The results of the second round resulted in a historic record of seats for the RN and an even greater polarisation of political life within the National Assembly itself.
Emmanuel Macron on his arrival at the Champ de Mars in Paris.
Thomas Coex/AFP
The first round of the French presidential elections leaves the country’s party system in tatters and voters divided along three poles. What will happen in the second round is now anyone’s guess.
Announcement of the results of the first round of the presidential election showing the two candidates qualified for the second round, Emmanuel Macron (28.4%) and Marine Le Pen (23.2%) (estimates at 22:40).
Lionel Bonaventure/AFP
The dynamics of the “strategic vote” in France have amplified the restructuring of the political field around three major poles: centrist, identitarian and far left.
Far-right candidates Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen have both benefited from substantial support by media groups sympathetic to their ideas.
Thomas Coex/AFP
While many progressive movements have organised online, conservatives dominate because of better organisation, capital, and social inequality. France’s presidential elections are a case in point.
The RN candidate has spent the past years attempting to present herself as a champion for living standards.
VALENTINE CHAPUIS / AFP
Under fire for her past Russian links, Marine Le Pen may still be within reach of the second round of the French presidential elections thanks to her left-leaning economic agenda.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron holds a press conference following an EU leaders summit to discuss the fallout of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, on March 11, 2022.
Ludovic Marin / AFP
The “rally round the flag” phenomenon has been an important fixture of political science. Will voter anxiety over war in Ukraine give president candidate Macron a definitive boost?
French president, Emmanuel Macron: trapped in an endless cycle of crisis.
EPA-EFE/Ludovic Marin/Pool
Pierre Bréchon, Auteurs historiques The Conversation France
Many French voters seems willing to give the new president and his party, La République en Marche, a broad mandate, even if they didn’t initially support him.
Electoral posters of a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, in Marseille, France.
AP Photo/Claude Paris
Europe has had a number of important elections over the past year, but for the EU none is as significant – or as potentially grave – as France’s upcoming presidential election.