Summary

The French election system, which currently allows only the top two candidates to progress to the second round, is criticized for not representing the diverse political beliefs of the French population, potentially leading to a rise in extremism.

Abstract

The French election system, established during the 5th Republic, is a two-round system where only the top two candidates from the first round progress to the second. This system, while providing variety in the first round, eliminates diversity in the second round. The traditional left and right parties have seen a significant decline in recent years, with the 2022 elections showing a shift towards globalism versus localism. The current system is criticized for not accurately representing the plurality of beliefs in France, potentially leading to increased support for extremist parties. The 2022 elections have shown the far-right party to be alarmingly close to being elected, which is seen as a threat to France's values of openness, tolerance, liberty, and equality.

Opinions

The two-round election system in France is flawed as it eliminates diversity and does not accurately represent the plurality of beliefs in the country.
The shift from left versus right to globalism versus localism in French politics is significant and here to stay.
The decline of traditional left and right parties is a cause for concern as it may lead to increased support for extremist parties.
The potential election of the far-right party is seen as a threat to France's values and its position in the European Union.
The current system of electing a president needs to be changed to a more representative one, such as ranking candidates from most preferred to least preferred.
Voting for extremist parties out of fear is not a solution and could compromise France's values.
The author plans to vote for Emanuel Macron to avoid falling into extremism.

The Problem With The French Elections

An old system that is exploding now that society is changing

Elections are always a difficult time in any country. It’s a time with lies, false promises, and a whole lot of pointing fingers at everybody.

This is the nature of politics and it’s probably not the end of the world as long as the system supports the appearance and debates about new ideas.

Of course, that is easier said than done. And as a French citizen, I have to admit that our system is completely broken.

It basically works in 2 turns. In the first turn, any politician that could find 500 mayors in France to support their candidature can present themselves. For example, this year in 2022 we had around 10 candidates. On the paper, this sounds pretty good because it provides a lot of variety for people to vote for. But the existence of a second turn makes that a problem.

You see, only the top 2 candidates of the first turn are allowed to progress to the second turn. This means that all the diversity cherished gets obliterated by this rule.

The History Of Such A System

This system was inaugurated at the start of the 5th Republic which started in 1958. For the next 40 years, what usually happened was a fight between the left and the right at the second turn of the elections. Most French people identified either as left or as right and the small parties didn’t influence the outcome much.

Everything changed in 2002 when the far-right was present on the second turn of the election. This was due to a massive abstention that usually favors the extreme political parties as their voters always move themselves to vote. The far-right wasn’t elected but it caught the country by surprise and terrified people.

It showed that the far-right wasn’t just a black sheep, but could actually be elected.

Everything changed again in 2017, with the candidature of Emanuel Macron. He created his own party and basically got elected 1 year after that, something never seen before. Also, during the second turn, he was against the far-right. What that meant is that the left and the right were, for the first time, not in the second turn. A brutal political shift.

Instead of a fight between left and right, the axes on which candidates arrange themselves have changed to a globalism against localism type of position. Macron represents globalism and Marine Le Pen the localism.

2022 is therefore the year where this change will either stay or be reverted back to how it has always been.

And the results of the first round show that this change is here to stay.

The traditional left and the right combined have made less than 7%. Can you imagine that? Not so long ago, they used to represent the majority of people.

They are even right now begging for money to reimburse their campaign. In France, there is a law that states that if you make more than 5% at the election, you get reimbursed for some of your campaign costs (7 million €). A score that they didn’t reach for the first time in their history.

A Broken System

The true problem with this system though, is that it doesn’t represent the plurality in the beliefs of the French population. Compared to many countries, the president of France has a lot of power. It is of course counter-balanced by the parliament but it is still a lot of power.

And in the case of the 2022 elections, the numbers speak for themselves. Macron got 27.8% and Marine Le Pen got 23.1%.

But the third candidate in line got 22%. And even by being that close to the second, he got eliminated.

That’s a problem because he represents a strong political force in the country. And when people don’t get represented as they deserve, they get angry and move toward more extreme options.

The polls are also completely frightening. The second turn will happen on the 24th of April and never has the far-right been so close to being elected. The polls say the far-right can reach between 44% and 49% of votes in the second round. A margin that is too thin for comfort.

Personal Takeaway

That’s my personal opinion but I believe this would be devastating for France. Not only is the far-right against the idea of the European Union but it is against everything that makes France a great country. It is against the ideas of openness, tolerance, liberty, and equality that made France what it is today.

Of course, France is far from perfect. But it has a culture and economic strength that makes it beautiful and attractive around the world.

I’m going to vote for Emanuel Macron this Sunday. Not only because I agree with him on many points, but because in troubled times like ours, we cannot fall into extremism.

One thing is sure though, whatever the result of the election might be, the system of electing a president needs to be changed. We have to build a more representative system, for example by ranking candidates from most preferred to less preferred and then finding the best compromise.

I hope that this Sunday French people will not give themselves to extremes by exploiting their fears. I hope that we will show the world that our values are important and that we aren’t willing to compromise on them.