of the French socialists. Amon's program is built on the interests of the working class, civil liberties and environmental protection.

The Rebellious France party is represented by Jean-Luc Mélenchon. He is a journalist, in the early 2000s he headed the Ministry of Specialized Education. In 2012, he already ran for the post of head of state. Received a little more than 11% of the votes, finishing in 4th place.

Outsider candidates

On the day when the French presidential elections take place, which will be April 23, about 80% of the French are waiting at the polling stations. This is exactly what the turnout was like in the previous presidential elections.

The remaining candidates in the campaign can hardly count on success, but each of them can bring a surprise.

The French presidential election system is such that 6 more candidates for the highest government post will also take part in the first round. This is Nathalie Artaud from the Workers' Party, Philippe Poutou from the Anti-Capitalists party, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan from the Raise France party, Jacques Cheminade from Solidarity and Progress, the representative of the National Republican Union François Asselino and Jean Lassalle - candidate from the Democratic Movement.

Hard fight

When the presidential elections take place, France will have a day off - this is Sunday. So the maximum number of citizens have the opportunity to take part in voting.

Judging by the pre-election fight and past voting, the fight is expected to be stubborn. In 2012, the French were unable to elect a president in the first round. Then the current president at that time, Nicolas Sarkozy, received 27% of the votes in the first round, and Francois Hollande received a little more than 28.5%.

In the second round, the minimal advantage between the candidates remained. Hollande won with less than 52% of the vote. Sarkozy scored almost 48.5%.

With increased security measures, the second round of the presidential election is taking place in France, which is attracting everyone's attention. The campaign became the most scandalous in the history of the Fifth Republic, the country split into two opposing camps - Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. At the same time, many are ready to boycott the elections.

Polling stations opened three hours ago. And they are not empty. The first half of the day is traditionally the most active for the French. Most voters come before lunch. The first numbers will appear soon - and it will already be possible to judge the turnout.

Since the evening of May 6, the rain has not stopped, and as experts say, bad weather, history knows many examples of this, can greatly affect the course of the elections. Polls conducted the day before also indicate a possible low turnout. The fact is that every fourth Frenchman is not going to vote. “I choose neither of two evils,” the Le Monde newspaper quotes voters. 70% of the French are not satisfied with the results of the first round. The greatest disappointment is in the ranks of those who voted in the last round for the Republican candidate - Fillon and for the leader of the "Unbowed France" movement Mélenchon. And over the last two weeks there has been a fierce battle between the finalists for the supporters of the second. Mélenchon is the only one who did not recommend any of the candidates to his voters.

Voting in the second round will take place according to the old French tradition, sociologists say: against the one you don’t like. And if the polls are to be believed, former Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron will win a landslide victory over National Front leader Marine Le Pen. According to the latest polls, he can get 63% of the vote. But experts advise not to rush to conclusions - voters will decide everything.

Journalists from Channel One conducted their own small survey, and there are indeed quite a few who decided to vote with a white ballot “against everyone.”

French presidential elections are being held under a state of emergency. 50 thousand police officers, gendarmes, military personnel and even employees of private security firms have been mobilized. There are metal detectors at the entrances to some areas. The number of patrols on the streets has also been increased. Security at the Elysee Palace has been strengthened.

The day before, near a military base in the west of the country, police detained an extremist who had already admitted that he was preparing an attack. Journalists found out: the detainee was a retired military man, and French foreign intelligence was based at the airfield that the criminal planned to attack. The presidential plane is also parked there. Moreover, the police published information about three more people suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in the country.

Today, as on the day of silence, any agitation is prohibited in France. Not only politicians and journalists, but also ordinary French people must submit to strict rules with heavy fines ranging from three to three hundred thousand euros. Moreover, as the Libération newspaper writes, a post on social networks is also considered propaganda.

This election campaign is already being called dirty. So the voting takes place against the backdrop of yet another scandal. A few hours before the day of silence, the WikiLeaks website reported a huge leak of information from Macron’s headquarters. As a result, 9 Gigabytes of letters, photos and applications became publicly available. According to the headquarters, the data array contains both working documents and fake materials. President Hollande appealed to journalists to observe the rules of the day of silence and not publish these materials.

The candidates plan to celebrate their victory in completely different ways. Marine Le Pen chose a site in the Bois de Vincennes, a former hunting lodge of Napoleon III, and Emmanuel Macron chose the square in front of the Louvre. It is reported that Macron will appear in front of a crowd of supporters in any case and as quickly as possible. After winning the first round, supporters waited for their leader for more than two hours. His subsequent trip to a restaurant marked by the Michelin guide also became notorious. It was there that the former Minister of Economy uttered the phrase that spread on social networks that he did not intend to listen to advice from the “Parisian middle peasant.” Apparently, this time, in the event of a meal, Macron decided to correct the mistake.

ohm is quite insignificant. The French Interior Ministry reports that after counting the votes of 20 million voters in the first round, Marin holds the lead with 24.38%. Emmanuel Macron is second with 22.19%.

According to the exit polls cited by , the leader of the “Forward” movement, Macron, gains 23.7%, and the leader of the “National Front” Le Pen - around 22%, the candidate from - 19.5%, and the representative of the ultra-left and the creator of the movement “France rebellious” Jean-Luc Mélenchon secured the support of 19% of voters.

According to other data cited by the French media, Macron gains 23.7%, and Le Pen - 21.7%. Thus, none of the contenders for the post of head of the Fifth Republic receives 50% of the votes in the first round, which means that the country is facing a second round of elections for the owner of the Elysee Palace.

At 17.00 Paris time (18.00 Moscow time), the turnout in the elections was relatively low and amounted to just over 69%. However, by evening it had risen significantly and was expected to reach the 80% threshold. Approximately the same number of voters came to polling stations in 2012.

During the elections, all 11 candidates for victory voted at the polling stations. François Fillon did this without his wife Penelope, who was at the center of a scandal that seriously damaged her husband's reputation. According to the local press, the leader of the Republicans fictitiously employed his wife as an assistant to a deputy when he was a senator. Later, other information compromising Fillon was leaked to the media. The Financial Crimes Unit is currently investigating a criminal case against the candidate and his wife.

The current president and leader also came to the ballot box. He did not stand as a candidate in the elections; Benoit took part in them from his party.

Unprecedented security measures have been taken in France on voting day. 50 thousand police officers and gendarmes were responsible for maintaining order, and they were assisted by another 7 thousand military personnel, who were urgently transferred from units to cities.

Such precautions were introduced due to the fact that two days before the elections, attackers carried out a terrorist attack on the Champs Elysees right in the center of Paris. One of the terrorists fired at a police patrol, killing one of the Interior Ministry employees and seriously wounding another. The criminal was killed by return fire. Responsibility for this action was taken by IS, which is banned in Russia and other countries of the world.

However, there were some unpleasant news events on election day itself.

Officers, together with the General Directorate of Internal Security (the French equivalent), detained two French citizens in Marseille: 23-year-old Clement Baur and 29-year-old Mahiedin Merabe. According to law enforcement officials, they were preparing a terrorist attack on election day.

The message about their detention appeared only on April 23. During a search at the apartment of two young men, security forces found an Uzi submachine gun, explosives and an IS flag. Both were charged with preparing for a terrorist attack and illegal possession of weapons.

In the city of Besançon, someone left a suspicious vehicle right outside a polling station, forcing it to be completely towed. In the car, police found a carbine and ammunition. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs later reported that it considers this incident as an ordinary offense that is not related to terrorism.

In Paris, clashes between right-wing radicals and anti-fascists were stopped.

According to the French radio station Europe 1, now “we can say with almost certainty” that Macron and Le Pen will compete for victory in the second round of the presidential election. Le Pen has already called her entry into the second round a “historic result” and “the first step of the French towards the Elysee Palace.”

One of the record leaders of the election race, Fillon, and the leader of “Rebellious France” Mélenchon, although they gained a significant number of votes, are still dropping out of further competition. Socialist representative Hamon scored just over 6%, the worst showing for a Socialist Party candidate in 30 years. But Melashnon became the main discovery of the current company. He fought almost equally with the favorites, and his party “France Rebellious” can count on serious success during the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to take place this summer.

The current situation after the first round is reminiscent of the events of 2002. Then, at the second stage of the struggle for the presidency, the moderate conservative, the “Gaulist” Jacques, and the head of the National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the father of the current party leader, came together. Then Chirac won confidently, gaining almost 82%. According to analysts' forecasts and opinion polls, this time Macron will defeat Le Pen just as easily. Fillon and Hamon have already called on their supporters to support the centrist, since he is known for his violence.” Mélenchon’s position is not yet clear, but, being on the opposite flank of the political spectrum from Le Pen, he is also unlikely to support it. Whether Macron will repeat Chirac's success will be shown by the voting itself, which will take place on May 7.