IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: France

French Republic

67,971,310	22
Population (as of Jan. 1, 2022)	Elections in our database
48,589,606	64.54%
Registered Voters (as of None)	Average Turnout

Name	Official Name	Type
French Senate	Sénat	Upper House
French National Assembly	Assemblée Nationale	Lower House
French Presidency	President	Head of State

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Emmanuel MACRON
Head of Government: Prime Minister Gabriel ATTAL
Assembly: France has a bicameral Parliament (Parlement Français) consisting of the Senate (Sénat) with 348 seats and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 577 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
In the Senate (Sénat) 348 members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve 9-year terms*. In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) 577 members are elected by absolute majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.**

* Electoral Colleges are 128 territorial constituencies (number of seats dependent on population) comprising the departments of metropolitan France, overseas departments and territories, territorial collectivities and French citizens residing abroad One third of the Senate is renewable every three years.

** A candidate is elected in the first round if he/she obtains an absolute majority of the total votes cast, provided this amount is equal to a quarter of the number of registered voters in the particular constituency. In order to be eligible for the second round, candidates must have obtained a number of votes equal to at least 12.5% of the total number of registered voters. However, if only one candidate fulfills this condition, the person who polls the second largest number of votes in the first ballot may also participate in the second at which, to be elected, a simple majority suffices

Elections

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turn Out
Referendum	2000-09-24	11,790,702	38,363,882	30.73
French Presidency	2002-04-21	29,497,272	41,193,693	71.61
French Presidency	2002-05-05	32,832,295	41,191,169	79.71
French National Assembly	2002-06-09	26,389,875	40,968,484	64.42
French National Assembly	2002-06-16	22,184,913	36,784,296	60.31
Referendum	2005-05-29	28,988,300	41,789,202	69.37
French Presidency	2007-04-22	37,254,242	44,472,834	83.77
French Presidency	2007-05-06	37,342,004	44,472,733	83.97
French National Assembly	2007-06-10	26,521,824	43,896,043	60.42
French National Assembly	2007-06-17	21,129,008	35,224,953	59.98
French Presidency	2012-04-22	36,584,399	46,028,542	79.48
French Presidency	2012-05-06	37,016,404	46,066,499	80.35
French National Assembly	2012-06-10	26,373,299	46,083,260	57.23
French National Assembly	2012-06-17	23,957,594	43,234,000	55.41
French Presidency	2017-04-23	37,003,728	47,582,183	77.77
French Presidency	2017-05-07	35,467,172	47,568,588	74.56
French National Assembly	2017-06-11	23,167,508	47,570,988	48.7
French National Assembly	2017-06-18	20,164,615	47,293,103	42.64
French Presidency	2022-04-10	35,923,707	48,747,876	73.69
French Presidency	2022-04-24	35,096,391	48,752,500	71.99
French National Assembly	2022-06-12	23,256,207	48,953,748	47.51
French National Assembly	2022-06-19	22,464,299	48,589,606	46.23

Voter Turnout

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