2002 French presidential election
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Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...
were held in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
on 21 April 2002, with a runoff election between the top two candidates, incumbent
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as ...
of the Rally for the Republic and
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated from ...
of the National Front, on 5 May. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...
candidate Le Pen's unexpected appearance in the runoff election. Chirac ran for a second term, reduced to five years instead of seven previously by a 2000 referendum, emphasising a strong economy (mostly unaffected by downturns in Germany and the United States). It was widely expected that Chirac and
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...
, the outgoing
cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a Romance (love), romantic or Human sexuality, sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such a ...
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
and nominee of the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
, would be the most popular candidates in the first round, thus going on to face each other in the runoff, with
opinion polls An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
showing a hypothetical Chirac versus Jospin second round too close to call. However, Jospin unexpectedly finished in third place behind Le Pen. Journalists and politicians claimed polls had failed to predict Le Pen's second-place finish in the general election, though his strong stance could be seen in the week prior to the election. This led to serious discussions about polling techniques and the climate of French politics. Although Le Pen's political party, the National Front, described itself as mainstream conservative, non-partisan observers largely agreed in defining it as a
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...
and
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
party. As a protest, almost all French political parties called for their supporters to vote against Le Pen, most notably the Socialists, who were traditionally billed as the archrivals to Chirac's party. Chirac thus went on to win in the largest
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...
in a presidential election in French history (greater even than that of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in
1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...
, the first by direct ballot), winning over 82% of the vote. The National Front would not appear again in the second round of the presidential election until
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. After Chirac's victory, no French President would win a second term until
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017 French presidential election, 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, M ...
in
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.


Background

The 2002 election was the first for which the President would be elected to a five-year, instead of a seven-year, term. In the months before the election, the campaign had increasingly focused on questions of law and order, with a particular focus on crimes committed by young people, especially those of foreign origin.
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...
was, at the time, Prime Minister of France; the Jospin government was criticised for its "softness" on crime by its political opponents. Reporting on the
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...
and France2 television channel and other media also emphasized the alleged crime wave. Image:21avril.jpg, A response to the first round of elections, this spray-painted sign was seen on the streets of Paris. Translation: "April 21: I feel sick". Image:Paris May1 2002 DCP 8508.JPG, The 1 May 2002 Labour Day demonstrations for workers' rights included protests against Jean-Marie Le Pen.


Opinion polls

;First round ;Second round (Chirac–Jospin)


Results

The first round of the election (on 21 April), which saw an exceptional number of 16 candidates, came as a shock to many commentators, almost all of whom had expected the second ballot to be between
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as ...
and
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...
. Indeed, it was this very expectation that led to Jospin's downfall, with a plethora of "small party" left candidates (independent socialists and republicans, Green, Communist, Trotskyist, radical etc.) all intending to support him in the second round, but to raise their profile in the first, like Jean-Pierre Chevènement and Christiane Taubira. They cumulatively took enough votes away from Jospin to (unintentionally) prevent him from reaching the second round, which he could have won. Instead
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated from ...
faced Chirac in the second ballot. The election brought the opinion polls and two-round voting system into question as well as raising many concerns about apathy and the way in which the left had become so divided as a result of the over democratical refusal of Jospin to strategically ask the nearest small parties of his own government coalition to withdraw, like the preceding leaders of the left had done for such an election. There was a widespread stirring of national public opinion, and more than one million people in France took part in street rallies, in an expression of fierce opposition to Le Pen's ideas. Some held up protest signs stating "I'm ashamed to be French," which parodied Le Pen's party slogan, "Proud to be French." Spontaneous street protests began in the night from 21 to 22 April, then on 22 April and 23, then as follows: * 24 April: 60,000 people in the streets protesting against Le Pen's success * 25 April: 250,000 people in the streets protesting against Le Pen's success * 27 April: 200,000 people in the streets protesting against Le Pen's success (including 45,000 in Paris) * 1 May: ** Approximately 20,000 people turned out for the National Front's yearly demonstration in Paris in honor of
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...
and in support of Le Pen. ** Between 900,000 (according to the
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...
) and 1,300,000 people (according to syndicates) turned up to the
Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...
demonstrations and against the National Front. Hundreds of thousands of people who normally did not take part in such demonstrations came, in addition to the usual unions. In
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, 500,000 people were seen in the streets, one of the greatest protest since the
Liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi G ...
; the march was so big it had to be divided in three parts to reach the place de la Bastille. In another unusual sight for 1 May demonstrations, French tricolour flags were commonplace. The choice between Chirac, who was under suspicion for actions carried out whilst he was mayor of Paris but benefited from Presidential immunity as long as he stayed president, and Le Pen, a nationalist often accused of racism and
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
, was one that many found tough. Some people suggested going to vote with a clothes peg on their noses to express disgust when voting for Chirac, but this may have been illegal, because it is prohibited to advertise one's vote inside the voting precinct. In the days before the second ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan "Vote for the Crook, not the Fascist". Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide.


First round


By department


By region


Second round


By department


By region


See also

*
Comme un coup de tonnerre ''Comme un coup de tonnerre'' ("Like A Thunderclap") is a French documentary about Socialist Party (France), socialist candidate Lionel Jospin's 2002 French presidential election, campaign of 2002 for president and his subsequent ousting from the s ...
*
President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...
*
2017 French presidential election The 2017 French presidential election was held on 23 April and 7 May 2017. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a Two-round system, runoff was held between the top two candidates, Emmanuel Macron of La République En Marche!, En Ma ...
* 2022 French presidential election * 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial election, where opponents of former Klansmen and white nationalist David Duke used the slogan "Vote for the Crook: It's Important"


References


Further reading

* Bélanger, Éric, et al. "Party, ideology, and vote intentions: Dynamics from the 2002 French Electoral Panel." ''Political Research Quarterly'' 59.4 (2006): 503-515. * Durand, Claire, André Blais, and Mylène Larochelle. "The polls in the 2002 French presidential election: An autopsy." ''Public Opinion Quarterly'' 68.4 (2004): 602-622
Online
* Etienne, Anne. "Do Election Results Represent People's Political Ideologies? A Study of the French 2002 Presidential Elections." ''French Politics'' 5.1 (2007): 20–32. * Gaffney, John, ed. ''The French Presidential and Legislative Elections of 2002'' (2004) * Gschwend, Thomas, and Dirk Leuffen. "Divided we stand–unified we govern? Cohabitation and regime voting in the 2002 French elections." ''British Journal of Political Science'' 35.4 (2005): 691-712
Online
* Laver, Michael, Kenneth Benoit, and Nicolas Sauger. "Policy competition in the 2002 French legislative and presidential elections." ''European Journal of Political Research'' 45.4 (2006): 667-697. * Lewis-Beck, M. ed. ''The French Voter: Before and After the 2002 Elections'' (2004). *


External links


Official results

* Official results from the
Constitutional Council of France The Constitutional Council (french: Conseil constitutionnel; ) is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 to ensure that constitutional principles and rules ...

1st round


Commentary

*

Politiquemania.com

Mission of a Delegation from the Canadian Branch of the Canada-France Inter-parliamentary Association



* ttp://muse.jhu.edu/journals/theory_and_event/v006/6.3badiou.html Philosophical considerations of the very singular custom of voting: an analysis based on recent ballots in France {{Authority control
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
Presidential elections in France