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How can you run for the presidency in France?

One day you're casually reading The Local. The next, you're governing France. Here's what you need to do to get your name onto the presidential ballot.

Published: 20 November 2021 12:31 CET
French President Emmanuel Macron waves from the stairs of the Elysee Palace.
French President Emmanuel Macron waves from the stairs of the Elysee Palace. We explain the requirements that candidates must fulfil take his place. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Becoming the President of France carries a number of perks. Besides the €100,000 annual salary, you also automatically become the Co-Prince of Andorra and the Grand Master of the Legion of Honour.

The president’s salary is a matter of public record, but you may also have to face being quizzed about it by schoolchildren, as in this video.

Perhaps more importantly, French presidents wield significant power in a political system which is weighed heavily towards the executive branch. 

Presidential hopefuls in France need to meet certain requirements to get their names onto the ballot sheet, to stand a chance of legally winning power. We break them down for you here: 

French citizenship and age restriction

Firstly, presidential candidates must hold French citizenship and be over the age of 18. Equally, you cannot run if you are under legal guardianship or if you have been barred for doing so because of various tax offenses. 

You do not, however, need to have been born a French citizen or born in France in order to be eligible. The Norwegian-born Eva Joly ran for president as the Green party candidate in 2012. 

You can read our guide to becoming a French citizen here. 

National service

Anyone hoping to win the keys to the Elysée must have fulfilled national service requirements – either through the military or other civic duties.

National service has changed in France over time – and each individual’s circumstances influence whether or not they must meet this requirement. 

READ ALSO Holiday or boot camp? Young people in France brace for national service

Compulsory national service was scrapped in 1996 for all citizens born after December 31st 1978. In theory, anyone hoping to stand as a candidate, who was born before this date, must have met their national service obligations as required by law. 

Macron reintroduced national service on a voluntary basis in 2019 and has suggested that the scheme may become compulsory in the future. This means that presidential candidates of the future would probably have to have fulfilled either some kind of military or civic duties. 

500 signatures

French presidential candidates must have gathered 500 signatures of support from elected officials such as mayors, senators, MPs and councillors. 

These signatures must be drawn from at least 30 different départements, with no more than 50 signatures coming from the same one. An elected official can only give issue a signature of support to one candidate. Perplexingly, local officials can give their signatures to people who have not even declared their intention to run.  

READ ALSO Every fact you need to know about France’s ‘départements’

The purpose of this system is to ensure that candidates have at least some level of support across the country before entering the race. Some critics say it is undemocratic because it limits opportunities for people outside of the established political class. 

A law passed in 2016 meant that the Constitutional Council is obliged to publish a complete list detailing who elected officials give their signature to. This means that many local officials are afraid to offer signatures of support out of fear of alienating their own voter base. In 2017, only 34 percent of elected officials offered their signature to hopeful candidates. 

Potential candidates have up until the sixth Friday before the first round of the election to collect the required signatures. 

Declaration of interests 

Candidates must submit a declaration of their financial investments and debts to the Constitutional Council. The law now states that these declarations are made public before the first round of voting – which happened for the first time in 2017. 

You can read Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 declaration here. To give you an idea of his wealth, the current president’s life insurance policy was worth nearly €92,000 at the time.

READ ALSO Who’s who in the crowded field vying to unseat Macron in French presidential election

A new declaration must be issued before the end of the president’s term. 

Campaign financing records must be handed over to a national commission within two months of the passing of the election. In September, former president Nicolas Sarkozy was given a one-year sentence for breaking campaign finance rules in the 2012 election. 

The Journal Officiel 

Once all the requirements requirements are met and verified by the Constitutional Council, an official list of candidates is published in the Journal Officiel – the French government gazette. 

So far, at least 30 people have declared that they will stand as candidates in the 2022 presidential election. But the strict requirements detailed above mean that only a limited selection of them will make it onto the official ballot. 

In 2017, only eleven candidates made it onto the list, out of close to 61 people who received at least one signature of support. 

It’s not a formal requirement, but the record to date suggests that being male and white will probably help your chances – France has never had a female or a non-white president.

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READER QUESTION

Reader question: Can I approach my French deputé for help? 

If you live in France you will have a local representative in parliament - but can you approach them for help if you have a problem? Here's how the député system works.

Published: 24 May 2024 15:49 CEST
Reader question: Can I approach my French deputé for help? 

There are 557 députés (MPs) in France’s Assemblée nationale – of whom 362 are men and 215 are women. 

They are elected on a constituency (circonscription) basis, so every area of France has its ‘local’ representative in parliament – you can look up yours here.

Officially however, French MPs are invested with a national mandate – effectively, France is their constituency. They are, therefore, expected to act in what they believe are the best interests of the whole country at all times – not just the interest of their local area.

National mandate 

“MPs in France are not mouthpieces for their voters,” the Assemblée nationale website declares, “they act for themselves in relation to their vision of the general interest.”

It goes on to insist that MPs, “cannot be prisoners of local or sectional interests” – meaning that they should not be persuaded to vote in a particular way by outside parties, whether that is businesses/ monied individuals/ lobbyists – or their own voters. 

It’s a Revolutionary ideal that has its origins in article three of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, from August 26th, 1789: “The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body, no individual can exercise authority that does not emanate expressly from it.”

And the French Constitution states: “national sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives”.

Basically, it means that deputies represent the entire nation and not just voters in their constituency.

READ ALSO OPINION: How to be loved by the French electorate? Retire or die

In reality, of course, MPs are influenced by what matters to their constituents – so for example an MP elected in a rural area might be more likely to back laws that protect farmers. 

And it’s not just MPs – the recent unsuccessful attempts to ease post-Brexit rules for British second-home owners were proposed by Senators who have constituencies in south-west France and the Alps; areas well known for having a high number of second homes.

Nonetheless, the theory is of ‘national’ MPs.

Meeting the locals

Crucially, however, this does not mean that – once elected – MPs do not meet residents in the constituencies that elected them and discuss local issues. Quite the opposite.

Constituents can contact their député to discuss ideas and concerns. In fact, your local MP – with their national mandate – is easy to get in touch with. You can find their official assembly email address here, along with where they sit in the hemisphere and what they have recently been up to in parliament, by searching for your commune or département.

In theory, that national mandate means you could contact any of France’s 577 MPs for assistance. But it makes sense to seek out the ones the electorate in your area voted for, because it means they should have a handle on any local issues and angles.

If you already know the name of your friendly neighbourhood MP, you could search for them on social media, and contact them that way; while many – but by no means all – have their own website, with additional contact details. 

So, generally, you can get hold of your French MP easily enough. They hold office hours, organise public meetings, respond to numerous requests for assistance and advice, and channel the concerns of their constituents to national decision-making bodies.

It is part of their job to help you if they can.

You may also bump into them at events in the local area such as summer fêstivals, the Fête de la musique or more formal events such as the Armistice Day commemorations or the July 14th celebrations. Politicians like to get involved in local events to either remain part of the community or to persuade people to re-elect them (take your pick).

At formal events they will be wearing a tricolore sash and you will be able to tell them apart from the local mayor by which way up they wear their sashes (honestly, this is true).

Mairie

Sometimes their help will involve pointing you in the direction of your local mairie – which may be better at dealing with more practical matters.

In fact, for many local issues, the mairie should be your first port of call – or possibly the préfecture. France has several layers of local government and they have quite far-reaching powers – especially local mayors.

For this reason, it’s more usual to first approach the mairie rather than your MP if you have a problem – but there’s nothing to stop you approaching your MP instead.

The convenient truth is that French MPs do not work just in the ivory tower of the Palais Bourbon.

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