Presidential election in France in 1988

In the French presidential elections in 1988 on April 24th and May 8th, 1988, the French President François Mitterrand , who was elected in 1981 , stood for re-election. In the second ballot he was able to prevail against Jacques Chirac .

First ballot

Nine candidates were able to meet the formal requirements for participation in the first ballot on April 24th. Should no candidate achieve an absolute majority of the votes in that one, the two candidates with the highest number of votes were qualified for the second ballot ( runoff ).

The candidates (in alphabetical order):

• Raymond Barre ( Union pour la démocratie française , centrist), Prime Minister 1976–1981 under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
• Pierre Boussel (Mouvement pour un parti des travailleurs, radical left)
• Jacques Chirac ( Rassemblement pour la République , center-right), Acting Prime Minister
• Pierre Juquin , expelled from the PCF, supported by some reform communist groups
• Arlette Laguiller , spokeswoman for the Trotskyist party Lutte Ouvrière
• André Lajoinie , ( Parti communiste français , left)
• Jean-Marie Le Pen , right-wing extremist, chairman of the Front National
• Incumbent François Mitterrand ( Parti socialiste , center-left), in office since 1981.
• Antoine Waechter , ( Les Verts , green)

The most important question in the first ballot was which of the bourgeois candidates, Barre or Chirac, would move into the second ballot. Mitterrand's entry into the second ballot, which had fallen in popularity midway through his first term, was considered certain. No realistic chance was given to any of the other candidates.

Election result:

candidate	be right	proportion of
François Mitterrand	10,381,332	34.11%
Jacques Chirac	6,075,160	19.96%
Raymond Barre	5,035,144	16.54%
Jean-Marie Le Pen	4,376,742	14.38%
André Lajoinie	2,056,261	6.76%
Antoine Waechter	1,149,897	3.78%
Pierre Juquin	639.133	2.10%
Arlette Laguiller	606.201	1.99%
Pierre Boussel	116,874	0.38%

Chirac was able to prevail against Barre and two weeks later against Mitterrand. Le Pen performed surprisingly strong, having reached 14.38% after 0.75% in its first candidacy in 1974 . This continued the success of the Front National from European, parliamentary and local elections.

Second ballot

Election result:

Results of the second round: Red Mitterrand, blue Chirac

candidate	be right	proportion of
François Mitterrand	16,704,279	54.02%
Jacques Chirac	14,218,970	45.98%

Mitterrand was thus elected for a second seven-year term.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.tns-sofres.com/popularites/cote2/redirect.php?nom2=Fran%E7ois+Mitterrand&perso=mitterrand1&id_doumic=0&fonction=&start=1&end=83&forme=graph&submit=Afficher+ma+s%E9lection
2. ↑ http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/acces-par-date/decisions-depuis-1959/1988/declaration-presidentielle-premier-tour-1988/decision-declaration -presidential-premier-tour-1988-du-27-avril-1988.8608.html
3. ↑ http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/acces-par-date/decisions-depuis-1959/1988/proclamation-presidentielle-1988/decision-proclamation-presidentielle-1988 -du-11-may-1988.8612.html