# French Elections Close **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 8, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547 "2022-04-08T22:17:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/21 "2022-04-11T03:14:15Z")
[https://news.yahoo.com/macron-seeks-term-tight-french-025944099.html](https://news.yahoo.com/macron-seeks-term-tight-french-025944099.html) Some polls are showing a 51-49 Macron edge, well within the margin of error. ETA: And in politics you have what I have called the “David Duke” effect. You won’t tell a pollster that you support Duke, but will mark your (general your) ballot for him. You are somehow afraid to state your belief publicly for fear of social scorn, but will vote how you want. We saw this twice with Trump. Many of Le Pen’s supporters are likely doing the same. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/22 "2022-04-11T06:45:08Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > horrific news for Macron Eh, not especially. French political culture is an odd thing, perplexing to the outsider and non-analogous to other political cultures. You simply can’t draw comparisons if you’re mostly familiar with the US. The way a French guy in my office explained it to me: At some point, everyone gets sick of the current guy. It is only partly related to performance; the French electorate comes to a mysterious collective agreement that they’re tired of whoever it is and it’s time for something new. You don’t have continuing bases of support like in the US, where people wistfully look back at Obama or whoever. When a guy is done, he’s _done._ When that happens, the floor falls out and his support craters. A new guy gets elected. Then everyone immediately starts complaining about him, opponents and supporters alike. Nobody ever defends him. To the outsider, it looks like he’s in trouble. But the thing is, the complaining is just posturing, and voters act practically when casting ballots, and the outsider is confused when the apparently-hated politician is re-elected. The floor has not fallen out for Macron, so he should be (narrowly) fine this time. The current situation is best read as a warning of a negative trend for the next election. (The fact that Le Pen has been hanging around for several elections with a consistent base of support may seem to contradict the initial point above, but it’s just because she’s never actually won national leadership. If she ever gets to sit in the big chair, the same thing will likely happen to her.) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/23 "2022-04-11T09:17:56Z")
The problem seems to be Le Pen is an accurate reflection of the French people. She may very well win, which would be a Bad Thing. I understand the Russians have influence on her. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/24 "2022-04-11T14:57:05Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > You simply can’t draw comparisons if you’re mostly familiar with the US. Yes, this. You cannot view a French election or electorate through an American lens. They’re not the same at all. Apples, oranges. > [@Cervaise](#): > > At some point, everyone gets sick of the current guy. It is only partly related to performance; the French electorate comes to a mysterious collective agreement that they’re tired of whoever it is and it’s time for something new. Also, this. It’s hard for a sitting president in France to get elected twice, which is exactly opposite of how it works in the US. Some people will vote for Macron mainly because they are against Le Pen, and nothing more. The French don’t seem to suffer from the ‘Bernie Bro’ syndrome, where voters who are disappointed their preferred candidate didn’t make the cut just stay home. Their voter participation is quite a bit higher than ours. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/25 "2022-04-11T20:18:16Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > After viewing the images of the war crimes committed by Putin, I would think that any candidate that supports him and poses with him would be radioactive. I agree. I hope Macron and his team will be blasting the airwaves and everything else with Le Pen’s Russophilia. Make her defend her support for Putin in the current context again and again. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/26 "2022-04-11T20:36:44Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > At some point, everyone gets sick of the current guy. It is only partly related to performance; the French electorate comes to a mysterious collective agreement that they’re tired of whoever it is and it’s time for something new. You don’t have continuing bases of support like in the US, where people wistfully look back at Obama or whoever. When a guy is done, he’s _done._ I was just reading how the rules of French elections work and noted that the article begins by noting, “President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to become the first incumbent to win re-election since Jacques Chirac in 2002.” But, to quote from the article on my exact question: > [@](#): > > ## **Why two rounds of voting?** > > General Charles de Gaulle – a founding father of France’s Fifth Republic and its 1958 constitution – was famously suspicious of political parties. He sought to curb their influence with a two-round voting system designed to choose France’s leader by direct universal suffrage (starting with himself, in 1965). > > Technically, a French president could win office in a single round of voting by scoring more than 50 percent of the vote – but no contender for France’s top job has ever managed that feat. In practice, the run-off vote decides the winner between the two candidates who won the most votes in the first round. > > A common refrain is that the two-round system allows voters to choose with their hearts in the first round and with their heads in the second. De Gaulle’s thinking was that the system would ultimately unite the country behind the candidate with the most consensus. However, the final presidential run-off is sometimes cynically described as a choice between “the lesser of two evils”. **[source](https://www.france24.com/en/france/20220409-explainer-what-you-need-to-know-about-france-s-presidential-election)** So it is, as @UltraVires said, effectively a Jungle Primary, like California. They just don’t call it that. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/27 "2022-04-11T20:38:09Z")
I don’t understand how a pro-Nazi candidate gets so much support in a nation that was once invaded by Nazi Germany… ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/28 "2022-04-11T20:51:22Z")
The Nazis never made it to Ameri. . . . wait, forgot what thread I was in. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/29 "2022-04-11T20:55:31Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I don’t understand how a pro-Nazi candidate gets so much support in a nation that was once invaded by Nazi Germany… Every single populist leader is elected with every outside nation clamoring loudly to the locals that they’re stupidly electing a populist - and that country going right ahead and doing it. The average person likes a populist and will overlook all of his faults - no matter how heinous. Two ways to avoid it are by avoiding the direct vote - e.g. a genuine electoral college - or by using first-past-the-post - which ensures that half the country is opposed to every candidate. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/30 "2022-04-12T06:52:36Z")
FWIW, initially the French 5th Republic did elect the President by electoral college of local “notables”, by-passing parliament. Direct election was adopted as a side-step by De Gaulle to forestall a proposal to bring parliament back into the presidential election process. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/31 "2022-04-24T22:17:55Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > horrific news for Macron. Macron wins, approximately 59-41. Not even close. Le Pen has conceded. [https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/24/europe/french-election-results-macron-le-pen-intl/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/24/europe/french-election-results-macron-le-pen-intl/index.html) So much for your hopes and dreams. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/32 "2022-04-24T22:26:22Z")
horrific, horrific. 🤣 Rock On, France! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/33 "2022-04-24T22:28:00Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Many of Le Pen’s supporters are likely doing the same. I’ll take “Poorly Aged Arguments” for €500, Alex. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/34 "2022-04-24T22:38:08Z")
Glad Macron won. I dislike Le Pen, but conceding sooner to prevent unrest, shows more cojones than many Republicans in the US have nowadays… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/35 "2022-04-24T22:51:02Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > So much for your hopes and dreams. I reject this as terribly unfair. I didn’t root for Le Pen. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/36 "2022-04-24T22:52:37Z")
Here’s a map of the results from The Guardian: > **[French election 2022: full second round results](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2022/apr/24/french-election-2022-live-results-projection-second-round-emmanuel-macron-marine-le-pen)** > > Emmanuel Macron has beaten Marine Le Pen in the presidential runoff and will serve another term as president of France. Reliable projections put Macron on course for 57% to Le Pen’s 43%. Find out how the race is unfolding live department by... ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/37 "2022-04-24T22:58:19Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I reject this as terribly unfair. I note you do not reject as terribly unfair my comments about your poor grasp on French politics. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/38 "2022-04-24T22:59:48Z")
Not rooted for. Gotcha. (Who do you think you’re fooling?) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/39 "2022-04-24T23:02:11Z")
I do not have a grasp of French politics so you are correct in that. Me rooting for Le Pen? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547/40 "2022-04-24T23:04:13Z")
Speaking of a poor grasp of French politics, my thread title was mistaken. Macron’s near-landslide victory is particularly impressive given that the French historically dislike an incumbent. Without claiming, as an American, to know what would be best for France, this clearly was worse for Putin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-elections-close/962547.md?page=3)