1995 French presidential election

1995 French presidential election
← 1988 23 April 1995 (first round)
7 May 1995 (second round)		 2002 →
Turnout78.38% (first round)
79.66% (second round)
 
Nominee Jacques Chirac Lionel Jospin
Party RPR PS
Popular vote 15,763,027 14,180,644
Percentage 52.64% 47.36%
First round results by department and region
Second round results by department and region
President before election

François Mitterrand
PS

Elected President

Jacques Chirac
RPR

Presidential elections were held in France on 23 April, with a second round on 7 May.

Background

The Socialist incumbent president François Mitterrand, who had been in office since 1981, did not stand for a third term. He was 78, had terminal cancer, and his party had lost the 1993 French legislative election in a landslide defeat. Since then, he had been "cohabiting" with a right-wing cabinet led by Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, a member of the neo-Gaullist RPR party. Balladur had promised the RPR leader, Jacques Chirac, that he would not run for the presidency, but as polls showed him doing well and he had the support of many right-wing politicians, he decided to run. The competition within the right between Balladur and Chirac was a major feature of the campaign.

Meanwhile, the left was weakened by scandals and disappointments regarding Mitterrand's presidency along with the unemployment rate hovering around 10%. In June 1994, former Prime Minister Michel Rocard was dismissed as leader of the Socialist Party (PS) after the party's poor showing in the European Parliament elections. Then, Jacques Delors decided not to stand as a candidate because he disagreed with the re-alignment on the left orchestrated by new party leader Henri Emmanuelli. This left the field wide open for numerous potential candidacies: among those who are known to have considered a run, or were strongly urged by others, are Jack Lang, Pierre Joxe, Laurent Fabius, Ségolène Royal and Robert Badinter. Former party leader and education minister Lionel Jospin was chosen by PS members as the party's candidate in a primary election pitting him against Emmanuelli. He promised to restore the credibility and moral reputation of his party, but his chances of winning were seen as being thin. The economy was also still struggling with a depression which began in mid-1990, and the government's policies were widely blamed for both the recession and its slow recovery.

The French Communist Party (PCF) tried to stop its electoral decline. Its new leader Robert Hue campaigned against "king money" and wanted to represent a renewed communism. He was faced with competition for the far left vote by the Trotskyist candidacy of Arlette Laguiller, who ran for the fourth time. Both of these candidates had a better result than their parties had in 1988, but came nowhere near being able to participate in the next round. In choosing Dominique Voynet, the Greens opted for their integration with the left.

On the far-right, Jean-Marie Le Pen tried to repeat his surprising result that he obtained in the 1988 presidential election. His main rival for the far-right vote was Philippe de Villiers, candidate of the eurosceptic parliamentary right. Both candidates primarily focused over the financial situation.

In January 1995, when he announced his candidacy, Balladur was the favourite of the political right. According to the SOFRES polls institute, he held an advantage of 14 points over Chirac (32% against 18% for the first round). He took advantage of his "positive assessment" as Prime Minister and advocated a moderately liberal economic policy. Chirac denounced the "social fracture" and criticised the "dominant thought", targeting Balladur. Chirac argued that "the pay slip is not the enemy of employment". Indeed, unemployment was the main theme of the campaign. From the start of March, Chirac gained ground on Balladur in the polls. Another factor that contributed to Balladur's fall in popularity was the revelation of a bugging scandal which had implicated Balladur.[1]

Chirac's campaign slogan was "La France pour tous" ("France for everyone"); Balladur's "Believe in France"; and Jospin's "A clear vote for a more just France".

Opinion polls

First round

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Polling
firm 		Fieldwork
date 		Laguiller
LO 		Hue
PCF 		Voynet
LV 		Delors
PS 		Jospin
PS 		Rocard
PS 		Giscard
UDF 		Balladur
RPR 		Chirac
RPR 		de Villiers
MPF 		Le Pen
FN 		Cheminade
FNS
Sofres 20-21 Apr 1995 5% 9.5% 4% — 20.5% — — 16.5% 24% 6% 14% 0.5%
Sofres 13-14 Apr 1995 5% 8.5% 3.5% — 21% — — 16% 26% 6.5% 13% 0.5%
BVA 12-14 Apr 1995 5% 10% 4% — 19% — — 16% 26% 6% 14% 0%
Sofres 8-10 Apr 1995 4.5% 8.5% 3% — 21% — — 19% 26% 5% 13% 0%
Sofres 4-5 Apr 1995 4.5% 8% 3.5% — 22% — — 20% 24% 5.5% 12% 0.5%
Sofres 25-27 Mar 1995 3.5% 8% 3.5% — 21% — — 18% 26% 6.5% 13% 0%
Sofres 21-22 Mar 1995 3% 8.5% 2.5% — 22% — — 17% 26% 7% 13% —
Sofres 11-13 Mar 1995 3.5% 8% 2.5% — 20% — — 20% 27% 6.5% 12% —
Sofres 8-9 Mar 1995 4% 9% 3.5% — 21% — — 20% 24% 7.5% 10.5% —
Sofres 21-23 Feb 1995 3% 7% 5% — 24% — — 23.5% 19% 7.5% 11% —
Sofres 7-9 Feb 1995 3% 7% 4% — 22.5% — — 28% 17.5% 6.5% 10.5% —
Sofres 24-26 Jan 1995 3% 7% 3% — 17% — — 32% 18% 7% 12% —
Sofres 10-12 Jan 1995 2.5% 6% 4% — 20% — — 29% 17% 9% 11.5% —
Sofres 26-28 Dec 1994 3.5% 6% 3.5% 22% — — 10% 25% 14% 4% 12% —
Sofres 5-7 Dec 1994 3% 5% 3% 32% — — 5% 25% 12% 5% 10% —
Sofres 22-24 Nov 1994 3.5% 5% 3% 31% — — 5% 25% 15% 5% 8% —
Sofres 5-9 Nov 1994 3.5% 5% 3% 26% — — 4.5% 28% 18% 4% 9% —
Sofres 4-6 Oct 1994 4% 5% 1.5% 29.5% — — 6% 28% 14% 3% 9% —
Sofres 6-8 Sep 1994 2.5% 3.5% 2% 27% — — 5% 30% 16% 4% 10% —
Sofres 2-5 Jul 1994 3% 4% 4% 26% — — 8% 28% 16% — 11% —
Sofres 7–9 May 1994 2.5% 6% 4.5% — — 26% 6% 28% 17% — 10% —
Sofres 24-25 Mar 1994 2% 5% 4% — — 25% 7% 29% 17% — 11% —
Sofres 3-5 Mar 1994 2.5% 4.5% 4% 24% — — 7% 33% 14% — 11% —

Results

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Lionel JospinSocialist Party7,097,78623.3014,180,64447.36
Jacques ChiracRally for the Republic6,348,37520.8415,763,02752.64
Édouard BalladurRally for the Republic5,658,79618.58
Jean-Marie Le PenNational Front4,570,83815.00
Robert HueFrench Communist Party2,632,4608.64
Arlette LaguillerWorkers Struggle1,615,5525.30
Philippe de VilliersMovement for France1,443,1864.74
Dominique VoynetThe Greens1,010,6813.32
Jacques CheminadeFederation for a New Solidarity84,9590.28
Total30,462,633100.0029,943,671100.00
Valid votes30,462,63397.1829,943,67194.03
Invalid/blank votes883,1612.821,902,1485.97
Total votes31,345,794100.0031,845,819100.00
Registered voters/turnout39,992,91278.3839,976,94479.66
Source: Constitutional Court, Constitutional Court

First round

Lionel Jospin won the first round, in what appeared to be an electoral recovery for the Socialist Party. His right-wing challenger for the runoff vote on 7 May was Jacques Chirac and not Edouard Balladur. Defeated, Balladur endorsed the RPR candidate. Jean-Marie Le Pen repeated his good result of the previous presidential election.

By department

Department Jospin Chirac Balladur Le Pen Hue Laguiller de Villiers Voynet Cheminade Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Paris 219,254 271,278 139,869 77,909 39,469 40,693 21,923 30,608 1,658 1,168,036 856,512 842,661 13,851
Seine-et-Marne 108,507 116,185 79,488 93,947 42,074 28,253 23,642 17,195 1,297 691,005 522,600 510,588 12,012
Yvelines 132,703 161,243 121,607 85,656 39,549 30,432 27,560 21,185 1,458 822,940 634,622 621,393 13,229
Essonne 123,720 116,811 79,700 73,534 46,645 30,757 20,190 20,068 1,194 683,626 524,787 512,619 12,168
Hauts-de-Seine 139,497 160,605 116,410 70,458 47,762 28,529 20,344 19,714 1,333 823,909 616,102 604,652 11,450
Seine-Saint- Denis 113,567 96,629 57,258 91,176 68,395 28,108 13,924 15,314 1,118 683,919 496,106 485,489 10,617
Val-de-Marne 120,799 119,624 76,404 68,131 64,067 26,819 16,355 17,594 1,085 692,561 522,817 510,878 11,939
Val-de Oise 100,551 99,713 67,342 79,103 48,178 24,251 17,093 14,822 1,058 611,098 462,112 452,111 10,001
Ardennes 36,149 26,091 26,217 26,836 14,086 7,956 6,985 4,094 377 194,299 152,424 148,791 3,633
Aube 30,342 31,585 28,672 27,567 11,834 7,135 8,998 4,190 440 192,789 155,156 150,763 4,393
Marne 57,380 58,141 52,591 49,161 20,825 16,240 14,655 9,204 802 366,488 285,862 278,999 6,863
Haute-Marne 23,394 21,843 19,891 22,624 7,689 5,899 5,547 3,923 387 145,981 114,832 111,197 3,635
Aisne 71,700 53,422 45,951 52,026 32,132 17,053 13,819 7,136 845 371,939 301,990 294,084 7,906
Oise 80,689 76,390 62,055 79,415 35,493 23,270 17,822 11,516 1,111 488,437 397,437 387,761 9,676
Somme 71,669 59,293 53,438 47,928 39,081 18,431 16,142 7,656 876 391,302 323,792 314,514 9,278
Eure 58,464 55,050 52,784 51,898 24,111 16,043 14,790 8,560 871 359,333 290,809 282,571 8,238
Seine-Maritime 152,328 109,160 117,988 101,722 74,903 41,689 24,811 19,842 1,687 831,766 662,374 644,130 18,244
Cher 36,727 35,663 31,672 23,823 24,234 9,562 8,671 5,064 559 228,986 182,025 175,975 6,050
Eure-et-Loir 45,602 40,155 43,443 38,883 14,488 10,822 13,194 6,281 522 273,171 219,421 213,390 6,031
Indre 33,365 29,652 23,742 18,182 14,925 7,212 8,172 4,073 457 180,705 145,544 139,780 5,764
Indre-et-Loire 70,285 51,617 60,546 37,033 21,717 15,172 17,904 10,349 826 369,275 295,109 285,449 9,660
Loir-et-Cher 40,834 31,800 36,165 27,653 15,370 8,879 13,288 5,540 497 228,208 186,321 180,026 6,295
Loiret 65,197 63,637 62,526 49,198 25,107 15,641 18,192 10,428 918 395,218 320,426 310,844 9,582
Calvados 81,989 68,955 71,801 42,680 25,102 23,061 17,158 12,548 1,025 437,282 353,904 344,319 9,585
Manche 56,155 66,848 67,254 30,794 16,162 15,740 14,786 9,424 925 351,768 285,914 278,088 7,826
Orne 33,657 39,387 36,662 25,161 9,577 9,008 10,051 5,860 523 213,690 174,859 169,886 4,973
Côte-d'Or 60,470 53,539 47,943 40,468 15,882 13,118 13,247 10,159 628 326,948 262,497 255,454 7,043
Nièvre 40,340 24,237 21,242 15,959 16,991 6,026 5,663 3,522 369 173,997 138,823 134,349 4,474
Saône-et-Loire 75,288 61,438 57,796 40,069 27,620 14,634 15,874 9,039 802 399,842 314,437 302,560 11,877
Yonne 37,089 36,095 34,038 30,406 14,581 8,828 10,688 6,118 557 230,305 183,969 178,400 5,569
Nord 302,492 219,467 228,281 236,730 155,288 73,270 52,639 30,965 3,145 1,677,860 1,337,941 1,302,277 35,664
Pas-de-Calais 201,379 135,223 127,766 121,652 111,222 49,284 34,052 17,247 2,031 1,016,315 828,074 799,856 28,218
Meurthe-et-Moselle 85,039 63,832 65,107 65,291 30,039 23,313 14,177 12,457 977 470,685 369,781 360,232 9,549
Meuse 23,388 19,121 23,467 21,741 6,558 5,853 5,572 3,988 351 140,834 113,257 110,039 3,218
Moselle 101,858 90,174 107,475 125,065 30,091 33,762 18,763 16,295 1,516 690,316 540,547 524,999 15,548
Vosges 47,960 43,094 39,203 43,539 12,413 12,064 11,190 7,680 723 278,909 226,002 217,866 8,136
Bas-Rhin 84,491 84,046 124,954 130,548 14,429 24,227 21,725 19,291 1,618 653,671 518,931 505,329 13,602
Haut-Rhin 60,712 59,413 86,111 88,100 12,657 17,980 15,530 13,643 1,132 458,432 365,774 355,278 10,496
Doubs 64,277 53,716 47,708 39,923 13,921 14,003 12,180 12,852 673 325,938 266,668 259,253 7,415
Jura 30,638 24,270 28,339 21,646 11,533 7,435 7,581 8,227 376 177,806 144,987 140,045 4,942
Haute-Saône 33,511 26,407 24,309 22,440 8,804 6,755 6,646 5,058 381 170,138 139,347 134,311 5,036
Territoire de Belfort 17,835 12,548 10,678 12,965 5,086 4,212 2,529 3,132 154 87,668 71,356 69,139 2,217
Loire-Atlantique 157,015 111,077 125,494 57,668 43,141 37,195 41,818 25,261 1,665 768,340 618,958 600,334 18,624
Maine-et-Loire 81,544 78,077 97,763 39,333 21,338 20,837 34,982 14,721 1,153 489,715 404,960 389,748 15,212
Mayenne 32,615 39,104 44,224 15,645 7,789 8,513 10,628 6,210 529 206,397 171,952 165,257 6,695
Sarthe 68,714 54,907 63,289 33,445 25,365 17,368 17,897 10,682 937 378,616 304,510 292,604 11,906
Vendée 62,543 58,462 64,826 23,460 15,254 14,508 70,725 10,481 892 394,215 332,278 321,151 11,127
Côtes-d'Armor 94,522 65,565 68,951 30,282 38,386 18,807 12,617 12,760 847 420,696 351,393 342,737 8,656
Finistère 130,415 108,697 105,061 45,911 37,211 30,313 19,188 20,970 1,200 625,550 510,067 498,966 11,101
Ille-et-Vilaine 118,780 97,480 104,104 41,594 29,204 30,188 20,762 20,062 1,150 581,428 476,907 463,324 13,583
Morbihan 86,034 75,872 88,820 52,369 27,122 20,296 15,436 13,229 858 472,281 389,421 380,036 9,385
Charente 55,088 41,353 32,035 20,030 18,430 10,284 12,202 6,108 636 254,536 203,521 196,166 7,355
Charente-Maritime 74,907 60,687 58,549 34,327 25,667 14,721 23,688 9,999 953 397,086 313,519 303,498 10,021
Deux-Sèvres 51,890 44,343 41,885 15,008 11,613 11,600 18,411 7,848 676 259,259 211,650 203,274 8,376
Vienne 55,743 47,870 40,066 23,002 18,124 11,822 13,497 8,538 696 281,401 227,807 219,358 8,449
Dordogne 60,811 61,708 33,680 21,268 34,353 10,620 12,352 7,213 719 303,089 251,837 242,724 9,113
Gironde 179,050 126,026 114,546 82,612 54,762 38,431 29,772 19,471 1,747 827,836 664,379 646,417 17,962
Landes 62,598 41,472 34,299 17,425 18,660 8,294 8,228 4,340 520 244,917 202,458 195,836 6,622
Lot-et-Garonne 41,867 36,091 29,377 26,345 19,010 8,908 11,231 5,384 542 224,985 185,011 178,755 6,256
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 85,451 76,946 70,655 32,100 23,706 18,642 13,326 12,176 927 432,701 345,280 333,929 11,351
Ariège 28,938 14,276 12,352 8,984 10,665 4,263 2,833 3,004 287 108,226 88,265 85,602 2,663
Aveyron 42,115 44,609 36,077 14,586 11,874 8,101 7,643 5,881 518 212,792 177,548 171,404 6,144
Haute-Garonne 164,580 94,453 82,702 65,200 40,103 31,249 17,847 18,877 1,387 654,466 532,483 516,398 16,085
Gers 31,813 22,905 19,008 10,059 8,991 5,202 6,054 3,406 389 136,625 111,988 107,827 4,161
Lot 31,018 26,817 14,772 8,504 11,552 5,483 4,641 3,969 320 131,509 110,895 107,076 3,819
Hautes-Pyrénées 37,936 26,807 23,560 12,559 16,206 7,099 5,065 4,251 395 173,682 138,861 133,878 4,983
Tarn 58,446 40,762 36,600 26,860 16,691 10,366 10,200 6,939 613 257,286 215,538 207,477 8,061
Tarn-et-Garonne 31,669 24,192 19,381 19,125 9,391 5,851 7,532 3,748 405 151,233 125,216 121,294 3,922
Corrèze 30,869 76,632 7,170 7,122 21,729 5,323 3,035 3,217 339 185,134 158,857 155,436 3,421
Creuse 20,091 27,984 8,900 5,694 9,606 3,453 2,811 2,240 231 105,801 83,764 81,010 2,754
Haute-Vienne 57,533 60,450 22,506 15,894 28,891 10,429 7,051 6,617 543 263,199 218,477 209,914 8,563
Ain 49,970 46,891 48,264 48,417 14,999 11,918 13,118 9,534 686 314,259 251,533 243,797 7,736
Ardèche 38,151 30,055 33,326 23,548 16,547 8,986 8,372 6,524 531 211,247 171,292 166,040 5,252
Drôme 53,162 38,526 42,532 39,438 18,543 11,957 12,475 9,845 714 292,297 234,054 227,192 6,862
Isère 131,417 82,311 93,629 91,156 45,042 31,264 22,587 22,888 1,337 672,788 536,655 521,631 15,024
Loire 76,096 65,906 70,354 78,674 31,573 18,858 18,296 12,544 949 486,507 384,041 373,250 10,791
Rhône 156,922 133,847 149,259 138,401 47,464 36,871 30,993 27,389 1,828 922,695 739,828 722,974 16,854
Savoie 41,392 36,186 39,398 32,644 15,399 10,275 9,895 8,325 524 249,352 199,399 194,038 5,361
Haute-Savoie 55,312 59,826 73,852 49,055 15,007 14,656 16,087 13,849 871 385,732 307,167 298,515 8,652
Allier 45,190 44,190 34,255 22,928 31,960 9,763 9,650 5,654 557 264,005 211,875 204,147 7,728
Cantal 20,964 40,848 14,046 7,092 6,816 4,112 3,390 2,061 339 125,662 102,301 99,668 2,633
Haute-Loire 25,528 28,843 24,888 19,880 8,388 6,867 6,822 4,184 410 159,947 130,280 125,810 4,470
Puy-de-Dôme 83,082 73,590 54,978 36,019 31,262 22,638 13,487 11,320 973 415,645 339,055 327,349 11,706
Aude 56,613 33,039 24,997 24,643 21,137 8,887 7,107 4,901 459 225,975 186,986 181,783 5,203
Gard 70,874 53,159 53,776 66,729 42,183 16,973 14,737 9,823 793 420,294 338,036 329,047 8,989
Hérault 109,366 80,144 73,038 85,843 46,348 23,620 18,636 14,710 998 576,736 464,408 452,703 11,705
Lozère 9,645 12,594 11,423 4,512 3,300 1,937 1,847 1,522 140 57,701 48,161 46,920 1,241
Pyrénées-Orientales 47,587 39,282 32,454 40,187 21,987 10,084 9,000 5,600 453 266,855 212,069 206,634 5,435
Alpes-de-Haute-Provencee 18,169 14,709 13,585 12,642 8,932 4,211 4,186 3,353 269 103,874 82,761 80,056 2,705
Hautes-Alpes 15,005 13,862 13,990 8,711 5,897 3,505 3,743 3,413 229 88,719 70,725 68,355 2,370
Alpes-Maritimes 82,646 113,545 104,788 113,543 34,273 18,662 22,786 13,724 1,064 680,770 514,382 505,031 9,351
Bouches-du-Rhône 169,139 140,160 147,713 177,779 98,030 41,462 30,291 23,287 1,896 1,108,942 849,671 829,757 19,914
Var 77,389 85,284 94,382 100,004 36,882 18,704 22,284 11,519 991 601,391 457,528 447,439 10,089
Vaucluse 51,214 42,121 44,945 58,402 21,603 11,793 13,534 8,343 694 325,284 259,867 252,649 7,218
Corse-du-Sud 9,733 16,381 12,165 6,251 4,906 1,636 1,222 1,427 145 81,100 54,852 53,866 986
Haute-Corse 14,502 20,199 11,634 6,321 6,533 1,965 1,423 1,569 167 98,947 65,745 64,313 1,432
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

By region

Region Jospin Chirac Balladur Le Pen Hue Laguiller de Villiers Voynet Cheminade Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Île de France 1,058,598 1,142,088 738,078 639,914 396,139 237,842 161,031 156,500 10,201 6,177,094 4,635,658 4,540,391 95,267
Champagne-Ardenne 147,265 137,660 127,371 126,188 54,434 37,230 36,185 21,411 2,006 899,557 708,274 689,750 18,524
Picardy 224,058 189,105 161,444 179,369 106,706 58,754 47,783 26,308 2,832 1,251,678 1,023,219 996,359 26,860
Upper Normandy 210,792 164,210 170,772 153,620 99,014 57,732 39,601 28,402 2,558 1,191,099 953,183 926,701 26,482
Centre 292,010 252,524 258,094 194,772 115,841 67,288 79,421 41,735 3,779 1,675,563 1,348,846 1,305,464 43,382
Lower Normandy 171,801 175,190 175,717 98,635 50,841 47,809 41,995 27,832 2,473 1,002,740 814,677 792,293 22,384
Bourgogne 213,187 175,309 161,019 126,902 75,074 42,606 45,472 28,838 2,356 1,131,092 899,726 870,763 28,963
Nord-Pas-de-Calais 503,871 354,690 356,047 358,382 266,510 122,554 86,691 48,212 5,176 2,694,175 2,166,015 2,102,133 63,882
Lorraine 258,245 216,221 235,252 255,636 79,101 74,992 49,702 40,420 3,567 1,580,744 1,249,587 1,213,136 36,451
Alsace 145,203 143,459 211,065 218,648 27,086 42,207 37,255 32,934 2,750 1,112,103 884,705 860,607 24,098
Franche-Comté 146,261 116,941 111,034 96,974 39,344 32,405 28,936 29,269 1,584 761,550 622,358 602,748 19,610
Pays de la Loire 402,431 341,627 395,596 169,551 112,887 98,421 176,050 67,355 5,176 2,237,283 1,832,658 1,769,094 63,564
Brittany 429,751 347,614 366,936 170,156 131,923 99,604 68,003 67,021 4,055 2,099,955 1,727,788 1,685,063 42,725
Poitou-Charentes 237,628 194,253 172,535 92,367 73,834 48,427 67,798 32,493 2,961 1,192,282 956,497 922,296 34,201
Aquitaine 429,777 342,243 282,557 179,750 150,491 84,895 74,909 48,584 4,455 2,033,528 1,648,965 1,597,661 51,304
Midi-Pyrénées 426,515 294,821 244,452 165,877 125,473 77,614 61,815 50,075 4,314 1,825,819 1,500,794 1,450,956 49,838
Limousin 108,493 165,066 38,576 28,710 60,226 19,205 12,897 12,074 1,113 554,134 461,098 446,360 14,738
Rhône-Alpes 602,422 493,548 550,614 501,333 204,574 144,785 131,823 110,898 7,440 3,534,877 2,823,969 2,747,437 76,532
Auvergne 174,764 187,471 128,167 85,919 78,426 43,380 33,349 23,219 2,279 965,259 783,511 756,974 26,537
Languedoc-Roussillon 294,085 218,218 195,688 221,914 134,955 61,501 51,327 36,556 2,843 1,547,561 1,249,660 1,217,087 32,573
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 413,562 409,681 419,403 471,081 205,617 98,337 96,824 63,639 5,143 2,908,980 2,234,934 2,183,287 51,647
Corsica 24,235 36,580 23,799 12,572 11,439 3,601 2,645 2,996 312 180,047 120,597 118,179 2,418
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

Second round

During the TV debate between the two finalists, they disagreed about the presidential term. Jospin wanted to reduce it to five years whereas Chirac was in favour of the seven-year term. The PS candidate responded: "The choice is five years with me or seven years with Jacques Chirac, which will be very long". Eventually, the presidential term was reduced to five years after the 2002 election.

Chirac was elected President and Balladur resigned as prime minister. Foreign minister Alain Juppé succeeded him.

By department

Department Jacques Chirac Lionel Jospin Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Paris 524,619 347,331 1,167,533 904,069 871,950 32,119
Seine-et-Marne 284,748 228,347 691,031 548,131 513,095 35,036
Yvelines 385,227 250,027 822,619 669,433 635,254 34,179
Essonne 277,012 242,705 683,504 551,623 519,717 31,906
Hauts-de-Seine 364,214 252,845 823,940 646,277 617,059 29,218
Seine-Saint-Denis 228,621 246,125 683,704 508,634 474,746 33,888
Val-de Marne 271,531 240,906 692,107 542,740 512,437 30,303
Val-de Oise 243,823 209,551 611,697 482,980 453,374 29,606
Ardennes 68,689 78,353 194,247 155,808 147,042 8,766
Aube 81,179 65,580 192,753 156,956 146,759 10,197
Marne 147,230 122,748 366,184 287,291 269,978 17,313
Haute-Marne 56,716 51,991 145,957 116,799 108,707 8,092
Aisne 130,735 156,883 371,936 305,113 287,618 17,495
Oise 188,559 180,301 488,261 396,020 368,860 27,160
Somme 144,034 163,254 390,933 326,005 307,288 18,717
Eure 144,194 128,025 359,154 290,941 272,219 18,722
Seine-Maritime 288,597 328,426 831,570 658,378 617,023 41,355
Cher 86,428 84,204 228,867 182,550 170,632 11,918
Eure-et-Loir 111,404 93,864 273,150 219,653 205,268 14,385
Indre 68,959 69,784 180,699 148,329 138,743 9,586
Indre-et-Loire 140,376 137,157 369,195 294,817 277,533 17,284
Loir-et-Cher 90,219 83,952 228,164 186,533 174,171 12,362
Loiret 168,406 131,798 394,869 321,226 300,204 21,022
Calvados 172,146 164,646 437,163 354,498 336,792 17,706
Manche 160,911 112,406 351,735 287,095 273,317 13,778
Orne 95,822 70,497 213,586 175,720 166,319 9,401
Côte-d'Or 135,335 114,394 326,912 265,031 249,729 15,302
Nièvre 57,633 76,563 173,969 142,234 134,196 8,038
Saône-et-Loire 154,044 145,797 399,705 319,444 299,841 19,603
Yonne 95,791 78,932 230,230 186,696 174,723 11,973
Nord 573,136 664,653 1,677,826 1,324,163 1,237,789 86,374
Pas-de-Calais 328,642 440,736 1,016,147 823,739 769,378 54,361
Meurthe-et-Moselle 167,613 181,544 470,561 372,664 349,157 23,507
Meuse 56,099 51,178 140,745 114,717 107,277 7,440
Moselle 264,197 248,410 707,157 553,826 512,607 41,219
Vosges 108,887 102,807 278,847 228,285 211,694 16,591
Bas-Rhin 275,203 191,484 653,633 507,947 466,687 41,260
Haut-Rhin 188,188 140,489 458,381 359,460 328,677 30,783
Doubs 133,641 121,359 325,780 270,727 255,000 15,727
Jura 71,589 65,324 177,773 147,003 136,913 10,090
Haute-Saône 67,334 66,303 170,055 143,227 133,637 9,590
Territoire de Belfort 32,449 34,326 87,640 73,406 66,775 6,631
Loire-Atlantique 292,077 288,239 768,116 612,654 580,316 32,338
Maine-et-Loire 214,468 161,865 489,674 399,255 376,333 22,922
Mayenne 95,580 65,081 206,353 169,559 160,661 8,898
Sarthe 140,184 144,695 378,348 302,668 284,879 17,789
Vendée 188,222 122,912 394,169 328,804 311,134 17,670
Côtes-d'Armor 157,290 185,233 420,460 357,790 342,523 15,267
Finistère 253,843 242,305 625,020 517,951 496,148 21,803
Ille-et-Vilaine 231,929 221,177 581,508 474,087 453,106 20,981
Morbihan 215,038 194,454 525,396 430,675 409,492 21,183
Charente 91,694 103,519 254,492 205,902 195,213 10,689
Charente Maritime 156,135 146,040 396,990 319,465 302,175 17,290
Deux-Sèvres 106,494 96,399 259,241 213,371 202,893 10,478
Vienne 109,371 107,920 281,388 229,491 217,291 12,200
Dordogne 122,482 122,408 302,916 259,581 244,890 14,691
Gironde 311,853 327,351 827,744 677,256 639,204 38,052
Landes 93,303 103,989 244,719 207,843 197,292 10,551
Lot-et-Garonne 92,025 84,746 224,828 189,530 176,771 12,759
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 182,017 155,693 432,464 356,632 337,710 18,922
Ariège 34,357 51,182 108,169 90,677 85,539 5,138
Aveyron 96,496 76,209 212,698 181,207 172,705 8,502
Haute-Garonne 229,089 274,029 654,471 533,125 503,118 30,007
Gers 53,646 55,345 136,479 115,520 108,991 6,529
Lot 49,472 53,351 124,755 108,220 102,823 5,397
Hautes-Pyrénées 62,243 71,373 173,648 141,849 133,616 8,233
Tarn 101,019 103,314 284,805 218,060 204,333 13,727
Tarn-et-Garonne 61,045 58,829 151,138 127,638 119,874 7,764
Corrèze 95,569 60,168 185,044 162,041 155,737 6,304
Creuse 44,613 38,553 105,775 87,043 83,166 3,877
Haute-Vienne 99,912 107,691 263,175 220,556 207,603 12,953
Ain 134,783 99,920 314,136 251,562 234,703 16,859
Ardèche 84,836 79,487 211,198 175,147 164,323 10,824
Drôme 117,174 104,649 292,163 237,701 221,823 15,878
Isère 243,700 247,332 662,221 525,641 491,032 34,609
Loire 195,428 156,951 486,481 378,779 352,379 26,400
Rhône 394,783 286,757 922,551 726,554 681,540 45,014
Savoie 105,127 82,356 249,228 199,661 187,483 12,178
Haute-Savoie 179,125 109,963 385,590 308,045 289,088 18,957
Allier 100,183 101,223 263,964 215,301 201,406 13,895
Cantal 64,431 37,935 125,641 105,987 102,366 3,621
Haute-Loire 71,981 52,655 159,891 132,761 124,636 8,125
Puy-de-Dôme 165,484 158,254 415,519 344,159 323,738 20,421
Aude 79,299 99,411 225,831 190,801 178,710 12,091
Gard 160,972 154,201 420,214 341,529 315,173 26,356
Hérault 225,030 215,525 576,596 472,265 440,555 31,710
Lozère 28,978 18,179 57,682 49,377 47,157 2,220
Pyrénées-Orientales 104,700 97,557 266,821 216,926 202,257 14,669
Alpes-de Haute-Provence 41,460 38,183 103,853 85,485 79,643 5,842
Haute- Alpes 37,372 30,616 88,680 72,425 67,988 4,437
Alpes-Maritimes 321,442 169,487 680,821 522,626 490,929 31,697
Bouches-du-Rôhne 434,237 363,114 1,108,867 860,890 797,351 63,539
Var 269,612 168,118 601,342 471,300 437,730 33,570
Vaucluse 135,336 106,977 325,230 263,589 242,313 21,276
Corse-du-Sud 36,424 22,203 80,982 60,693 58,627 2,066
Haute-Corse 41,108 30,726 98,873 74,264 71,834 2,430
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

By region

Region Jacques Chirac Lionel Jospin Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Île de France 2,579,795 2,017,837 6,176,135 4,853,887 4,597,632 256,255
Champagne-Ardenne 353,814 318,672 899,141 716,854 672,486 44,368
Picardie 463,328 500,438 1,251,130 1,027,138 963,766 63,372
Haute-Normandie 432,791 456,451 1,190,724 949,319 889,242 60,077
Centre 665,792 600,759 1,674,944 1,353,108 1,266,551 86,557
Basse-Normandie 428,879 347,549 1,002,484 817,313 776,428 40,885
Bourgogne 442,803 415,686 1,130,816 913,405 858,489 54,916
Nord - Pas-de-Calais 901,778 1,105,389 2,693,973 2,147,902 2,007,167 140,735
Lorraine 596,796 583,939 1,597,310 1,269,492 1,180,735 88,757
Alsace 463,391 331,973 1,112,014 867,407 795,364 72,043
Franche-Comté 305,013 287,312 761,248 634,363 592,325 42,038
Pays de la Loire 930,531 782,792 2,236,660 1,812,940 1,713,323 99,617
Bretagne 858,100 843,169 2,152,384 1,780,503 1,701,269 79,234
Poitou-Charentes 463,694 453,878 1,192,111 968,229 917,572 50,657
Aquitaine 801,680 794,187 2,032,671 1,690,842 1,595,867 94,975
Midi-Pyrénées 687,367 743,632 1,846,163 1,516,296 1,430,999 85,297
Limousin 240,094 206,412 553,994 469,640 446,506 23,134
Rhône-Alpes 1,454,956 1,167,415 3,523,568 2,803,090 2,622,371 180,719
Auvergne 402,079 350,067 965,015 798,208 752,146 46,062
Languedoc-Roussillon 598,979 584,873 1,547,144 1,270,898 1,183,852 87,046
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 1,239,459 876,495 2,908,793 2,276,315 2,115,954 160,361
Corse 77,532 52,929 179,855 134,957 130,461 4,496
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

See also

References

  1. ^ Opinion poll shows Balladur in big trouble New Straits Times, 22 February 1995. At Google News

Further reading

  • Cole, Alistair. "La France pour tous?—The French Presidential Elections of 23 April and 7 May 1995." Government and Opposition 30.3 (1995): 327–346. online[dead link]
  • Dow, Jay K. "Voter choice in the 1995 French presidential election." Political Behavior 21.4 (1999): 305–324.
  • Elgie, Robert, ed. Electing the French President: 1995 Presidential Election (1996)
  • Lewis-Beck, Michael S., and Kevin Chlarson. "Party, ideology, institutions and the 1995 French presidential election." British Journal of Political Science 32.3 (2002): 489–512. online
  • Maarek, Philippe J. "New trends in French political communication: the 1995 presidential elections." Media, Culture & Society 19.3 (1997): 357–368.
  • Schlesinger, Joseph A., and Mildred S. Schlesinger. "Dual-ballot elections and political parties: the French presidential election of 1995." Comparative Political Studies 31.1 (1998): 72–97.

External links

  • [1] Radio-TV debate Jacques Chirac/Lionel Jospin
  • [2] Announcement of the result of the second round, on TV
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