2022 French Presidential Election: What Emmanuel Macron's Win Means For France

Emmanuel Macron won his second term as French President. He secured 58.54% of the votes against his rival Marine Le Pen who only secured 40.46%. This is the second time Macron and Le Pen face each other and a consecutive defeat for Le Pen.

But this year, her defeat is also marked by a victory as many French voters showed support for Le Pen and her far-right ideologies depicting a prospective shift in the scope of French nationalism.

How French elections work?

Reuters

The French hold elections every five years.

A French President can hold office for only two terms.

The French follow a system of direct universal suffrage; every French citizen who is at least 18 years old and has registered to vote is entitled to vote and these votes are casted through ballots.

They use a two-round system to elect their president. In the first round, a candidate must secure 50% of the votes to be declared winner. If no one manages to secure the necessary votes, the two candidates with the highest votes advance to the second round. In the second round, the candidates face each other and the winner is elected as the next French President.

There¡¯s a common assumption that one votes with their heart in the first round and their intellect in the second round.

To qualify as a candidate eligible to contest, he or she needs to be nominated by at least 500 elected representatives spread across almost 30 French departments (public office).

French elections 2022:

Reuters

There were 12 contenders for the 2022 French Presidential Elections.

In the first round, none of the candidates managed to secure 50% of the votes and a majority of the votes went to Macron 27.84%, Le Pen 23.15% and Melenchon 21.95%. This result shows the reality of a divided France as the candidates are spread over the spectrum with Macron being a centrist, Le Pen a far-rightist, and Melenchon a far-leftist representing three extremes.

Macron and Le Pen advanced to the second round where the people chose Macron making him the first incumbent President in 20 years to retain office for a consecutive second term.

Did Macron really win?

Analysts contend that the people of France chose Macron over Le Pen in fear of Le Pen¡¯s policies given the current global situation and did not necessarily want Macron again. Le Pen being a far-rightist has been clear on her conservative and isolationist policies which she claims is the need of the hour for France. These policies seem sceptical to the French public given recent scenarios including the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit. A Frexit today would further lure France into danger as for a couple of years unemployment and inflation has soared.

What do these results mean for France?

ft.com

After getting re-elected, Macron voiced out to unite a divided France. In addition to this effort, some of the biggest challenges for Macron in the start of his second term would be the Parliamentary elections and his pension reform schemes.

The whole European theatre of politics is undergoing a change and France being one of the pillars that sustains Europe is also simultaneously changing. Macron¡¯s second term will be very different from his first as radicalisation is underway and Macron, representing a centrist neo-liberal worldview needs to tackle these issues through a responsible frame in par with the changing world order.

Reference:

Brown, David. ¡°French election: A really simple guide.¡± BBC, 21 April 2022. Accessed 2 May 2022.

¡°How is the President of the French Republic elected?¡± France Diplomatie. Accessed 2 May 2022.

MCNICOLL, Tracy. ¡°Explainer: How does France's two-round presidential election work?¡± France 24, 11 February 2022. Accessed 2 May 2022.

WHEELDON, Tom. ¡°What are the biggest challenges for Macron's second term?¡± France 24, 27 April 2022. Accessed 2 May 2022.

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