Crowning Jupiter: The 2017 French Electoral Series in Perspective

Abstract

This article discusses the 2017 elections in the context of a framework of analysis based on three levels of analysis: the institutional, the partisan and the situational. The framework used not only elucidates the extraordinary campaign and results, but places them in a diachronic perspective in order to assess the claim that the 2017 electoral series marked a partisan realignment. The 2017 campaign rewrote almost all of the rules associated with the presidential election. For the first time in the Fifth Republic, the incumbent president decided not to stand for re-election, signifying a state of institutional disarray. Moreover, neither of the candidates representing the traditional governing parties, the Republicans or the Socialists, won through to the second round, which saw centrist Emmanuel Macron comfortably elected against the National Front's Marine Le Pen. Following in the wake of Macron's presidential victory, the 2017 parliamentary election conferred upon the Jupiterean President the overall parliamentary majority he had called for. If the presidency has escaped its worst-case scenario, and if Macron's election provides a window of opportunity to revive the presidency, the question of political and institutional trust is far from resolved. The presidential election is traditionally considered as the core decisive election on which French politics is centred. The 2017 presidential contest was the tenth direct 2 election of the Fifth Republic. The headline conclusions of the two rounds of 23 April and 7 May are rapidly summarised. For the first time in the Fifth Republic, the candidate representing the mainstream republican Right (understood as comprising both the Gaullist and liberal-conservative traditions) did not win through to the second round; and, while the Socialists failed in 1969 and 2002, the candidate they supported has also

Does System Justification Promote Establishment Voting? Mainstream Politics in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom

“…He campaigned on a centrist platform that combined moderately conservative economic reforms with center-left policies on cultural issues and a strong commitment to European integration. By presenting himself as a unifying candidate who was neither left nor right, he sought to attract mainstream voters (Cole, 2018). His newly formed political party La République En Marche (REM) ultimately drew voters from the center left and center right.…”

Technocratic Populism à la Française? The Roots and Mechanisms of Emmanuel Macron’s Success

“…As a President, Macron communicates less, leaves everyday politics to the government, while engaging on the global scene. This detached style enables Macron to maintain support and deflect critique for unpopular aspects of reforms ("Macron ne croit pas," 2016; see also Cole, 2018). It also enables him to distinguish himself from the highly political presidents of the Third and the Fourth Republic (Cole, 2018).…”

“…This detached style enables Macron to maintain support and deflect critique for unpopular aspects of reforms ("Macron ne croit pas," 2016; see also Cole, 2018). It also enables him to distinguish himself from the highly political presidents of the Third and the Fourth Republic (Cole, 2018). Macron largely maintained this de Gaule-inspired hands-off style until the Covid-19 pandemic when he became more involved (Pietralunga, Zappi, & de Royer, 2020).…”