French presidential election, 2002

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The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates (Jacques Chirac and Jean-Marie Le Pen) on 5 May 2002. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of Le Pen's unexpected appearance in the runoff election. Journalists and politicians then claimed that polls had failed to predict his second place finish in the general election, though Le Pen's strong stance could be seen in the week prior to the election. This led to serious discussions of polling techniques and to the climate of French politics. Although Le Pen's political party National Front describes itself as mainstream conservative, non-partisan observers conclude that it is a far right party. Chirac himself could enjoy the fact that he had won one of the biggest landslides in the history of French politics, winning over 82% of the vote; however most thought it was a pyrrhic victory.

[edit] Results

[edit] General summary

On May 1, Labour Day, the yearly demonstrations for workers' rights were compounded by protests against Jean-Marie Le Pen. Hundreds of thousands of people who normally do not take part in such demonstrations came, in addition to the usual unions. Another unusual sights for May 1 demonstrations, French tricolor flags were commonplace.

In the months before the election, the campaign had increasingly focused on questions of law and order, with a particular attention towards crime committed by the youth, especially the youth of foreign origin. Lionel Jospin was, at the time, Prime Minister of France; the Jospin government was criticized for its "softness" on crime by its political opponents. Some contend that alarmist reporting on the TF1 channel and other media had overemphasized the alleged crime wave.

The first round of election came as a shock to many commentators, almost all of whom had expected the second ballot to be between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin. Jospin's poor showing and the widespread splintering of the left-wing vote in the first round of the election meant that instead Jean-Marie Le Pen faced Chirac in the second ballot. The election brought the two-round voting system into question as well as raising many concerns about apathy and the way in which the left had become so divided.

There was a widespread stirring of national public opinion, and more than one million people in France took part in street rallies, in an expression of fierce opposition to Le Pen's ideas. Some held up protest signs stating "I'm ashamed to be French," which parodied Le Pen's party slogan, "Proud to be French." Spontaneous street protests began in the night from April 21 to April 22, then on April 22 and 23, then as follows:

A response to the first round of elections, this spray-painted sign was seen on the streets of Paris.
Translation: APRIL 21: MY HEART ACHES

• April 24: 60,000 people in the streets protesting J.M. Le Pen's success
• April 25: 250,000 people in the streets protesting J.M. Le Pen's success
• April 27: 200,000 people in the streets protesting J.M. Le Pen's success (out of which 45,000 in Paris)
• May 1:
  • Approximately 20 000 people in the yearly demonstration of the National Front in Paris in honor of Joan of Arc and in support of J.M. Le Pen.
  • Approximately 1,300,000 people (according to the Ministry of the Interior, as reported in Libération), out of which more than 400,000 in Paris, for Labor Day and against the National Front.

The choice between Chirac, who is suspect for actions carried out whilst he was mayor of Paris (see corruption scandals in the Paris region) but benefits from Presidential immunity as long as he stays president, and Le Pen, a nationalist often accused of racism and antisemitism, was one that many found tough. Some people suggested going to vote with a clothes peg on the nose, to express disgust for the Chirac vote, but this may have been illegal, because it is prohibited to advertise one's vote inside the voting precinct. In the days before the second ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan "Vote for a Crook, not a Fascist". Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide.

[edit] See also

• President of France
• France
• Politics of France

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

French presidential election, 2002

[edit] Official French government links

Official French government links are in French.

• Official file of the French Constitutional Council
• Official results from the Ministry of the Interior

[edit] Commentary

• (English)/(French) French 2002 Presidential Election, Mission of a Delegation from the Canadian Branch of the Canada-France Inter-parliamentary Association
• Analysis of the voting anomaly on FindLaw
• Fascism in France? Commentary on the 2002 French Presidential Elections
• Wrong way elections table at the Center for Range Voting