Friday

29th Mar 2024

French election campaigning gets underway

France's official election campaign started on Monday (9 April) two weeks ahead of the first round of voting and with 12 candidates in the race.

With the centre-right Jacques Chirac stepping down after a 12-year reign as president, the country is in high election fever and is being watched with interest around the world.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right candidate, continues to top the polls followed by socialist contender Segolene Royal and centrist candidate Francois Bayrou.

Mr Bayrou entered the election late but has spiced up the race being considered a bit of a 'dark horse' at the beginning but quickly shooting up the polls to third place.

According to the latest LH2 survey reported in Le Nouvel Observateur, Mr Sarkozy has dropped one percentage point to 28 percent, Ms Royal has lost two percentage points and is clocking in at 24 percent while Mr Bayrou remains at 18 percent.

Far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen, meanwhile, has gone up in the polls from 13 to 15 percent.

Other candidates for the 22 April first round include Olivier Besancenot from the communist revolutionary league, Jose Bove, the anti-globalisation farmer, Frederic Nihous from the hunting, fishing, nature and traditions party and Dominique Voynet from the Greens.

Election officials are recording record numbers of people registering to vote, but the vote is expected to go to the 6 May second round as none of the candidates is expected to get more than 50 percent in the first round.

Europe bashing

France's elections will also have profound implications for Europe and its attempts to revive talks on internal institutional reform, with the topic until very recently being taboo at political level since the EU constitution was rejected by French voters in May 2005.

All three leading candidates have a different approach towards what to do with the moribund document.

Mr Sarkozy wants a pared down treaty that can be approved by national parliaments only, while Ms Royal and Mr Bayrou - who also favours a slimmer treaty - both want a referendum.

Another referendum in France would likely force other countries hoping to avoid a popular poll on the issue - notably the UK - into having one.

Meanwhile, Mr Sarkozy and Ms Royal, in particular, have raised eyebrows in Brussels by going in for some Europe bashing, accusing the EU of supporting untrammelled free marketism and criticising the single currency.

Both candidates have indicated that Europe is not doing enough for its people and have had words about the European Central Bank.

Mr Sarkozy wants the ECB to weaken the euro to make exports more competitive while Ms Royal wants the bank to change its focus to supporting the creation of more jobs.

Ukraine slams grain trade restrictions at EU summit

Restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU could translate into military losses in their bid to stop Russia's war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned EU leaders during their summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Difficult talks ahead on financing new EU defence spending

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending any time soon, EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 March) to discuss how to boost the defence capabilities of Ukraine and of the bloc itself.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us