Candidates and issues in tight race for President in France

KEY ELECTION AHEAD

THE FIRST round of elections to choose the next President of France is scheduled for April 23. Should this round fail to throw up a clear winner, a runoff will be held on May 7.

The election comes at a crucial time for the country and the continent, with France in a state of emergency since the Paris terror attacks of November 2015, and Europe facing an atmosphere of rising right wing populism and xenophobia in many countries in the wake of the Middle Eastern refugee crisis, besides struggling with a sluggish economy, and staring at a bruising battle ahead with the Brexit negotiations.

The system

The French constitution has been amended many times since the French Revolution of 1789. The current system, the Fifth Republic, was approved by voters in a September 1958 referendum under President Charles de Gaulle, creating a hybrid system with presidential and parliamentary features. An electoral college originally chose the President indirectly, but a 1962 constitutional amendment established the direct vote through runoff voting. The President governs in tandem with Parliament, comprising the National Assembly and Senate. But like in the US, the French President enjoys great individual authority and power.

The election

Candidates must be French citizens and must, as a first step, gather 500 signatures from elected officials such as mayors. The President is directly elected, usually in two stages of voting, and can serve up to two 5year terms. If a candidate wins 50% of the vote plus at least one vote in the first round,he or she is immediately elected. But this has never happened. The top two candidates from the first round contest the runoff that is held 14 days later, with the winner becoming President. In 1974, 1981 and 1995, the first round winner lost the runoff.

The parties

A range of parties represents the entire political spectrum from the far left to the far right. But the two main parties are the conservative Les Républicains, and the socialist Parti Socialiste. The far-right space is occupied by the Front National led by Marine Le Pen.

The contenders

This election is billed as one of the most unpredictable ever. The once overwhelming favourite, François Fillon of the Les Républicains, is embroiled in the “Penelopegate” nepotism scandal, in which he is accused of paying his Welsh wife, Penelope, and two of his five children Euro 9,00,000 of public funds for work they did not do. On the left, after President François Hollande opted out,the socialist candidate is Benoît Hamon, whose popularity and poll ratings have risen sharply during the campaign. However, Le Pen, who believes France should exit the European Union, drop the Euro, and fight radical Islam, too has significant support;polls predict she will advance to the runoff, even though she is unlikely to win from thereon. But the candidate the newest polls have begun tipping to be the next President is the Independent Emmanuel Macron, a former banker who served served as Hollande’s economy minister for two years. — AGENCIES