2007 French presidential election

2007 French presidential election
← 2002 22 April 2007 (first round)
6 May 2007 (second round)		 2012 →
Turnout83.77% (first round) Increase12.17 pp
83.97% (second round) Increase4.26 pp
 
Nominee Nicolas Sarkozy Ségolène Royal
Party UMP PS
Popular vote 18,983,138 16,790,440
Percentage 53.06% 46.94%
First round results by department and region
Second round results by department and region
President before election

Jacques Chirac
UMP

Elected President

Nicolas Sarkozy
UMP

Presidential elections were held in France on 21 and 22 April 2007 to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France (and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra) for a five-year term. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 5 and 6 May 2007 between the two leading candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal. Sarkozy was elected with 53% of the vote.

Sarkozy and Royal both represented a generational change. Both main candidates were born after World War II,[1] along with the first to have seen adulthood under the Fifth Republic, and the first not to have been in politics under Charles de Gaulle.

Schedule

  • 22 February 2007: The decree convoking the election was published in the Journal officiel de la République française.[2]
  • 16 March 2007 – 18:00 (16:00 UTC): Deadline for candidates to have obtained the 500 sponsors from elected officials in at least 30 different departments or overseas territories which are required to run for president.[3]
  • 19 March 2007 – 17:30 (15:30 UTC): Official candidate list was announced by the Constitutional Council: 12 candidates.[4]
  • 9 April 2007: Official campaign started.
  • 20 April 2007: Official campaign ended.
  • 21 April 2007: First round of voting started in Saint Pierre and Miquelon at 8 am local time (10:00 UTC) and subsequently took place in Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, French Polynesia, and in voting offices in embassies and consulates in the Americas.
  • 22 April 2007: First round of voting took place in Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, Réunion, Mayotte, Metropolitan France, and in voting offices in embassies and consulates in Oceania, Asia, Africa and Europe – the last polling stations closed in the large cities of Metropolitan France at 8 pm local time (18:00 UTC) and publication of the first exit polls were allowed immediately after they closed.
  • 25 April 2007: Official results of the first round announced.
  • 27 April 2007: Official candidate list for second round announced.[5]
  • 2 May 2007 – 21:00 (19:00 UTC): Nationally televised debate between the two candidates.
  • 5 May 2007: Second round of voting started in Saint Pierre and Miquelon at 8 am local time (10:00 UTC) and subsequently took place in Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, French Polynesia, and in voting offices in embassies and consulates in the Americas.
  • 6 May 2007: Second round of voting took place in Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, Réunion, Mayotte, Metropolitan France, and in voting offices in embassies and consulates in Oceania, Asia, Africa and Europe – the last polling stations closed in the large cities of Metropolitan France at 8 pm local time (18:00 UTC) and publication of the first exit polls were allowed immediately after they closed.
  • 10 May 2007: Official results of the second round announced.
  • 16 May 2007 – Midnight (22:00 UTC): Expiration of the term of president Jacques Chirac.

Electoral system

Transparent ballot boxes have been required since 1988.
Some French cities used voting machines.

For the first time in a presidential election, electronic voting was introduced in some areas, having been authorised in 2004. They were introduced in only 82 of 36,000 voting districts, and were criticised by a number of people, both on the left and on the right.[6] A petition against them has also been made (see Wikinews:Electronic voting disputed in France).

Using the three colours of the national flag (blue, white, and red) on electoral advertisements or partisan documentation was prohibited by electoral regulations.[7] Ségolène Royal contended that the book Ensemble ("together") published by Nicolas Sarkozy, whose cover is blue, white and red,[8] was effectively an electoral partisan documentation and should have been covered by this prohibition.[9]

Candidates

Requirements

Reference: Constitutional Council, FAQ

The requirements for being successfully nominated as a candidate are defined by the organic law of 6 November 1962.[10]

All candidates must be of French nationality and at least 23 years old (the same requirement as for the candidates to the National Assembly).

Candidates must obtain signatures from 500 elected officials (mayors, members of Parliament, elected representatives) supporting their candidacy. These signatures from elected officials (informally known in French as parrainages, but legally known as "presentations") must be from at least 30 departments or overseas territories, and no more than 10 percent can be from any individual department. A presentation from an elected official does not imply the official supports the policies of the candidate, but rather that this official considers the candidate to be a serious candidate.

Candidates must also submit a statement with details of their personal assets.

The Constitutional Council published the official candidate list on 20 March 2007. The candidates were listed in a randomised order. This order was used for the official campaign: thus, posters for Olivier Besancenot were always be on the No. 1 board, those for Marie-George Buffet on the No. 2 board, etc., regardless of where in France the boards were located.

There were 12 candidates for the 2007 election.[4]

Leading candidates

Four candidates consistently registered over 10% in the opinion polls and were regarded as having a reasonable chance of reaching the second round.[11]

  • Nicolas Sarkozy was nominated by the Union for a Popular Movement on 14 January 2007. He was the leader of the UMP and was Interior Minister until stepping down to focus on his campaign on 26 March 2007.
  • Ségolène Royal was selected by the Socialist Party on 17 November 2006 to be the party's candidate for the election. She won 60.6% of the votes in a ballot of party members to choose their candidate, against 20.8% for Dominique Strauss-Kahn and 18.5% for Laurent Fabius. She was the first woman to represent a major French party in a presidential contest.
  • François Bayrou was nominated by the centrist Union for French Democracy (UDF) on 2 December 2006.
  • Jean-Marie Le Pen ran for the National Front, a far-right party which promotes policies of strong law enforcement, economic protectionism and strong measures to control immigration. As during previous presidential campaigns, Le Pen raised the question of whether he would be able to obtain the necessary 500 signatures on a number of occasions, which he claims is the result of pressure placed on elected officials by the major parties to support their own candidate (he has often claimed, during past elections, that "political elites" have sabotaged his campaigns); however, on 14 March 2007 his party said that he had obtained the necessary signatures.[12]

Other candidates

These were the eight other candidates who obtained the required 500 signatures from elected officials to endorse their candidacy.

Confirmed non-candidates

  • President Jacques Chirac announced on 11 March 2007 that he would not be standing for another term as president. It had been rumoured that President Chirac was considering running for a third term, following statements he made at the beginning of 2007, including his New Year's Address on 31 December 2006, and subsequent speeches which contained robust comments on international policy and detailed national policy proposals with a suggested five-year timetable.[14] In March, Chirac announced his support for Sarkozy.[15] There was no provision at the time in the Constitution of 1958 specifying a limited number of terms, though a third term would have been unprecedented under the Fifth Republic.
  • Christine Boutin announced that she would not be a candidate for the election and pledged her support for Nicolas Sarkozy (source: France 2 news, 2 December 2006).
  • Rachid Kaci, member of the UMP and President of the group Free Right (la Droite Libre), announced his withdrawal as candidate and also pledged to support Nicolas Sarkozy on 21 December 2006 during a UMP public Forum.
  • MRC chairman Jean-Pierre Chevènement announced on 10 December 2006 that he would not be running, and that his movement would back Ségolène Royal in return for an electoral agreement in the 2007 general election.
  • Candidate for the Radical Party, Christiane Taubira in the 2002 election, confirmed that she would not be running following an electoral agreement between her party and the Socialist Party. The Left Radicals in return supported Ségolène Royal.
  • Nicolas Hulot, television presenter and environmental activist, was widely considered to be a possible candidate following the positive media and public reaction to his recent book and Environmental Charter. On 3 January 2007 Le Figaro newspaper reported that supporters of Hulot had begun gathering signatures to mount a campaign and a website,[16] was created to generate support. On 22 January he announced that he would not be a candidate.
  • Corinne Lepage, environmentalist politician and activist, withdrew her candidacy in favour of Bayrou on 10 March 2007.[17]
  • Roland Castro, architect and "utopian left" activist, withdrew his candidacy on 12 March 2007.
  • Édouard Fillias: Alternative Libérale, a new French libertarian party, withdrew his candidacy on 13 March 2007 in favour of Bayrou.[18]
  • Antoine Waechter: Independent Ecological Movement, withdrew his candidacy on 14 March 2007

Did not get enough endorsements

Campaign

The election campaign raised a number of issues:

  • Jobs and unemployment – France long had an unemployment rate officially close to 10%, down to below 9% in 2007.[citation needed] Employment, and employment conditions, are a perennial concern for the French (see Economy of France and Poverty in France).
  • European disunity – The presidential election followed the EU Constitution rejection vote in 2005, which threw into question the future direction of the European Union.[citation needed]
  • International politics – A majority in France approved of President Jacques Chirac's opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States. Sarkozy was considered as pro-Washington, while Royal, although seen as probably also in line with Washington, is thought to be more moderate. Left-wing intellectual Régis Debray's metaphor was that Sarkozy was like a direct flight to Washington, D.C., while Royal was a flight to Washington with a stop-off in Oslo, referring to her European inclinations.[19] Chirac's public opposition to the Iraq War should however be relativised, as he toned down his criticisms after a while. Furthermore, he involved French troops in Afghanistan and agreed, immediately after the 11 September 2001 attacks, on increased cooperation between Western intelligence services, materialised by the creation of Alliance Base in the centre of Paris, a joint international Counterterrorist Intelligence Centre.[citation needed]
  • Law and order – During the 2002 campaign, law and order came to the forefront, especially with respect to unruly youths from poor suburbs. In late 2005, in some of these suburbs significant unrest erupted. Again, law and order was a forefront issue, mainstream candidates tackled the problem of reining in unruly youngsters. Sarkozy proposed measures for harsher criminal procedure for youngsters, while Royal proposed to send unruly youths to centres under military discipline.[20] Sarkozy's attitude was widely criticised on the left, and also by the UMP minister Azouz Begag, who defected his party to support Bayrou following Sarkozy's management of the autumn 2005 crisis.[21]
  • Immigration – The issue of immigration in France split France. The number of deportations more than doubled since 2002, with Sarkozy as Minister of the Interior from 2002 to 2004 and 2005 to 2007.[22] Sarkozy declared in April 2006 that immigrants who did not "like France" should "leave it."[23] Opponents have labelled Sarkozy's attitude as repressive, in particular towards illegal immigrants,[24][25] materialised by numerous police raids against illegal aliens, strongly opposed by the left.[26] The main problem concerns illegal immigrants (sans-papiers, "without documents") who cannot obtain work permits without proper immigration documents and are therefore mostly found in the informal economy – construction, restaurants, etc. Although the right of foreigners to vote was a classic claim of the left-wing, it was not an important issue of the campaign. On the other hand, Sarkozy declared himself in favour of affirmative action which was widely contested both on the left and on the right, on grounds that it would favour communautarisme – separation of communities – along ethnic lines, and that it means taking into account ethnic alleged memberships in statistics, which is legally prohibited and not done by the INSEE. Left-wingers argued in favour of social actions not based on ethnic factors, but on geographical situation and equality of territory; however, the traditional Universalism of the French republicans has also been criticised on the left-wing by some intellectuals supporting a middle-ground between Republican universalism and multiculturalism.[27]
  • The Far Right – The National Front, long dismissed as a fringe party, stunned many when its leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, reached the second round of the 2002 elections. Le Pen's points of focus – law and order and immigration – were later taken up by politicians such as Sarkozy. Le Pen on 12 April 2007 criticised Sarkozy for being Hungarian and asked if he should run for the president of Hungary.[28][29] Le Pen was 79 years old, the same age which Charles de Gaulle was when he stepped down from the presidency in 1969. Le Pen's approval rating in opinion polls markedly increased after France's riots in 2005. As a counterweight, the Left and the cultural elite and athletes (like Lilian Thuram) rose to oppose Sarkozy's response to the riots.
  • Anti-neoliberalism and Disarray of left-wing parties – During the 2002 presidential election, a number of left-wing candidates ran for office, which, according to commentators, was one reason for the defeat of Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin. Jospin blamed in particular Jean-Pierre Chevènement's candidacy, as well as Christiane Taubira's one. However, others commentators have criticised Jospin's attitude and the policies of the PS, which account, according to them, for the low score of Jospin. Inheritor of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), the PS is historically social-democrat, while the French Communist Party (PCF) is a governmental party, which participated in Jospin's Gauche plurielle (Plural Lefts) government (with ministers such as Jean-Claude Gayssot, etc.). In this sense, the PCF does not consider itself a far-left party, to the contrary of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) or Workers' Struggle (LO). But the PCF does consider itself part of the "anti-liberal" coalition, which opposed the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE). Inside the French Socialist Party (PS, Parti socialiste) itself, Laurent Fabius headed the minority who opposed the treaty. However, the victory of the "No" during the May 2005 referendum on the TCE hasn't been exploited yet by the left parties or organisations which supported it. The main topic of the non-PS left-wings was to try to choose a single candidate for the "anti-liberal" Left, which opposes neo-liberalism. This eventually failed, and the far-left was represented by four competing candidates, Marie-George Buffet, Olivier Besancenot, José Bové and Arlette Laguiller.[30][31] "
  • High-level political scandals and disrepute – A number of scandals tainted various French politicians, including president Jacques Chirac (see Corruption scandals in the Paris region), with some, such as former prime minister Alain Juppé, being convicted. The recent Clearstream affair had been exposed as a case of forgery and denunciations involved such major politicians from the ruling UMP coalition.
  • Feminism – France's first woman president had the opportunity to be elected in 2007 – Ségolène Royal, a Socialist, ran following her selection on 16 November 2006 as the candidate for the Socialist Party.
  • Environment – The environmental party, the Greens, had been low in the polls, but Nicolas Hulot, a presenter of an environmentally themed television show, became very popular and had considered running. Many parties, from the left to the right, were interested in his support.
  • Labour – Both Royal and Sarkozy called for "labour" to be respected as a value, although the meaning of this was somewhat open to very different interpretations.
  • Housing and homelessness. Following political actions by the Enfants de Don Quichotte NGO, who set up tents for homeless people by the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris and elsewhere, in December 2006, the problem of homelessness was at the centre of the campaign for a period of time. The death of veteran campaigner Abbé Pierre a short time afterward increased the focus on the issue.
  • Religion and communautarisme. Sarkozy has opposed both the left-wing and Chirac on the issue of religions, adopting a stance critical of state secularism and of the 1905 law on Separation of the State and the Church. His creation of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) was strongly criticised as giving an official voice to the more radical sectors of organised Islam.
  • Bayrou's candidacy. François Bayrou, leader of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) centre-right party, decided to present himself as a centrist candidate. He opposed in particular the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party led by Sarkozy. Critics have pointed-out that Bayrou and his party had voted along with the UMP parliamentary majority on nearly all cases.[32] Bayrou's trend is generally considered to be the inheritor of the Christian-Democrat MRP.
  • Candidate Gérard Schivardi was banned from calling himself le candidat des maires ("the candidate of the mayors"). The 2 April 2007 judicial injunction[33] was requested by the Association of French Mayors, who feared that the candidate might be perceived as officially endorsed by the country's mayors. As a result, he was unable to use the 25 million electoral flyers already printed, which he claims will cost his campaign €300,000.[34] Thus he styled himself as "the candidates of mayors" or "candidate of some mayors" ("de maires" rather than "des maires" – see United Nations Security Council Resolution 242#Semantic dispute for an analogy of this difference between de and des).
  • François Bayrou proposed the idea of organising a "debate over the Internet" between the four leading candidates, in order to circumvent the obligation of TV and radio channels to provide equal times to all twelve candidates. However, Nicolas Sarkozy was opposed to such a debate, believing it would be illegal.[35]

Officially proposed policies

  • Europe
    • Ségolène Royal (Socialist Party) proposed a referendum on a new European treaty for 2009. She declared she would request guarantees on the social policies followed by the European Union, in particular by reaching an agreement with German chancellor Angela Merkel on the controversial role of the European Central Bank – contrary to the U.S Federal Reserve, the ECB has an exclusive role to counter inflation. Royal stated she would negotiate with European partners in order to include economic growth and employment as aims within the ECB's policies.[36])[37]
    • Nicolas Sarkozy (Union for a Popular Movement) proposed a simplified European treaty which would be ratified by the French Parliament instead of being submitted to a referendum. He also declared himself against the rule of unanimity in European decisions and opposed the accession of Turkey to the European Union.[38] Furthermore, he said he would argue in favour of revaluing the euro, increasing the European defence budget and creating a European Foreign Affairs Minister.[39]
  • International policies
  • Economic and social policies
    • Royal promised a minimum wage (known as the salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance, or SMIC) of 1,500 euros, with 90 percent of salary for year after losing job.[40] She declared herself for the repeal of the CNE employment contract.[36] She declared herself for the reimbursement of public aid to companies who offshored themselves, and would not support with public money firms that implement downsizing plans.[36]
    • Sarkozy proposed to the contrary to adapt the 35-hour workweek previously established by PS minister Martine Aubry during Lionel Jospin's government by promoting overtime work.
  • Energy and environment
  • Unemployment
    • Royal promised that no youth will stay unemployed for more than six months without receiving a publicly supported job or training.[36] She also said she would create zero-interest loans to youth.[36]
  • Health
    • Royal said she would emphasise occupational safety and health; sanction physicians who refuse CMU patients; re-establish free medicine for illegal aliens;[36] create a plan of research on rare diseases; grant a weekly free medical consultation for those 16–25 years old; free birth control for women under 25.[36]
  • Housing
    • Royal declared herself for a construction project of 120,000 council homes a year to cut the "housing crisis" as well as a private rent cap and lifelong guarantee of housing (in the continuation of the debate on the droit au logement, right to housing, on the model of Scotland's 2003 Homelessness Act). She said she would simplify procedures for evicting people who were deliberately not paying their rent; and would facilitate the purchase of council housing by people who have rented it for 15 years.[36]
    • Sarkozy promised to provide assistance for those who want to buy their council homes and to eradicate homelessness within two years[40]
  • Immigration
    • Royal declared herself in favour of granting residency papers (i.e. of regularisation of the status of illegal aliens) if they have a work permit and reside in France for a sufficient time.[40]
    • Sarkozy promised to cut immigration flux and favour "chosen immigration" (i.e. "qualified immigration").[40]
  • Taxes
    • Royal said she would not increase general taxation, would lighten burden on employment-creative firms and "consolidate" the 35-hour week, a goal which would pass by decreasing its negative effects.[36][40] She said she would modulate tax on companies depending on if they use it for re-investment or to redistribute the profits to the shareholders.[36] She also declared she would simplify the procedures to create new firms and better social protection for employers.[36]
    • Sarkozy promised to cut taxes by four percent, increase the exemption for inheritance tax to 95% and grant a "right to work for more than 35 hours.".[40]
  • Law and order
    • Royal said she would force young offenders to military-like education.[40] She promised to double the budget of the Minister of Justice, strengthen security on public transport, promote a law against domestic violence, reinforce judicial aid processes and create an independent organ of surveillance of the state of prisons.[36]
    • Sarkozy declared himself in favour of minimum terms for reoffenders and tougher sentences on juvenile offenders.[40]
  • Culture and Media
  • Research
    • Royal said she would increase the research budget by 10% and increase the budget for universities to the extent that, within five years, it would reach the average of OECD countries.[36]
    • Sarkozy said he would increase by 40% the budget dedicated to research by 2012.[39]
  • Budget
  • Institutional reforms
    • Royal said she would grant the right of foreigners to vote in local elections.[36] She would repeal the veto of the Senate in constitutional matters.[36] She declared herself in favour of the addition of a laïcité charter (secular charter) to the Constitution.[36]
    • Sarkozy said he would establish minimum service in the public administration (thus restricting right of strike); cut unneeded government bodies; increase the productivity of the public administration; insure state expenses by taxes only; a two-term limit for the president; organise the responsibility of the President before the Parliament; limit the number of ministers to 15; non-replacement of one civil servant out of two which retires and increase of wages and training in the public administration.[39]
  • LGBT Issues
    • Royal proposed introducing a bill to legalize same-sex marriage and gay adoption.[41]
    • Sarkozy voiced opposition to both gay marriage and adoption, although he did favour civil unions for same-sex couples.[42] He maintained, however, close ties to MP Christine Boutin, known for her anti-gay views.

Endorsements

French personalities

Approximately 200 French intellectuals expressed support for Ségolène Royal. These included the philosopher Étienne Balibar (a student of Louis Althusser),[27] the editor François Maspero, the historian Pierre Rosanvallon, the psychoanalyst Fethi Benslama, the philosopher Jacques Bouveresse, the sociologist Robert Castel, the philosopher Catherine Colliot-Thélène, the writer Chloé Delaume, the historian Michel Dreyfus, the anthropologist Françoise Héritier, the sculptor Françoise Jolivet, the film-maker Roy Lekus, the sociologist Eric Macé, the philosopher Pierre Macherey, the philosopher Jean-Claude Monod the artist Ariane Mnouchkine, the economist Yann Moulier-Boutang (involved with Multitudes), the historian Gérard Noiriel, the historian Pascal Ory, the historian Michelle Perrot, the economist Thomas Piketty, the historian Benjamin Stora, the anthropologist Emmanuel Terray, the lawyer Michel Tubiana (former president of the Human Rights League), and the sociologist Loïc Wacquant (a student of Pierre Bourdieu).[43]

Régis Debray called to vote first for a far-left candidate, then Royal in the second round.[19]

On the other hand, the so-called Nouveaux Philosophes were split on their support. André Glucksmann called to vote Sarkozy,[44] while Bernard-Henri Lévy voted for Ségolène Royal.[45] Max Gallo, who had supported the left-wing Republican Jean-Pierre Chevènement in 2002, joined Sarkozy five years later.[46] Pascal Bruckner and Alain Finkielkraut have also proved close to Sarkozy, although they did not declare support for him, but Sarkozy did support Finkielkraut after controversial statements made in Haaretz newspaper following the 2005 civil unrest.[47] According to the journalist Jacques Julliard, the support of some French intellectuals for the 2003 invasion of Iraq is the root of their rallying to Sarkozy, following the creation of the review titled Le Meilleur des mondes (Brave New World). Pascal Bruckner, historian Stéphane Courtois, Thérèse Delpech, André Glucksmann, Romain Goupil, Pierre-André Taguieff, Olivier Rollin, and Pierre Rigoulot are frequent contributors to this review.

Tennis player Yannick Noah called to vote for Royal, while Sarkozy obtained the support of singers Johnny Hallyday, Mireille Mathieu and Faudel, of rapper Doc Gyneco, and former politician and current actor Bernard Tapie. He also had the support of actors Jean Reno and Christian Clavier, both residing in Neuilly-sur-Seine where Sarkozy was the mayor between 1983 and 2002[48] and of Gérard Depardieu. But also of industrialist Martin Bouygues, whose children attended the same school as Sarkozy's offspring.[48] The humourist Dieudonné and the writer Alain Soral supported Jean-Marie Le Pen. Actress Juliette Binoche supported José Bové.

The song Elle est facho (She's a fascist) on the Rouge Sang album by singer Renaud released in 2006 gained particular media attention for lyrics in the last verse that translate as "she's a fascist and votes Sarko"[49]

Prominent political commentator Alain Duhamel was suspended in 2006 after a video was published on DailyMotion, where he stated his personal intentions of voting for François Bayrou.

International support

Abroad, Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister of Italy, gave his support to Sarkozy immediately following the first round, while Romano Prodi, the then Italian premier and leader of the centre-left Union coalition, called for an alliance between Bayrou and Royal.[50]

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has shown his support for Royal.[51]

European commissioner and Vice-President Margot Wallström was criticised after she informally suggested support for Royal on her blog, celebrating the fact that a woman got into the second round. She said: "J'étais si contente de voir qu'une femme participera au deuxième tour de l‘élection présidentielle!" (I was so happy to see that a woman would be participating in the second round of the presidential election!)[52] Commissioners are not meant to be politically biased in elections under their code of conduct.[53] Wallström is a social-democrat, like Royal. José Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, has privately discussed the idea of forming a "strategic partnership" with Mr. Sarkozy.[54]

Many U.S. pundits and western economists expressed support for Nicolas Sarkozy. Steve Forbes devoted several columns in the influential financial publication FORBES Magazine.[55] The London-based magazine The Economist also expressed support for Sarkozy's economic platform[citation needed].

Alleged Libyan financial contributions to Sarkozy

In 2011, according to the son of the Libyan leader Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, Sarkozy was provided with financial support from Libya during the presidential election.[56] In 2012, Mediapart published material revealing Gaddafi's financial support to Nicolas Sarkozy for the election.[57]

In March 2018 Sarkozy was charged for corruption.[58]

Opinion polls

A pro-Sarkozy sticker, after being defaced, in Paris, France. (Translation: "Together, NOTHING is possible.")

French law prohibits publishing the results of opinion polls related to the election during the day of the election and the preceding day, so as to prevent undue influencing of the vote.[59] No estimate can be given before Sunday 8 pm, when the last voting office closes and official counts begin to be released. However, media from neighbouring countries, which are not bound by these regulations, have long broadcast estimates (Télévision Suisse Romande in particular). In 2007, the issue took a particular importance because of the generalisation of blogs and Internet pages. Journalist Jean-Marc Morandini stirred turmoil when he announced his intention of publishing results on his blog as soon as 18:00.[60] Another problem was that the results from the voting offices in the Americas (consulates and French overseas possessions) were counted on Saturday night,[61] and some began circulating rumours as to these results.

First round

Second round

Results

The first round saw a very high turnout of 83.8% – 36.7 million of the 44.5 million electorate voted from a population of 64.1 million (not including French people living abroad).[62][63][64] The results of that round saw Sarkozy and Royal qualify for the second round with Sarkozy getting 31% and Royal 26%. François Bayrou came third (19%) and Jean-Marie Le Pen fourth (10%), unlike in 2002 when Le Pen got a surprising 16.9% and qualified for the second round.[65]

Immediately after the first round's results were made official, four defeated left-wing candidates – José Bové, Marie-George Buffet, Arlette Laguiller and Dominique Voynet – urged their supporters to vote for Royal.[66] This was the first time since 1981 that Laguiller had endorsed the Socialist Party's candidate.[67] Olivier Besancenot called his supporters to vote against Sarkozy.[68] Frédéric Nihous and Gérard Schivardi never officially supported either Royal or Sarkozy. Philippe de Villiers called for a vote for Sarkozy.[69] Le Pen told his voters to "abstain massively" in the second round.[70]

On 25 April, Bayrou declared he would not support either candidate in the runoff,[71] and announced he would form a new political party called the Democratic Movement. He criticised both major candidates, and offered to debate them. Royal agreed to hold a televised debate, while Sarkozy offered to have a private discussion but not a televised debate.[72]

By around 6:15 pm local time on 6 May, Belgian and Swiss news sources such as Le Soir,[73] RTBF,[74] La Libre Belgique[75] and La Tribune de Genève[76] had announced Nicolas Sarkozy as the winner of the second round, citing preliminary exit poll data. The final CSA estimate showed him winning with 53% of the votes cast. Royal conceded defeat to Sarkozy that evening.[77]

First-round results by department
  Nicolas Sarkozy
  Ségolène Royal
  François Bayrou
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Nicolas SarkozyUnion for a Popular Movement11,448,66331.1818,983,13853.06
Ségolène RoyalSocialist Party9,500,11225.8716,790,44046.94
François BayrouUnion for French Democracy6,820,11918.57
Jean-Marie Le PenNational Front3,834,53010.44
Olivier BesancenotRevolutionary Communist League1,498,5814.08
Philippe de VilliersMovement for France818,4072.23
Marie-George BuffetFrench Communist Party707,2681.93
Dominique VoynetThe Greens576,6661.57
Arlette LaguillerWorkers' Struggle487,8571.33
José BovéMiscellaneous left/environmentalist483,0081.32
Frédéric NihousHunting, Fishing, Nature and Traditions420,6451.15
Gérard SchivardiWorkers' Party123,5400.34
Total36,719,396100.0035,773,578100.00
Valid votes36,719,39698.5635,773,57895.80
Invalid/blank votes534,8461.441,568,4264.20
Total votes37,254,242100.0037,342,004100.00
Registered voters/turnout44,472,83483.7744,472,73383.97
Source: Constitutional Council (First round  · Second round)

First round and analysis

Nationwide, Nicolas Sarkozy obtained 31% and Ségolène Royal 26% – while in 2002, Jacques Chirac had obtained 20%, and Lionel Jospin 16.18%. The right-of-centre François Bayrou obtained 18.6% this time, nearly tripling his 2002 result (6.8%). National Front (FN) candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, made only 10.4%, compared to his stunning 16.9% finish in 2002. Along with the April–May shift to the far right made by Sarkozy, this has led many commentators to allege that traditional voters of the FN had been tempted by Sarkozy.[78][23] On a global scale, the left-wing reached 36% of the votes, against 19% for the "centre", 33% for the right wing and 11% for the far right.

Other candidates received a much lower share of the vote than they had in 2002, with Olivier Besancenot (Revolutionary Communist League, LCR) failing to achieve the 5% necessary to have his political campaign reimbursed by the state. Besancenot received 4.1%, compared to 4.3% in 2002. He was followed by the traditionalist Philippe de Villiers (2.2%), Communist Marie-George Buffet (1.9%, compared to 3.4% for Robert Hue in 2002), Green candidate Dominique Voynet (1.6%, compared to 5.3% for Noël Mamère in 2002), Workers' Struggle's candidate Arlette Laguiller (1.3%, compared to 5.7% in 2002), alter-globalisation candidate José Bové (1.3%), Frédéric Nihous (1.2% , against 4.2% for Jean Saint-Josse in 2002) and finally Gérard Schivardi with 0.3% (Daniel Gluckstein had achieved 0.5% in 2002). The abstention rate was 15.4%.

With an overall record turnout of 83.8%, a level not achieved since the 1965 presidential election when turnout was 84.8%, the vast majority of the electorate decided not to stay home. Most of them decided against protest votes, and chose the vote utile (tactical voting, literally "useful vote"), that is, a vote for one of the purported leaders of the electoral race (Nicolas Sarkozy, Ségolène Royal and/or François Bayrou). The "Anyone But Sarkozy" push benefited both Bayrou and Royal,[79] while the tactical voting, on the right or on the left, explains the low score of the other candidates, in contrast with the last presidential election's first round.

The electoral campaign saw a polarisation of the political scene, encapsulated by the "Anyone But Sarkozy" slogan on the left. But it also saw a reconfiguration of the political chessboard, with various left-wing figures and voters deciding to support Sarkozy against Royal, who saw opposition inside her own party. Bernard Tapie, a former Socialist, Max Gallo, who had supported left-wing Republican Jean-Pierre Chevènement in 2002, Eric Besson,[80] etc., passed on Sarkozy's side. On the other hand, some right-wing voters, upset by Sarkozy's attitude on law and order, immigration, and even genetics (his recent declarations on paedophilia, homosexuality and suicides as genetically induced, denounced by the geneticist Axel Kahn[81][82][83][84][85]), decided to vote for Bayrou. Centrist figures of the Socialist party, such as Michel Rocard and Bernard Kouchner, called for an alliance between Bayrou and Royal, which might have had consequences in the June 2007 legislative elections – these determined the parliamentary majority, and decided that France would not see another cohabitation between the President, head of state, and the Prime minister, leader of the government. Former socialist minister Claude Allègre stated such an alliance was "entirely conceivable", while Royal herself strongly criticised Rocard's comments. François Hollande, the national secretary of the Socialist Party and Ségolène Royal's partner, excluded any alliance with the centre-right, along with others left-wing leaders, such as Laurent Fabius or Dominique Voynet.[86]

By department

Department Nicolas Sarkozy Ségolène Royal François Bayrou Jean-Marie Le Pen Olivier Besancenot Philippe de Villiers Marie-George Buffet Dominique Voynet Arlette Laguiller José Bové Frédéric Nihous Gérard Schivardi Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Paris 371,604 336,407 219,660 48,481 22,099 11,618 12,872 16,261 6,188 10,904 1,677 1,770 1,221,993 1,068,274 1,059,541 8,733
Seine-et-Marne 226,884 161,002 126,933 75,584 27,180 14,789 11,812 11,269 8,278 6,779 4,197 1,819 802,133 684,951 676,526 8,425
Yvelines 291,648 178,943 169,312 56,867 21,470 14,911 9,883 12,682 7,010 6,753 3,450 1,485 894,380 781,884 774,414 7,470
Essonne 201,596 174,519 130,961 55,358 23,164 11,773 12,638 11,448 7,178 6,619 3,014 1,555 742,932 646,909 639,823 7,086
Hauts-de-Seine 297,836 202,149 165,812 43,025 19,623 9,843 13,495 11,299 5,402 6,555 1,888 1,373 904,665 786,507 778,300 8,207
Seine-Saint-Denis 155,887 198,180 97,058 52,518 24,281 7,774 20,542 7,823 6,489 7,157 1,474 1,460 708,171 587,920 580,643 7,277
Val-de Marne 200,836 183,058 124,697 46,119 22,154 8,951 19,232 10,132 5,875 6,766 1,779 1,549 745,956 638,232 631,148 7,084
Val-de Oise 185,134 158,743 108,642 52,610 21,276 9,819 10,496 8,973 6,542 5,910 2,370 1,377 675,114 578,980 571,892 7,088
Ardennes 46,934 39,683 23,001 26,185 8,639 4,173 3,035 2,087 3,557 1,661 2,140 503 199,115 163,570 161,598 1,972
Aube 59,398 33,280 27,128 26,101 6,227 4,980 2,837 2,286 2,476 1,592 2,175 521 204,692 171,162 169,001 2,161
Marne 103,561 63,565 54,596 42,514 13,099 7,906 4,982 4,697 5,451 2,726 2,925 817 382,287 311,198 306,839 4,359
Haute-Marne 36,790 23,746 17,917 19,722 5,457 3,391 1,611 1,656 2,076 1,435 1,776 430 142,353 118,088 116,007 2,081
Aisne 91,118 72,835 42,000 53,744 17,059 8,124 6,327 3,695 7,223 3,347 4,180 1,313 377,475 315,501 310,965 4,536
Oise 145,518 94,248 70,559 66,040 20,606 11,160 8,225 6,528 8,461 4,721 4,819 1,461 536,752 448,248 442,346 5,902
Somme 94,514 84,835 48,694 48,958 20,055 7,445 7,751 4,002 8,254 3,551 11,418 1,349 410,269 345,897 340,826 5,071
Eure 105,755 71,524 61,377 44,462 16,775 9,543 6,223 4,854 5,637 3,940 5,428 1,192 404,264 341,318 336,710 4,608
Seine-Maritime 204,170 186,140 123,248 82,333 41,537 16,149 20,153 10,852 14,411 8,623 8,289 2,412 873,585 728,952 718,317 10,635
Cher 53,656 44,326 33,775 22,076 9,750 5,193 7,238 2,673 3,350 2,503 2,851 782 232,301 191,490 188,173 3,317
Eure-et-Loir 80,563 53,874 44,282 29,798 9,834 7,803 3,281 3,434 3,635 2,309 3,301 1,073 293,851 246,686 243,187 3,499
Indre 39,637 36,873 26,364 17,358 7,905 4,679 3,684 2,003 2,741 2,275 2,837 729 177,334 150,217 147,085 3,132
Indre-et-Loire 104,125 84,345 68,641 30,865 15,480 10,391 5,714 5,579 4,772 4,180 3,791 1,233 401,678 343,993 339,116 4,877
Loir-et-Cher 60,251 44,272 39,214 25,839 9,164 6,918 3,648 3,108 3,034 2,358 3,343 749 240,542 205,142 201,898 3,244
Loiret 122,197 81,664 65,901 42,976 13,214 10,736 6,438 5,858 4,747 3,770 4,444 1,130 435,658 368,069 363,075 4,994
Calvados 120,191 103,481 83,115 36,939 21,490 10,324 5,407 6,786 6,681 5,591 9,648 1,251 482,677 417,156 410,904 6,252
Manche 100,989 67,719 65,915 28,953 14,185 8,813 3,788 4,700 5,122 4,919 8,727 1,184 371,781 320,286 315,014 5,272
Orne 59,216 37,800 34,887 22,494 8,221 6,503 2,002 2,875 2,817 2,643 3,032 646 216,406 185,815 183,136 2,679
Côte-d'Or 94,875 71,385 56,946 34,479 11,427 6,746 3,823 4,693 4,005 3,626 2,695 1,057 349,518 299,305 295,757 3,548
Nièvre 36,711 40,954 21,544 16,714 7,054 3,514 4,476 1,851 2,319 1,812 2,033 538 169,334 141,674 139,520 2,154
Saône-et-Loire 100,475 86,741 61,289 38,975 15,049 8,348 6,383 4,222 5,004 4,081 4,502 1,177 408,946 342,267 336,246 6,021
Yonne 65,483 42,014 35,434 28,873 8,716 6,363 3,472 2,924 3,112 2,777 2,850 836 245,539 205,734 202,854 2,880
Nord 414,543 351,223 221,217 195,624 73,520 24,034 43,735 20,501 29,563 15,149 22,192 3,439 1,776,070 1,435,410 1,414,740 20,670
Pas-de-Calais 224,750 221,798 119,477 140,232 54,373 16,648 30,286 10,881 23,105 9,444 21,406 2,885 1,078,462 890,610 875,285 15,325
Meurthe-et-Moselle 115,573 103,637 74,170 51,044 22,067 7,965 8,712 6,424 7,700 4,720 2,810 1,234 490,248 411,100 406,056 5,044
Meuse 35,543 25,053 20,823 19,349 5,928 3,019 1,402 1,795 2,079 1,501 1,681 391 141,267 120,310 118,564 1,746
Moselle 182,782 132,024 112,502 88,556 31,061 12,070 6,500 9,521 11,490 6,301 3,438 1,686 738,889 606,898 597,931 8,967
Vosges 70,018 54,882 42,703 37,749 11,875 6,129 2,627 3,822 4,305 3,571 2,450 889 288,720 245,336 241,020 4,316
Bas-Rhin 213,050 100,233 131,484 77,555 18,631 12,292 3,195 11,897 7,767 7,384 2,904 1,452 717,337 596,047 587,844 8,203
Haut-Rhin 149,334 71,050 82,855 58,177 14,679 10,200 2,905 8,485 6,054 6,374 2,238 1,070 506,877 419,884 413,421 6,463
Doubs 96,760 74,320 50,661 36,584 12,419 6,492 3,248 5,637 4,470 4,440 2,837 907 353,132 303,075 298,775 4,300
Jura 46,144 35,952 29,520 21,167 7,013 4,301 3,084 3,413 2,451 2,610 2,191 714 187,083 161,252 158,560 2,692
Haute-Saône 45,990 35,458 22,010 24,894 7,273 3,770 1,914 2,386 2,531 2,166 2,143 553 179,506 153,871 151,088 2,783
Territoire de Belfort 23,356 19,471 11,894 11,527 3,960 1,788 955 1,441 1,427 1,144 640 269 93,779 79,081 77,872 1,209
Loire-Atlantique 215,346 228,851 160,022 50,401 33,704 23,947 10,724 14,582 9,604 9,946 9,447 2,187 892,016 778,034 768,761 9,273
Maine-et-Loire 144,495 108,443 108,245 33,201 19,717 20,392 4,893 8,669 6,430 5,421 5,229 1,463 539,902 474,390 466,598 7,792
Mayenne 60,553 42,659 44,476 14,256 7,755 6,023 1,678 3,551 2,391 2,498 2,177 508 220,022 192,151 188,525 3,626
Sarthe 96,903 85,077 61,200 34,994 17,862 12,145 5,765 5,590 5,476 4,386 3,282 1,244 401,328 341,008 333,924 7,084
Vendée 119,640 87,244 83,626 25,991 14,649 45,388 3,677 6,559 4,580 3,560 6,539 1,079 464,249 409,150 402,532 6,618
Côtes-d'Armor 100,316 116,827 81,973 28,723 19,697 7,714 9,054 7,327 5,539 5,918 4,469 1,263 445,906 393,819 388,820 4,999
Finistère 157,307 168,411 131,177 37,600 28,839 10,058 9,574 10,659 7,121 8,504 6,092 1,527 667,662 583,484 576,869 6,615
Ille-et-Vilaine 162,372 162,903 137,432 35,974 25,968 12,793 5,980 12,073 7,398 7,582 5,442 1,319 665,646 584,655 577,236 7,419
Morbihan 137,510 115,949 101,406 41,629 19,701 10,647 7,252 8,967 5,604 6,480 5,204 1,060 534,901 467,329 461,409 5,920
Charente 58,769 65,730 37,157 19,833 10,239 7,017 3,866 3,105 3,110 3,152 3,875 895 259,756 220,168 216,748 3,420
Charente Maritime 114,119 104,916 65,306 33,896 15,408 13,997 5,840 5,634 4,662 4,987 9,136 1,353 453,394 384,612 379,254 5,358
Deux-Sèvres 60,847 77,655 43,418 13,256 9,043 9,489 2,227 3,536 2,676 2,543 3,697 734 269,277 234,278 229,121 5,157
Vienne 70,350 73,633 48,001 21,089 10,908 8,130 3,964 4,035 3,495 3,254 4,841 854 299,185 256,618 252,554 4,064
Dordogne 72,248 80,031 46,876 25,436 11,579 6,002 8,899 3,609 3,283 4,630 4,566 1,279 309,106 272,991 268,438 4,553
Gironde 230,955 241,019 162,668 75,062 33,329 14,302 15,166 12,419 10,122 10,566 14,626 3,200 953,526 833,538 823,434 10,104
Landes 67,087 76,855 48,998 17,300 9,453 3,931 6,355 3,039 2,641 2,712 5,395 878 283,071 248,185 244,644 3,541
Lot-et-Garonne 59,914 51,813 37,930 25,682 7,930 4,681 4,545 2,589 2,183 3,280 3,933 933 238,999 208,463 205,413 3,050
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 101,954 107,582 121,074 25,185 15,939 5,112 6,826 6,629 3,787 6,753 6,780 1,282 474,672 413,823 408,903 4,920
Ariège 21,400 34,179 15,370 9,491 4,949 1,634 2,941 1,489 1,125 2,610 1,766 704 113,831 99,202 97,658 1,544
Aveyron 54,316 51,344 40,810 13,959 7,492 3,807 2,868 2,600 1,907 5,579 3,332 986 217,981 192,289 189,000 3,289
Haute-Garonne 182,008 225,769 132,091 57,621 25,602 9,997 11,694 10,821 7,009 11,221 5,601 2,821 789,194 690,638 682,255 8,383
Gers 31,821 38,049 24,680 10,287 4,461 2,365 2,334 1,592 1,202 2,000 2,575 644 140,324 124,008 122,010 1,998
Lot 28,224 37,260 23,210 8,412 5,195 2,251 2,655 1,697 1,352 3,025 2,517 716 132,896 118,301 116,514 1,787
Hautes-Pyrénées 34,280 46,510 35,270 11,618 6,714 2,337 4,681 1,834 1,621 2,182 2,858 728 176,279 152,798 150,633 2,165
Tarn 64,756 70,425 45,128 25,423 9,464 5,066 4,609 3,336 2,799 4,436 3,501 1,383 276,354 244,342 240,326 4,016
Tarn-et-Garonne 41,287 38,503 25,082 17,956 5,300 3,393 2,294 1,898 1,598 2,634 3,130 796 165,833 145,968 143,871 2,097
Corrèze 44,839 47,538 28,765 12,125 7,193 3,415 6,176 1,890 1,926 2,196 3,065 781 187,233 162,919 159,909 3,010
Creuse 22,362 23,674 13,596 7,080 4,460 2,155 2,367 1,046 1,288 1,388 1,773 396 99,799 83,276 81,585 1,691
Haute-Vienne 56,671 71,025 40,087 19,320 12,388 5,219 7,152 3,208 3,352 3,045 3,193 1,105 265,865 230,676 225,765 4,911
Ain 109,211 65,449 62,119 38,873 10,819 8,013 4,243 5,473 3,665 4,004 3,670 1,059 372,899 320,859 316,598 4,261
Ardèche 55,803 50,755 37,453 22,912 9,220 4,962 4,986 3,354 2,425 4,387 4,624 1,001 235,578 204,732 201,882 2,850
Drôme 86,063 69,685 53,336 34,402 11,895 7,337 5,307 5,351 3,278 5,025 4,734 1,177 338,089 291,578 287,590 3,988
Isère 201,815 179,413 128,983 67,423 25,645 12,995 13,160 12,480 7,651 10,300 6,007 2,186 784,199 676,859 668,058 8,801
Loire 126,310 101,389 85,007 50,912 17,793 11,381 8,334 6,802 5,918 5,892 4,335 1,634 505,865 431,845 425,707 6,138
Rhône 311,204 211,736 185,528 80,674 26,840 17,247 13,295 15,484 8,681 10,263 4,269 2,056 1,037,635 896,454 887,277 9,177
Savoie 81,109 53,447 49,138 26,325 9,555 5,396 4,491 5,236 2,691 4,529 2,153 795 287,948 248,278 244,865 3,413
Haute-Savoie 149,415 74,808 88,107 38,776 11,944 8,573 3,808 8,817 3,786 7,020 2,823 1,055 472,822 404,056 398,932 5,124
Allier 60,994 55,744 39,700 21,860 10,981 5,292 9,897 2,863 3,370 2,646 3,119 918 259,537 221,525 217,384 4,141
Cantal 34,726 24,984 20,956 8,501 4,022 2,122 1,502 1,235 1,314 1,583 2,567 573 123,363 105,850 104,085 1,765
Haute-Loire 42,710 33,473 31,593 17,341 7,002 3,757 2,167 2,236 2,114 2,645 2,328 907 173,258 150,896 148,273 2,623
Puy-de-Dôme 99,723 111,275 77,146 31,102 19,517 7,559 8,354 5,7546 6,138 6,658 4,460 1,808 443,260 385,768 379,496 6,272
Aude 57,024 66,590 30,086 28,635 8,905 3,891 6,077 2,577 2,260 3,628 2,833 4,376 254,404 219,939 216,882 3,057
Gard 126,711 97,027 65,400 64,248 17,331 8,391 11,920 5,505 4,868 7,204 5,584 1,981 488,899 421,444 416,170 5,274
Hérault 184,815 154,608 90,822 79,191 23,186 9,985 12,808 8,610 6,501 11,123 8,534 3,228 699,684 600,924 593,411 7,513
Lozère 16,517 11,799 10,950 4,900 2,027 1,011 868 721 532 1,260 1,065 275 60,016 52,670 51,925 745
Pyrénées-Orientales 84,952 65,486 37,485 37,494 11,149 4,888 6,917 3,374 3,014 4,187 3,340 1,576 314,769 267,591 263,862 3,729
Alpes-de Haute-Provence 30,321 25,531 16,781 11,365 4,332 2,187 2,737 1,727 1,222 2,258 2,056 623 118,936 102,793 101,140 1,653
Haute Alpes 26,774 21,385 17,289 7,792 3,634 1,948 1,621 1,805 872 2,164 1,720 319 102,955 88,527 87,323 1,204
Alpes-Maritimes 258,626 106,216 89,143 79,926 14,223 10,883 10,533 8,512 4,545 6,220 2,985 1,442 721,716 599,324 593,254 6,070
Bouches-du-Rhône 357,593 248,290 157,136 144,807 36,107 17,300 30,895 13,945 10,856 14,312 9,081 3,917 1,260,916 1,056,954 1,044,239 12,715
Var 235,068 110,659 90,550 82,292 19,014 13,465 10,618 8,107 5,914 6,860 6,682 2,261 716,795 598,281 591,490 6,791
Vaucluse 101,853 66,955 48,263 51,648 11,021 9,068 5,564 4,243 2,998 5,149 4,010 1,373 370,625 316,193 312,145 4,048
Corse-du-Sud 26,443 13,836 9,144 11,212 2,988 955 2,285 972 582 762 1,057 209 94,555 71,477 70,445 1,032
Haute-Corse 30,376 19,657 9,835 12,221 2,953 953 2,879 1,148 764 897 1,202 241 111,839 84,356 83,126 1,230
Guadeloupe 71,568 64,261 14,292 5,335 4,276 790 1,252 2,036 1,834 1,560 383 301 303,311 179,365 167,888 11,477
Martinique 53,825 77,266 13,715 3,367 4,057 777 901 1,479 2,049 1,388 338 216 287,465 169,584 159,378 10,206
French Guiana 14,650 11,526 4,431 1,953 911 191 220 533 346 505 103 59 62,526 36,743 35,428 1,315
Réunion 89,800 165,464 47,574 17,469 9,419 2,095 10,645 4,608 4,288 4,847 1,061 695 510,558 370,719 357,965 12,754
Sainte Pierre and Miquelon 685 732 633 184 179 17 8 79 40 141 45 5 4,923 3,106 2,748 358
Mayotte 7,574 6,943 6,379 1,049 775 178 355 374 465 431 196 133 64,440 29,812 24,852 4,960
Wallis and Futuna 3,125 2,832 804 86 71 14 40 60 63 41 25 15 11,166 7,208 7,176 32
French Polynesia 51,883 47,817 8,199 2,175 913 369 280 1,529 416 719 228 186 167,593 115,843 114,714 1,129
New Caledonia 44,650 21,296 7,942 5,091 1,561 707 374 1,681 703 5,274 326 156 146,068 91,596 89,761 1,835
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

By region

Region Nicolas Sarkozy Ségolène Royal François Bayrou Jean-Marie Le Pen Olivier Besancenot Philippe de Villiers Marie-George Buffet Dominique Voynet Arlette Laguiller José Bové Frédéric Nihous Gérard Schivardi Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Île-de-France 1,931,425 1,593,001 1,143,075 430,562 181,247 89,478 110,970 89,887 52,962 57,443 19,849 12,388 6,695,344 5,773,657 5,712,287 61,370
Champagne-Ardenne 246,683 160,274 122,642 114,522 33,422 20,450 12,465 10,726 13,560 7,414 9,016 2,271 928,447 764,018 753,445 10,573
Picardy 331,150 251,918 161,253 168,742 57,720 26,729 22,303 14,225 23,938 11,619 20,417 4,123 1,324,496 1,109,646 1,094,137 15,509
Upper Normandy 309,925 257,664 184,625 126,795 58,312 25,692 26,376 15,706 20,048 12,563 13,717 3,604 1,277,849 1,070,270 1,055,027 15,243
Centre 460,429 345,354 278,177 168,912 65,347 45,720 30,003 22,655 22,279 17,395 20,567 5,696 1,781,364 1,505,597 1,482,534 23,063
Lower Normandy 280,396 209,000 183,917 88,386 43,896 25,640 11,197 14,361 14,620 13,153 21,407 3,081 1,070,864 923,257 909,054 14,203
Burgundy 297,544 241,094 175,213 119,041 42,246 24,971 18,154 13,690 14,440 12,296 12,080 3,608 1,173,337 988,980 974,377 14,603
Nord-Pas-de-Calais 639,293 573,021 340,694 335,856 127,893 40,682 74,021 31,382 52,668 24,593 43,598 6,324 2,854,532 2,326,020 2,290,025 35,995
Lorraine 403,916 315,596 250,198 196,698 70,931 29,183 19,241 21,562 25,574 16,093 10,379 4,200 1,659,124 1,383,644 1,363,571 20,073
Alsace 362,384 171,283 214,339 135,732 33,310 22,492 6,100 20,382 13,821 13,758 5,142 2,522 1,224,214 1,015,931 1,001,265 14,666
Franche-Comté 212,250 165,201 114,085 94,172 30,665 16,351 9,201 12,877 10,879 10,360 7,811 2,443 813,500 697,279 686,295 10,984
Pays de la Loire 636,937 552,274 457,569 158,843 93,687 107,895 26,737 38,951 28,481 25,811 26,674 6,481 2,517,517 2,194,733 2,160,340 34,393
Brittany 557,505 564,090 451,988 143,926 94,205 41,212 31,860 39,026 25,662 28,484 21,207 5,169 2,314,115 2,029,287 2,004,334 24,953
Poitou-Charentes 304,085 321,934 193,882 88,074 45,598 38,633 15,897 16,310 13,943 13,936 21,549 3,836 1,281,612 1,095,676 1,077,677 17,999
Aquitaine 532,158 557,300 417,546 168,665 78,230 34,028 41,791 28,285 22,016 27,941 35,300 7,572 2,259,374 1,977,000 1,950,832 26,168
Midi-Pyrénées 458,092 542,039 341,641 154,767 69,177 30,850 34,076 25,267 18,613 33,687 25,280 8,778 2,012,692 1,767,546 1,742,267 25,279
Limousin 123,872 142,237 82,448 38,525 24,041 10,789 15,695 6,144 6,566 6,629 8,031 2,282 552,897 476,871 467,259 9,612
Rhône-Alpes 1,120,930 806,682 689,671 360,297 123,711 75,904 57,624 62,997 38,095 51,420 32,615 10,963 4,035,035 3,474,661 3,430,909 43,752
Auvergne 238,153 225,476 169,395 78,804 41,522 18,730 21,920 12,090 12,936 13,532 12,474 4,206 999,418 864,039 849,238 14,801
Languedoc-Roussillon 470,019 395,510 234,743 214,468 62,598 28,166 38,590 20,787 17,175 27,402 21,356 11,436 1,817,772 1,562,568 1,542,250 20,318
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 1,010,235 579,036 419,162 377,830 88,331 54,851 61,968 38,339 26,407 36,963 26,534 9,935 3,291,943 2,762,072 2,729,591 32,481
Corsica 56,819 33,493 18,979 23,433 5,941 1,908 5,164 2,120 1,346 1,659 2,259 450 206,394 155,833 153,571 2,262
Guadeloupe 71,568 64,261 14,292 5,335 4,276 790 1,252 2,036 1,834 1,560 383 301 303,311 179,365 167,888 11,477
Martinique 53,825 77,266 13,715 3,367 4,057 777 901 1,479 2,049 1,388 338 216 287,465 169,584 159,378 10,206
French Guiana 14,650 11,526 4,431 1,953 911 191 220 533 346 505 103 59 62,526 36,743 35,428 1,315
Réunion 89,800 165,464 47,574 17,469 9,419 2,095 10,645 4,608 4,288 4,847 1,061 695 510,558 370,719 357,965 12,754
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 685 732 633 184 179 17 8 79 40 141 45 5 4,923 3,106 2,748 358
Mayotte 7,574 6,943 6,379 1,049 775 178 355 374 465 431 196 133 64,440 29,812 24,852 4,960
Wallis and Futuna 3,125 2,832 804 86 71 14 40 60 63 41 25 15 11,166 7,208 7,176 32
French Polynesia 51,883 47,817 8,199 2,175 913 369 280 1,529 416 719 228 186 167,593 115,843 114,714 1,129
New Caledonia 44,650 21,296 7,942 5,091 1,561 707 374 1,681 703 5,274 326 156 146,068 91,596 89,761 1,835
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

Urban votes

Voting booth in Vaulnaveys-le-Haut.

In urban areas, most lower and middle-income neighbourhoods and cities voted largely for Ségolène Royal. In the tenth arrondissement of Paris, Royal obtained 42% against 25% for Sarkozy, and 20.35% for Bayrou; in the 11th arrondissement, Royal obtained more than 40.8% to 25.8% for Sarkozy and 20.9% for Bayrou. In the 18th arrondissement, Royal obtained 41.1% against 23.4% for Sarkozy; in the 19th arrondissement, Royal obtained more than 39%, against almost 28% for Sarkozy; and in the 20th arrondissement, Royal obtained 42.4% against 23.2% for Sarkozy, and 18.3% for Bayrou. Royal also narrowly beat Sarkozy in the normally conservative city of Bordeaux (31.4% against 30.8%, and 22% for Bayrou), as well as in Brest, Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Nantes, Rouen, Lille, Le Mans, Montpellier, Saint-Étienne, Limoges, Amiens, Pau (where Bayrou finished first), Rennes and Toulouse (the historical base of the former Radical-Socialist Party). Working-class Paris suburbs (called les banlieues) also massively voted for Royal. This was more or less expected, in particular with the high level of voter registration by suburban youths, who had been strongly opposed to Sarkozy since the 2005 riots during which he had made controversial remarks. Meanwhile, a large number of university students had participated in the protests against the CPE, proposed by Sarkozy's UMP party, in the spring of 2006; they also strongly backed Royal. She consequently came first in Nanterre, with almost 36% against 23% for Sarkozy. She reached 41.6% in Saint-Denis, against 19.6% for Sarkozy and 15.5% for Bayrou. In Évry, she also passed the 40% line, while Sarkozy received only 23.6%. In Créteil, she won a closer race, gaining 35% to Sarkozy's 30% and 18% for Bayrou. In the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, home to many people of immigrant origin, Royal obtained 34.2% to 26.8% for Sarkozy and 16.7% for Bayrou.

In contrast, wealthy arrondissements of Paris voted for Sarkozy. The prosperous 16th arrondissement gave him 64% of its vote, against 16.4% for Bayrou and only 11.27% for Royal; the seventh arrondissement voted for 56% in favour of Sarkozy, to 20.35 for Bayrou and 15.35% for Royal; the eighth arrondissement voted at more than 58% for Sarkozy to 18.65% for Bayrou and 14% for Royal; the 15th arrondissement voted 41.5% for Sarkozy against 24.3% for Royal and 22.9% for Bayrou. The mostly wealthy Paris suburbs of the Hauts-de-Seine department, home of Neuilly-sur-Seine where Sarkozy is mayor, voted 38.3% for him, against 26% for Royal and 21.3% for Bayrou. Sarkozy also won in the Essonne department (more than 31% against 27% for Royal), in the Seine-et-Marne (33.5% to almost 24% for Royal) as well as in the Yvelines (37.7% against 23% for Royal and 22% for Bayrou).

Marseille, the second-largest city of France, went Sarkozy's way overall as he won 34.25% of the vote to 27.1% for Royal and only 14.1% for Bayrou (putting a close third ahead of Le Pen, who obtained 13.4%). However, in working-class neighbourhoods of the north of Marseille, such as Savine (15th arrondissement) and the Busserine (14th arrondissement), Royal received overwhelming support, receiving 60% of the vote in Busserine.

France's third-largest city, Lyon, also was won by Sarkozy, who received 34.5% of the vote to 27.3% for Royal and 22% for Bayrou. He triumphed as well in the wealthy city of Aix-en-Provence with 36.8%, against 25.4% for Royal and 19.8% for Bayrou. In Nice, a conservative stronghold, Sarkozy obtained more than 41% against 20.4% for Royal and less than 15% for Bayrou. Sarkozy also narrowly beat Royal in the industrial port of Le Havre (29% against 26.8%), as well as in Avignon, Nîmes, Metz, Nancy, and Strasbourg (these last three cities belonging to the Alsace-Lorraine region).

Regional votes

A map of France's departments shows the candidate of the Socialist Party, Ségolène Royal, came first in the South-West and the Massif Central, which were traditional bases of the Radical-Socialist Party during the Third Republic. She also topped the poll in Brittany, except in the department of Morbihan, but a fifth of electors in Brittany voted for Bayrou.[87] Nièvre and Seine-Saint-Denis were other departments where she came first, as well as the overseas departments of Martinique and Réunion and the overseas territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Sarkozy came first everywhere else, except for Pyrénées-Atlantiques, where Bayrou topped the poll in the department of his birth.

The left regressed, compared 2002, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, which has traditionally favored Socialist and Communist candidates. The Nord department, hit hard during the 1980s by an industrial crisis, gave a plurality to Sarkozy (29.3%), while Royal won 24.8% (and won the city of Lille) and Bayrou received 15.6%. Marie-George Buffet barely received 5% in the constituency of the Communist deputy Alain Bocquet.

The Haute-Garonne, traditional Radical-Socialist territory, voted (including its capital, Toulouse), for Ségolène Royal, giving her 33%, against less than 27% for Sarkozy and slightly more than 19% for Bayrou. The Corrèze, where Jacques Chirac began his political career as the deputy of Ussel, also voted slightly in favour of Royal, as did the Creuse, one of the least-populated departments of France.

Results of candidates with over 3% of votes in the first round, by departments of Metropolitan France.

The Alpes-Maritimes, part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region where the National Front won several cities in the 1990s (Toulon of the Var, Marignane of the Bouches-du-Rhône and Orange of the Vaucluse) voted for Sarkozy at 43.6%, while Royal received only 17.9%, Bayrou 15.0%, and Jean-Marie Le Pen 13.5%. The Vaucluse department gave 32.8% of its votes to Sarkozy, 20.9% to Royal, 16.8% to Le Pen and 15.5% to Bayrou.

The Vendée voted 29.7% for Sarkozy, 21.7% for Royal, 20.8% for Bayrou, and 11.3% for Philippe de Villiers, deputy of the department. Le Pen. meanwhile, managed only 6.5%.

Le Pen's highest departmental tallies occurred in Aisne (17.3%) and Haute-Marne (17%). Other departments to give him more than 15% were the Vaucluse (16.8%), Haute-Saône (16.5%), Meuse (16.3%), Ardennes (16.2% – where left-wing candidate Besancenot received 5.35%), Pas-de-Calais (16%), Oise (15.9%), Corse-du-Sud (15.9%), Vosges (15.7%), and Gard (15.4%),

Departments where Besancenot obtained more than 5% of the vote include Ardennes, Aisne (where Le Pen also achieved a strong results), Ariège, Allier (where Sarkozy obtained 28% against nearly 26% for Royal), Calvados (where Sarkozy finished first with 29% to 25% for Royal), Finistère, Cher, Côtes d'Armor, Creuse, Indre, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Nord, Meuse, Moselle, Pas-de-Calais (6.2%), Sarthe, Nièvre, Puy-de-Dôme, Somme, Territoire-de-Belfort, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Vienne and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (6.5%, along with 5.1% for José Bové; only 6.7% for Le Pen).

The overseas department of Martinique has been strongly opposed to Sarkozy; Aimé Césaire, mayor of Fort-de-France and leader of the Négritude movement, refused to see him during his visit there in December 2005 (due to the UMP vote of the 2005 law on colonialism[88]). In the first round, it heavily supported Royal (48.5%, against 33.8% for Sarkozy and only 8.6% for Bayrou; the next highest total was received by Besancenot, with 2.5%). Réunion also strongly supported Royal (46.2%, to 25% for Sarkozy and 13% for Bayrou). Meanwhile, Sarkozy won in New Caledonia (with 49.7% of the vote) and in Guadeloupe (with 42.6%, against 38.3% for Royal), as well as in French Guiana and the overseas territories of French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna.

Demographic breakdown of the first-round vote

Source: IPSOS, see Sociologie du vote du 1er tour, L'Humanité, 5 May 2007.

30% of men voted for Sarkozy, 24% of them for Royal. 32% of women voted Sarkozy, 27% Royal. 29% of 18- to 24-year-olds voted Royal, against 26% for Sarkozy. Sarkozy also made a higher score for 35- to 44-year-olds and 60- to 69-year-olds, but a lesser score in the 45- to 59-year-old category.

36% of farmers voted Sarkozy against 8% for Royal. Workers voted at similar levels for both Sarkozy and Royal (21% for each), while public servants voted at 34% for Royal (18% for Sarkozy). 19% of unemployed people voted for Sarkozy, 32% of them for Royal. Students also voted in majority for Royal (32% against 21%), while pensioned elders voted at 41% for Sarkozy (23% for Royal).

Second round

Results of the second round: the candidate with the majority of votes in each of the 36,784 communes of France. Nicolas Sarkozy: blue; Ségolène Royal: pink. All territories are shown at the same geographic scale.
Nicolas Sarkozy supporters celebrate on the Place de la Concorde in Paris
Supporters of Ségolène Royal awaiting the results, 8 pm, in front of the headquarters of the Socialist Party in Paris

The second round of the 2007 French presidential election started in Saint Pierre and Miquelon on Saturday 5 May 2007 at 8 am local time (2007-05-05 10:00 UTC) and ended in the large cities of Metropolitan France on Sunday, 6 May 2007 at 8 pm local time (2007-05-06 18:00 UTC). Turnout in the second round of the election was 84.0%, higher than in the first round. Nicolas Sarkozy got 53.06% of the votes and Ségolène Royal got 46.94%.

The left-right division was reinforced, according to many observers, by the election of Nicolas Sarkozy.[79] 91% of the electors self-identifying as members of the centre-left voted for Royal, and 92% of those who self-identified as centre-right voted for Sarkozy.[79] The center thus appears to have been polarized.[79] The vast majority of the dissident left also voted for Royal, while the extreme right strongly supported Sarkozy.[79] Although Jacques Chirac was successful among young electors in 1995, mostly owing to his discourse on the "social rupture" (fracture sociale), Sarkozy's electorate was more traditionally right-wing and focused on older people. The only age group that gave him a majority was the over-50, who accounted for 52% of his voters, compared to only 37% of Royal's.[79] Sarkozy obtained only 40% among those 18–24 years old, while Chirac had obtained 55% in the same category in 1995.[79]

In social categories, Sarkozy won majorities among pensioned and inactive elders (58%), business leaders, shopkeepers and craftworkers (82% ), categories which are traditionally conservative.[79] Sarkozy lost votes, compared to Chirac, among workers (59% for Royal) and employees (57% for Royal).[79]

The general electoral geography did not significantly change from the first Chirac election. However, Sarkozy received a lesser score in Corrèze, Chirac's home department, and bettered Chirac's score in the North-East, where Le Pen had obtained some of his better scores in 2002.[79] Overall, the increase in votes for Sarkozy between the two rounds occurred mostly in departments where the National Front's presence is strong.[79]

Spoilt votes represented 4.2% of the electors (as much as in 2002 and 1995).[79]

By department

Department Nicolas Sarkozy Ségolène Royal Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Paris 511,920 508,082 1,222,231 1,055,532 1,020,002 35,530
Seine-et-Marne 367,080 285,492 801,895 680,359 652,572 27,787
Yvelines 435,014 305,909 893,701 770,145 740,923 29,222
Essonne 319,170 293,652 743,090 638,434 612,822 25,612
Hauts-de-Seine 416,666 332,096 905,058 777,472 748,762 28,710
Seine-Saint-Denis 245,337 319,205 708,163 583,909 564,542 19,367
Val-de Marne 302,513 304,978 746,130 630,817 607,491 23,326
Val-de Oise 288,062 262,693 675,274 572,186 550,755 21,431
Ardennes 84,607 73,442 199,104 165,433 158,049 7,384
Aube 101,291 62,885 204,735 171,773 164,176 7,597
Marne 177,028 121,988 382,293 313,648 299,016 14,632
Haute-Marne 66,782 46,134 142,345 118,995 112,916 6,079
Aisne 161,670 141,338 377,467 317,396 303,008 14,388
Oise 252,728 180,890 536,646 453,307 433,618 19,689
Somme 168,317 165,280 410,186 349,066 333,597 15,469
Eure 188,416 139,980 403,691 343,416 328,396 15,020
Seine-Maritime 354,988 352,174 873,623 738,271 707,162 31,109
Cher 94,447 89,323 232,240 193,636 183,770 9,866
Eure-et-Loir 138,452 99,601 293,844 249,003 238,053 10,950
Indre 71,321 71,818 177,331 151,359 143,139 8,220
Indre-et-Loire 174,646 156,774 401,748 346,227 331,420 14,807
Loir-et-Cher 109,232 86,101 240,584 205,510 195,333 10,177
Loiret 207,861 147,160 435,575 371,776 355,021 16,755
Calvados 203,583 194,026 482,675 414,393 397,609 16,784
Manche 171,038 133,482 371,790 318,603 304,520 14,083
Orne 101,634 74,641 216,339 184,475 176,275 8,200
Côte-d'Or 162,217 126,760 349,541 302,194 288,977 13,217
Nièvre 64,308 72,258 169,340 143,168 136,566 6,602
Saône-et-Loire 173,844 154,206 408,850 344,817 328,050 16,767
Yonne 115,458 81,254 245,501 206,567 196,712 9,855
Nord 721,506 672,679 1,776,605 1,456,277 1,394,185 62,092
Pas-de-Calais 410,398 445,273 1,078,402 897,261 855,671 41,590
Meurthe-et-Moselle 199,441 190,727 490,176 407,928 390,168 17,760
Meuse 64,701 48,951 141,227 119,369 113,652 5,717
Moselle 325,371 249,859 738,923 602,730 575,230 27,500
Vosges 125,734 104,024 288,654 243,164 229,758 13,406
Bas-Rhin 376,567 197,650 717,570 599,690 574,217 25,473
Haut-Rhin 264,757 140,131 506,854 424,033 404,888 19,145
Doubs 162,972 129,107 353,154 306,240 292,079 14,161
Jura 84,605 69,180 187,165 161,792 153,785 8,007
Haute-Saône 81,919 64,898 179,409 155,319 146,817 8,502
Territoire de Belfort 41,660 34,307 93,766 80,166 75,967 4,199
Loire-Atlantique 349,366 391,655 892,230 771,863 741,021 30,842
Maine-et-Loire 242,330 205,221 540,056 469,527 447,551 21,976
Mayenne 100,844 81,013 219,951 190,472 181,857 8,615
Sarthe 162,465 159,735 401,318 338,321 322,200 16,121
Vendée 220,680 166,060 464,228 405,307 386,740 18,567
Côtes-d'Armor 168,622 210,577 445,750 394,042 379,199 14,843
Finistère 258,614 301,826 667,354 582,964 560,440 22,524
Ille-et-Vilaine 265,929 292,606 665,677 582,202 558,535 23,667
Morbihan 228,053 218,085 534,904 465,991 446,138 19,853
Charente 100,357 112,632 259,795 222,344 212,989 9,355
Charente Maritime 193,372 179,017 453,387 388,229 372,389 15,840
Deux-Sèvres 102,474 124,204 269,097 236,020 226,678 9,342
Vienne 120,079 127,029 299,239 258,775 247,108 11,667
Dordogne 121,947 139,604 309,001 273,749 261,551 12,198
Gironde 382,366 409,550 953,649 826,882 791,916 34,966
Landes 112,211 125,638 282,988 248,153 237,849 10,304
Lot-et-Garonne 107,261 91,516 238,952 208,312 198,777 9,535
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 186,013 205,499 475,022 411,927 391,512 20,415
Ariège 38,449 56,628 113,782 99,563 95,077 4,486
Aveyron 93,433 90,382 217,855 192,585 183,815 8,770
Haute-Garonne 299,062 357,825 789,412 684,392 656,887 27,505
Gers 56,457 62,421 140,283 124,572 118,878 5,694
Lot 49,380 63,959 132,881 118,603 113,339 5,264
Hautes-Pyrénées 62,127 83,596 176,248 152,606 145,723 6,883
Tarn 114,518 117,836 276,335 243,815 232,354 11,461
Tarn-et-Garonne 73,925 65,547 165,795 145,708 139,472 6,236
Corrèze 73,548 82,909 187,179 164,528 156,457 8,071
Creuse 37,775 43,043 99,791 84,757 80,818 3,939
Haute-Vienne 96,295 123,518 265,881 232,072 219,813 12,259
Ain 185,174 120,679 372,951 319,523 305,853 13,670
Ardèche 100,414 94,121 235,544 203,934 194,535 9,399
Drôme 152,482 125,384 338,120 290,776 277,866 12,910
Isère 335,314 308,072 784,163 671,093 643,386 27,707
Loire 221,648 185,421 505,913 426,888 407,069 19,819
Rhône 485,628 364,978 1,037,922 884,920 850,606 34,314
Savoie 134,304 99,987 288,079 245,194 234,291 10,903
Haute-Savoie 241,466 141,582 472,858 400,243 383,048 17,195
Allier 102,426 107,442 259,503 220,677 209,868 10,809
Cantal 56,981 45,208 123,322 106,618 102,189 4,429
Haute-Loire 77,086 65,085 173,262 149,885 142,171 7,714
Puy-de-Dôme 168,859 197,915 443,310 384,474 366,774 17,700
Aude 101,128 109,195 254,384 220,228 210,323 9,905
Gard 226,132 176,806 488,820 421,299 402,938 18,361
Hérault 311,465 265,066 699,652 600,184 576,531 23,653
Lozère 28,100 22,307 59,991 52,838 50,407 2,431
Pyrénées-Orientales 143,043 113,784 314,805 267,988 256,827 11,161
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 52,684 46,360 118,928 103,788 99,044 4,744
Haute Alpes 45,951 39,668 103,043 89,694 85,619 4,075
Alpes-Maritimes 399,120 187,169 721,912 606,764 586,289 20,475
Bouches-du-Rhône 597,318 431,992 1,260,808 1,069,368 1,029,310 40,058
Var 382,344 201,069 716,810 606,058 583,413 22,645
Vaucluse 184,714 119,516 370,704 318,223 304,230 13,993
Corse-du-Sud 43,844 27,249 94,554 73,997 71,093 2,904
Haute-Corse 49,927 34,960 111,875 88,224 84,887 3,337
Guadeloupe 92,387 95,510 303,222 198,537 187,897 10,640
Martinique 70,796 108,522 287,518 189,125 179,318 9,807
French Guiana 20,311 17,954 62,727 39,810 38,265 1,545
Réunion 138,807 242,231 511,033 394,482 381,038 13,444
Sainte Pierre and Miquelon 1,378 2,143 4,923 3,683 3,521 162
Mayotte 11,829 17,775 64,476 30,663 29,604 1,059
Wallis and Futuna 3,866 3,840 11,163 7,758 7,706 52
French Polynesia 64,055 59,374 167,577 125,138 123,429 1,709
New Caledonia 61,331 36,057 146,007 99,483 97,388 2,095
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

By region

Region Nicolas Sarkozy Ségolène Royal Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Île-de-France 2,885,762 2,612,107 6,695,542 5,708,854 5,497,869 210,985
Champagne-Ardenne 429,708 304,449 928,477 769,849 734,157 35,692
Picardy 582,715 487,508 1,324,299 1,119,769 1,070,223 49,546
Upper Normandy 543,404 492,154 1,277,314 1,081,687 1,035,558 46,129
Centre 795,959 650,777 1,781,322 1,517,511 1,446,736 70,775
Lower Normandy 476,255 402,149 1,070,804 917,471 878,404 39,067
Burgundy 515,827 434,478 1,173,232 996,746 950,305 46,441
Nord-Pas-de-Calais 1,131,904 1,117,952 2,855,007 2,353,538 2,249,856 103,682
Lorraine 715,247 593,561 1,658,980 1,373,191 1,308,808 64,383
Alsace 641,324 337,781 1,224,424 1,023,723 979,105 44,618
Franche-Comté 371,156 297,492 813,494 703,517 668,648 34,869
Pays de la Loire 1,075,685 1,003,684 2,517,783 2,175,490 2,079,369 96,121
Brittany 921,218 1,023,094 2,313,685 2,025,199 1,944,312 80,887
Poitou-Charentes 516,282 542,882 1,281,518 1,105,368 1,059,164 46,204
Aquitaine 909,798 971,807 2,259,612 1,969,023 1,881,605 87,418
Midi-Pyrénées 787,351 898,194 2,012,591 1,761,844 1,685,545 76,299
Limousin 207,618 249,470 552,851 481,357 457,088 24,269
Rhône-Alpes 1,856,430 1,440,224 4,035,550 3,442,571 3,296,654 145,917
Auvergne 405,352 415,650 999,397 861,654 821,002 40,652
Languedoc-Roussillon 809,868 687,158 1,817,652 1,562,537 1,497,026 65,511
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 1,662,131 1,025,774 3,292,205 2,793,895 2,687,905 105,990
Corsica 93,771 62,209 206,429 162,221 155,980 6,241
Guadeloupe 92,387 95,510 303,222 198,537 187,897 10,640
Martinique 70,796 108,522 287,518 189,125 179,318 9,807
French Guiana 20,311 17,954 62,727 39,810 38,265 1,545
Réunion 138,807 242,231 511,033 394,482 381,038 13,444
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1,378 2,143 4,923 3,683 3,521 162
Mayotte 11,829 17,775 64,476 30,663 29,604 1,059
Wallis and Futuna 3,866 3,840 11,163 7,758 7,706 52
French Polynesia 64,055 59,374 167,577 125,138 123,429 1,709
New Caledonia 61,331 36,057 146,007 99,483 97,388 2,095
Source: European Election Database Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

Abstention and spoilt votes

Abstention was exceptionally low, as well as protest votes. Blank vote (going to vote, but deliberately cancelling one's ballot, by any means possible – tearing it in two, writing Tintin on it, or anything absurd as such) is not included in official counts – i.e. it is considered a spoilt vote, counted as equivalent to abstention. A very small party, the Parti Blanc (White Party, for "white vote", i.e. blank vote) called for the official count of white votes by the state (as in None of the above systems). It organised a march in Paris on Wednesday 18 March 2007 in which only thirty people participated.[89]

Aftermath

Riots

Pro-Ségolène Royal youth chanted against Nicolas Sarkozy
A gathering of opponents to Sarkozy on Place de la Bastille in Paris, on 6 May evening, quickly ended in confrontations between the far-left and the riot control forces
Bastille tear-gassed

Thousands of youths took to the streets Sunday night following the final presidential election results. While many simply expressed their discontent at the election of Nicolas Sarkozy, others chose to engage in violent action. Riots erupted in several urban centers including the capital Paris where some of the most intense clashes were reported in the Place de la Bastille.[90] A gathering of opponents to Sarkozy there quickly ended in confrontations between the youth and the riot control forces, who tear gassed the whole place.

732 cars were torched according to estimates of the DGPN (direction of the police) and government buildings and property came under attack. Police clashed with protesters who were described by French media as members of the ultra-left and of the autonome movement or youth from the suburbs.[91] During the fighting dozens of officers were injured and 592 alleged rioters were arrested.[92] 70 people were arrested in the North department and 79 in Paris.[93] Overall the situation remained calm.

Some clashes continued on the night of Monday to Tuesday, with 365 torched cars and 160 alleged rioters detained by the police.[91] Ten people were in court already by Monday. Two of them were given firm prison sentences of six and three months respectively, and two others to 120 hours of TIG (General Interest Labour, an alternative sentence to prison).[91] Another one has been given a two-month firm prison sentence and two others TIG hours.[94] Some of the people judged in Lyon have denied any involvement in the riots (two of them received 120 hours of TIG and a 200 euros fine).[95]

300 to 400 people demonstrated on the Boulevard Saint-Michel on Wednesday 9 May, in opposition to a demonstration of white supremacists. By 9 pm that night 118 of them had been arrested.[96] A 31-year-old engineer took legal action following his release from custody claiming he had been a victim of police brutality. He claimed that he had not taken part to the demonstrations, but had been arrested nonetheless.[97]

Sarkozy's detention March 2018

On 20 March 2018, Sarkozy was arrested by the French Police because of the suspect having received 50 million euros for his presidential campaign from Muammar Gaddafi.[98]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Voting begins in presidential election in France". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007. "Either way, France will get its first president born after World War II, since both Royal and Sarkozy are in their fifties."
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Further reading

  • Dolez, Bernard, and Annie Laurent. "Strategic voting in a semi-presidential system with a two-ballot electoral system. The 2007 French legislative election." French politics 8.1 (2010): 1-20. Online
  • Dumitrescu, Delia. "Know me, love me, fear me: The anatomy of candidate poster designs in the 2007 French legislative elections." Political Communication 27.1 (2010): 20–43. Online
  • Gurau, Calin, and Nawel Ayadi. "Political communication management: The strategy of the two main candidates during the 2007 French presidential elections." Journal of Communication Management 15.1 (2011): 5-22. online
  • Lemennicier, Bertrand, Hororine Lescieux-Katir, and Bernard Grofman. "The 2007 French presidential election." Canadian Journal of Political Science 43.1 (2010): 137–161. Online
  • Lewis-Beck, Michael S., Éric Bélanger, and Christine Fauvelle-Aymar. "Forecasting the 2007 French presidential election: Ségolène Royal and the Iowa model." French Politics 6.2 (2008): 106–115. Online
  • Mayer, Nonna. "Why extremes don't meet: Le Pen and Besancenot voters in the 2007 French presidential election." French Politics, Culture & Society 29.3 (2011): 101–120. Online

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to French presidential election, 2007.
  • French Elections 2007 from Britain's Daily Telegraph
  • Royal, Sarkozy and Bayrou: The policies, BBC
  • Explanation of the French presidential election on the site of the French Embassy to the United Kingdom
  • Polarisation and crisis – the French elections and the radical Left
  • AngusReid (French election polls in English)
  • BBC News: Q&A: French presidential vote
  • (in French) 2007 Presidential Vote Results by Commune
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