French presidential election, 2022

[Continential]

I can't see Taubira endorsing Hidalgo if she endorses considering how Hidalgo and PS killed her campaign by successfully trying to get Mayors to not endorse Taubira.

I mean, was Taubira expecting the Socialist Party to support their mayors endorsing a rival candidate?

Well, PS managed to convince the PRG to not endorse Taubira, and I presume had the PRG endorsed Taubira, she would have gotten close to or above 500 nominations by mayors.

[Sir John Johns]

Latest IPSOS poll, based on the likely final list of candidates:

Emmanuel Macron 30.5%
Marine Le Pen 14.5%
Éric Zemmour 13.0%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 12.0%
Valérie Pécresse 11.5%
Yannick Jadot 7.5%
Fabien Roussel 4.0%
Anne Hidalgo 2.5%
Jean Lassalle 1.5%
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan 1.5%
Philippe Poutou 1.0%
Nathalie Artaud 0.5%

% certain of their votes by candidate:
Emmanuel Macron 72%
Marine Le Pen 70%
Éric Zemmour 67%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 54%
Valérie Pécresse 48%
Fabien Roussel 39%
Anne Hidalgo 33%
Yannick Jadot 32%

By socio-professional category:

Farmers and self-employed

Emmanuel Macron 23%
Éric Zemmour 22%
Marine Le Pen 17%
Valérie Pécresse 15%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 10%
Yannick Jadot 10%
Anne Hidalgo 1%
Fabien Roussel 0%

Cadres (managers, professionals and executives)

Emmanuel Macron 40%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 11%
Éric Zemmour 11%
Valérie Pécresse 10%
Yannick Jadot 9%
Marine Le Pen 6%
Anne Hidalgo 5%
Fabien Roussel 5%

Intermediate professions

Emmanuel Macron 29%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 16%
Marine Le Pen 12%
Yannick Jadot 10%
Éric Zemmour 10%
Valérie Pécresse 8%
Fabien Roussel 7%
Anne Hidalgo 3%

Employees

Emmanuel Macron 27%
Marine Le Pen 22%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 16%
Éric Zemmour 14%
Yannick Jadot 7%
Valérie Pécresse 5%
Anne Hidalgo 3%
Fabien Roussel 2%

Workers

Marine Le Pen 35%
Emmanuel Macron 16%
Éric Zemmour 14%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 13%
Yannick Jadot 7%
Fabien Roussel 4%
Valérie Pécresse 4%
Anne Hidalgo 0%

Retirees (upper socio-professional categories)

Emmanuel Macron 39%
Valérie Pécresse 18%
Éric Zemmour 15%
Marine Le Pen 7%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 6%
Yannick Jadot 5%
Fabien Roussel 4%
Anne Hidalgo 3%

Retirees (lower socio-professional categories)

Emmanuel Macron 31%
Valérie Pécresse 17%
Marine Le Pen 16%
Éric Zemmour 12%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 8%
Yannick Jadot 5%
Fabien Roussel 4%
Anne Hidalgo 2%

Runoff scenarios:

Emmanuel Macron 59%
Marine Le Pen 41%

Emmanuel Macron 65%
Éric Zemmour 35%

Emmanuel Macron 67%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 33%

Emmanuel Macron 64%
Valérie Pécresse 36%

Issues which will be relevant in the choice of vote (three answers possible):

Purchasing power 52%
War in Ukraine 33%
Environment 28%
Health system 26%
Immigration 24%
Social inequalities 19%
Delinquency 16%
Pensions 16%
Defense of the Republic and laïcité 12%
Terrorism 11%
Public deficits and debt 10%
Education system 9%
Covid-19 pandemics 9%
Unemployment 8%
Discriminations 7%
European questions 7%
Organization of the political life and functioning of the democracy 6%
Distribution of competences between the State and the territories 2%

By candidate (four tops issues)

Emmanuel Macron
War in Ukraine 55%
Purchasing power 45%
Environment 32%
Health system 28%

Marine Le Pen
Purchasing power 62%
Immigration 50%
Delinquency 28%
Pensions 26%

Éric Zemmour
Immigration 73%
Purchasing power 48%
Delinquency 35%
War in Ukraine 25%

Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Purchasing power 62%
Social inequalities 43%
Environment 40%
Health system 35%

Valérie Pécresse
Purchasing power 43%
Immigration 35%
Delinquency 31%
Health system 27%

Yannick Jadot
Environment 67%
Purchasing power 50%
Social inequalities 32%
War in Ukraine 26%

Fabien Roussel
Purchasing power 70%
Health system 40%
Social inequalities 38%
Pensions 30%

So, we are heading toward a comfortable reelection of Macron who is poised to come ahead in the runoff with a large advance over the second most-voted candidate who will probably be Le Pen, just like in 2017 as, if recent polls are to be believed:
- the support for the RN candidate is remaining stable
- the support for Zemmour is currently declining
- Pécresse vote is pretty much collapsing, mostly in favor of Macron
- Mélenchon support is on the rise but this will probably not enough to get him into the runoff

The Ukraine War is providing Macron a good excuse to not participate into debates between candidates: he was clearly very opposed to the idea to take part in such debates (on the rightful assumption that all over candidates will attack him in a 1 vs. 11 match) but now with a major crisis to handle he can argue he has no time to waste to debate with political non-entities like Lassalle or Artaud.

* The campaign of Pécresse continues being in hot waters with an inaudible and uncharismatic candidate who is unable to appear as a credible challenger to Macron (the latest episode being a ‘council of defense’ organized by Pécresse in a hurry whose pictures made look like totally amateurish) and has to manage LR bigwigs tempted to join Macron or Zemmour (MEP François-Xavier Bellamy said he would vote for Zemmour in a runoff opposing the later to Macron) or making ‘blunder’, possibly on purpose (Wauquiez publicly describing Macron as ‘the model of a president of the Republic at the same time monarchic and dictator’ before backtracking on that comment; this at a time when Le Pen and Zemmour are unable to publicly called Putin a dictator).

* Zemmour has been sentenced to a €70,000 fine for infringement of property rights for the use without permission of extracts from various movies in his declaration ad. He has additionally been at the center of a minor controversy over him ‘forgetting’ to pay for his shopping in the expensive Le Bon Marché Parisian department store on February 27; according to Le Canard Enchaîné, this has already happened once. Not the best publicity for a candidate who constantly ranted against migrants coming in France to steal and exposing once more the luxury tastes of the polemicist. Zemmour is also now complaining about Ukraine War diverting the attention from ‘real issues’ (he already said that about the pandemics...)

* Sandrine Rousseau has been fired from Jadot’s campaign team over harsh critics of the EELV candidate, his strategy that is lacking of a narrative (‘Zemmour or Macron are imposing a narrative. We are selling boilers’) and his moderate stances in contrast with Rousseau’s ‘radical ecology’. Just few days before, Rousseau lost the internal consultative vote primaries to designate the EELV candidate for the legislative elections in the seventh constituency of Paris. She may as well endorsed Mélenchon and strike a deal with LFI or/and start her own party.

[Continential]

It should tell a lot about how well Hidalgo/PS is doing when she is doing better with professionals than employees/workers.

[PSOL]

I’m interested if there are any financial businessmen who would vote for the likes of Melenchon or Roussel. That 16% for both of them can’t just be professors.

[kaoras]

What's the difference between workers and employees?

[Mike88]

What's the difference between workers and employees?

I assume that workers means hard labour activities like factory workers or construction workers, and employees are office workers in services.

[Oryxslayer]

What's the difference between workers and employees?

I assume that workers means hard labour activities like factory workers or construction workers, and employees are office workers in services.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the former contains more visible minorities than the later.

[Hash]

What's the difference between workers and employees?

Employees is a broad category of, well, public and private sector employees - secretaries, administrative assistants, office workers, salespersons, service workers, cashiers, retail employees, support staff, caregivers, servers, personal care workers, estheticians, salaried hairdressers, housekeepers and so forth. Public sector employees under this definition are from the lowest categories of the public sector, those jobs which don't require a university degree. Police, firefighters and military are also considered employees under the Insee definition. Employees are overwhelmingly women (75%).

Manual workers (ouvriers) includes skilled and unskilled workers in industry, crafts/trades and agriculture. Again, it's a broad category which includes carpenters, fitters, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, repairmen, welders, bakers, butchers, cooks, drivers, truckers, taxi drivers, longshoremen, equipment operators, unskilled manual workers, sanitation workers and agricultural workers including fishermen and forestry workers. It is an overwhelmingly male-dominated category (79%).

Both categories are sometimes grouped together and considered lower socio-professional categories (CSP-): the levels of education and earnings of both groups are similar (the lowest levels of educational achievement, although employees are more likely to have a high school diploma, Bac or professional certificate, than workers, and workers are more likely to have no degree). In modern France, workers are found in rural areas, on the most remote outskirts of large urban areas, but are increasingly absent from most large cities, particularly the most white-collar and prosperous urban cores, like Paris (also, for historical reasons, there are fewer workers in the south/southeast); employees are found throughout the country, and they probably make up much of the 'proletariat' in the cities and inner suburbs.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

This is one hell of a depressing election, looking at the candidates and numbers. I honestly might just sit this one out if I were French.

[Sir John Johns]

I’m interested if there are any financial businessmen who would vote for the likes of Melenchon or Roussel. That 16% for both of them can’t just be professors.

The cadres category (I never know how to translate the term in English be it to refer to the socio-professional group or the party cadres) is also including public sector executives (notably in education and health sector, some of them being very left-wing*), persons employed in information and culture sectors and engineers. Back in 2017, Mélenchon placed third with that category of voters with 19% against 33% for Macron, 20% for Fillon, 14% for Le Pen and 8% for Hamon. I strongly doubt Mélenchon has many voters among financial businessmen.

* This is personal anecdote, but the head (principal) of my high school was a well-known member of the Communist Party and the treasurer (intendant) of my middle school ran as candidate in local elections for one of the Trotskyist sects (can’t remember if it was LO or the PT).


The ‘Popular Primary’ has announced it is endorsing Mélenchon. The decision was taken by the organization’s governing board in spite of Mélenchon having only placed third, behind Taubira and Jadot, in the primary. The 400,000 voters hence can go f off and the ‘Popular Primary’ which claims ‘changing the rules of the game’ in French politics and renew democracy just expose itself as a complete joke acting like your average traditional political party.


Speaking of Mélenchon:

https://twitter.com/JLMelenchon/status/1500490039473618951

I propose the withdrawal the NATO, a useless organization which is provoking tensions mosteverywhere.

I propose we built, us the French, alter-globalization alliances. Such alliances will be base on the necessity of human general interest

Yes, this from today.

An article the leader of the LFI has written on March 2015 titled ‘Has Putin murdered the Yeltsinian cacique Boris Nemtsov?’ has resurfaced these last days in light of the recent events in Ukraine. This is a masterpiece pretty much summing up the thought of Mélenchon on the matter of international relations: everything he dislikes is a CIA plot, everybody he is hating (but especially the journalists) is on the bankroll of the US government, Germany is the biggest threat in the world after the United States, the leaders of oppressive regimes criticized fro human rights abuses are the poor victims of smear campaigns (except when they are on the bankroll of the US government) and the victims of said regimes who have been persecuted, killed or mass-murdered totally deserved it anyway (applying not only for Russia but also Syria and Latin America).

Trying my best to translate the most relevant parts, not an easy task considering Mélenchon’s insufferable literary style.

The glorification of Nemtsov, totally unknown before his murder, is working as a trap for foolish persons to create an atmosphere of ‘Saddamization’ against Putin. ‘Have we still the right to be an opponent in Russia’ a journalist, who is knowing nothing about this case nor any other one concerning contemporary Russia, is asking me. We are guessing the underlying message. This Nemtsov would have been murdered by Putin. Without the beginning of a proof, the accusation is instilled. All these people have no subtlety. And their investigations are rapidly proceeded since the bar of the editorial room.

Nevertheless, after the dead man and his unfortunate family, the first political victim of this murder is Vladimir Putin. Because he has been instantly dragged through the mud by all the ‘free, ethical and independent’ press worldwide, zealous denouncer by order of the massive destruction weapons of Saddam Hussein, of Iran and all the other prefabricated US propaganda articles.

Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economy in 1997-98, his servile management toward the instructions of the IMF led to the Russian crash. This was the most terrible humiliation of the Russian nation since the annexation of the former eastern glacis by the NATO.

To which the crime is benefiting to? Certainly not to Vladimir Putin: this murder is happening for him at the worst time on the international scene and the worst place: in front of his home, in the Kremlin.

It is certain that the popularity of Boris Nemtsov hasn’t improved in Russia due to his opposition to the vote of the citizens of Crimea for the reunification to their Russian homeland. He preferred a Crimea chained to Ukraine whose inhabitants have been forbade to speak their language by order of the violent nutcases from Kiev. The man who had ‘nothing to do with Sovietism’ was however in this circumstance, the defender of a personal decision of Nikita Kroutchev [sic], then the almighty general secretary of the Soviet Union Communist Party, who decided, when drunken an evening it has been said, to incorporate Crimea into Ukraine to show the force of the attachment of Ukraine to Russia. A bit like if a French president decided to incorporate Alsace and Lorraine into Germany to show the force of the French-German couple! Because Crimea is Russian since ever, like Alsace and Lorraine are French, as demonstrated by the million of French who died to free it from German occupation.

Henceforth, the ‘authentic democrat’, multi-financed by agencies and affiliated of the European and North American right-thinking, a public friend of the ultra anti-Russian government of Kiev, at the forefront in the role of the shooter-in-the back of his country, could have been for them [the Russian far-right and its ‘xenophobic and ultra-nationalist hysteria’ led by ‘Navalny the anti-Semitic’] a meaningful target. By the way, for them, the policies of Putin are too much balanced. They are partisans of a direct confrontation with Ukraine and the US. These are those the American party in Ukraine wants to encourage by pushing them to the breaking point. The landing of American troops [600 paratroopers sent by the Obama administration to train the Ukrainian army] is functioning in this way. Because, let’s be clear: if the Russian army enter in Ukraine due to North American troublemakers, the forces which would attempt to oppose it will be wipe out in less than a week, American paratroopers or not.

The USA know how to organize conspiracies, political assassinations, buying journalists and agents of influence in every countries. But militarily, they can only win in Grenada Island against disarmed people, in Panama against the head of drug traffickers, and in a more general way against persons unable to defend themselves.

It is important to remember that Russia is a very big military power, whose people in arms the poor Chicano devils of the US Army wouldn’t intimidate.

Everything is now resting on the composure of Vladimir Putin and the Russian leaders. No war! The patience, the collapse of the Ukrainian economy, the disintegration of this country which is struggling so badly to be one, good things come to those who wait. War is the worst thing that could happen to everybody in Europe and in the world. War in the middle of seven nuclear plants including the second largest one in the world, in front of the Chernobyl Shelter, war will be a disaster from which Europe wouldn’t recover before decades. The USA should go home and let the inhabitant of this continent settle their problems.

This guy is just a complete nutcase and, minus the denunciation of the Russian ultra-nationalist opponents to Putin, this could as well pass for having been written by a far-right politician (between the bizarre allusion to the Chicanos, countries being eternal and apparently never changing and even the hinted comparison between the UE and the USSR).

And guess what, in the last days he and his followers have again use the term of ‘annexation’ to describe Ukraine joining NATO and he warn about a potential rearmament of Germany:

https://twitter.com/jlmelenchon/status/1497621458616528896

Ukraine shouldn’t be a pretext for a new arms race. Especially not in Germany.

Also, on the other side of the political spectrum:

https://twitter.com/Vergnaud/status/1500226538154962949

An info of the JDD. When Russians pampered Éric Zemmour.

Identified as a channel of influence, the polemicist has met as early as 2015 an oligarch close to Putin.

According to the JDD that exploited documents provided by Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s NGO, Zemmour would have met in 2015 Vladimir Yakunin (then already under US sanctions), a former KGB agent, a former president of Russian Railways and the head of various think tanks accused of being front for Russian influence. Thereafter, Zemmour went to Russia in January 2016 for a conference and an interview on a Russian state TV when he said that ‘The crisis in Ukraine is an artificial crisis created by the United States to separate Germany and France from Russia’. Can’t access the rest of the article but still is mentioned a geopolitician fully aligned on Russian positions and fan of Bashar al-Assad, Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic, tied to a political consultant considered to be behind pro-Putin lobbying campaigns. Said geopolitician is now the adviser of Zemmour for international questions.

Today, Zemmour was also officially endorsed by Marion Maréchal (whose ‘academy’, btw, employed Oleg Sokolov, a famous Russian historian currently in jail for having murdered and dismembered one of her students when in Russia).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The cadres category (I never know how to translate the term in English be it to refer to the socio-professional group or the party cadres) is also including public sector executives (notably in education and health sector, some of them being very left-wing*), persons employed in information and culture sectors and engineers. Back in 2017, Mélenchon placed third with that category of voters with 19% against 33% for Macron, 20% for Fillon, 14% for Le Pen and 8% for Hamon. I strongly doubt Mélenchon has many voters among financial businessmen.

Yes, the important thing to note is that the traditional French socio-economic categorisations are somehow even worse than the MRS Social Grade (i.e. AB, C1, etc) horror show in Britain, except in a different direction. And at least that system is slowly falling out of favour, if nowhere near fast enough.

* This is personal anecdote, but the head (principal) of my high school was a well-known member of the Communist Party and the treasurer (intendant) of my middle school ran as candidate in local elections for one of the Trotskyist sects (can’t remember if it was LO or the PT).

This goes back a long way: the stereotype in interwar France was that nearly every teacher in the country was an SFIO member, and while that was a clear exaggeration it is a telling one.

Today, Zemmour was also officially endorsed by Marion Maréchal (whose ‘academy’, btw, employed Oleg Sokolov, a famous Russian historian currently in jail for having murdered and dismembered one of her students when in Russia).

Don't forget the best part: he did it while dressed as Napoleon and unsuccessfully tried to kill himself afterwards by throwing himself into a river.

[Sir John Johns]

Today, Zemmour was also officially endorsed by Marion Maréchal (whose ‘academy’, btw, employed Oleg Sokolov, a famous Russian historian currently in jail for having murdered and dismembered one of her students when in Russia).

Don't forget the best part: he did it while dressed as Napoleon and unsuccessfully tried to kill himself afterwards by throwing himself into a river.

Wow, wasn’t aware of these later details. Incidentally (?), back in 2008 Zemmour gave a Napoleon themed party at Château de Malmaison, once the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, to celebrate his 50th birthday. The party was attended by several politicians, including Mélenchon. He is totally obsessed by Napoleon in spite (or because?) of the fact he was himself exempted from military service for knee problems. He certainly wouldn't have lasted a long time as a soldier in the Grande Armée.

That's from one of his recent meetings, in front of the Mont-Saint-Michel:

https://twitter.com/ZemmourEric/status/1495003597674885121

We have braved the cold, we have braved the wind! We have braved the politically correct and we have overcame our doubts to meet together. The sun came: it is the sun of Austerlitz!

When I was young, persons taking themselves for Napoleon were depicted in fiction works and funny stories as your average resident of psychiatric hospitals (with people wearing inverted funnel as hat). Now, they are running for president or teaching the next generation of far-right leaders…


The Constitutional Council made public the final number of nominations obtained by each candidates and validated twelve candidacies:

Valérie Pécresse 2,636
Emmanuel Macron 2,098
Anne Hidalgo 1,440
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 906
Éric Zemmour 741
Yannick Jadot 712
Jean Lassalle 642
Fabien Roussel 626
Marine Le Pen 622
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan 600
Philippe Poutou 596
Nathalie Arthaud 576

----

François Asselineau 293
Christiane Taubira 274
Anasse Kazib 160
Hélène Thouy 139
Gaspard Koenig 107
Georges Kuzmanovic 49
Nicolas Miguet 40
(…)
Antoine Waechter 7
Guillaume Meurice (humorous candidacy) 6
(…)
Michel Barnier 2
Florian Philippot 1
Édouard Philippe 1
Thomas Pesquet (French astronaut) 1
Arnaud Montebourg 1
François Hollande 1

[adma]

When I was young, persons taking themselves for Napoleon were depicted in fiction works and funny stories as your average resident of psychiatric hospitals (with people wearing inverted funnel as hat). Now, they are running for president or teaching the next generation of far-right leaders…

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NapoleonDelusion

[Oryxslayer]

https://twitter.com/ElectsWorld/status/1501687979303227394?s=20&t=Z4IGJ-mKNo...

It's one poll, but I feel it deserves mention. Putin did the impossible, he gave a French president a positive approval rating.

[Lief 🗽]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

[Antonio the Sixth]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

He really isn't (and if you asked French people about it in a poll they'd clearly tell you that), but what he is is better than any of the candidates who have any shot of qualifying for the runoff.

[MaxQue]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

He really isn't (and if you asked French people about it in a poll they'd clearly tell you that), but what he is is better than any of the candidates who have any shot of qualifying for the runoff.

Genuine question. Who the French would say was the best President? I doubt Hollande, Sarko or Chirac would feature there.

[Antonio the Sixth]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

He really isn't (and if you asked French people about it in a poll they'd clearly tell you that), but what he is is better than any of the candidates who have any shot of qualifying for the runoff.

Genuine question. Who the French would say was the best President? I doubt Hollande, Sarko or Chirac would feature there.

That would have to be Mitterrand, however unsavory he was personally.

[DL]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

He really isn't (and if you asked French people about it in a poll they'd clearly tell you that), but what he is is better than any of the candidates who have any shot of qualifying for the runoff.

Genuine question. Who the French would say was the best President? I doubt Hollande, Sarko or Chirac would feature there.

That would have to be Mitterrand, however unsavory he was personally.

Wouldn't a lot of people say DeGaulle was the best President of the 5th republic?

[Antonio the Sixth]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

He really isn't (and if you asked French people about it in a poll they'd clearly tell you that), but what he is is better than any of the candidates who have any shot of qualifying for the runoff.

Genuine question. Who the French would say was the best President? I doubt Hollande, Sarko or Chirac would feature there.

That would have to be Mitterrand, however unsavory he was personally.

Wouldn't a lot of people say DeGaulle was the best President of the 5th republic?

Yes, sorry - either De Gaulle or Mitterrand. I ended up giving my personal take but if you'd ask French people I guess a plurality (majority?) would probably pick De Gaulle.

Chirac would also probably come higher than many, honestly. He's become the symbol of a more peaceful and innocent time in French politics, which is pretty hilarious given his own history but honestly not entirely undeserved given what came after.

[DL]

How is the presidency of Valery Giscard d'Estaing viewed retrospectively?

[Mike88]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

He really isn't (and if you asked French people about it in a poll they'd clearly tell you that), but what he is is better than any of the candidates who have any shot of qualifying for the runoff.

Genuine question. Who the French would say was the best President? I doubt Hollande, Sarko or Chirac would feature there.

According to this link, De Gaulle and Chirac are tied: https://fr.statista.com/statistiques/1055822/meilleur-president-selon-francais/

30% De Gaulle
30% Chirac
17% Mitterrand
  7% Macron
  7% Sarkozy
  5% Pompidou
  3% Giscard d'Estaing
  1% Holland

Another one, without De Gaulle in it, has Miterrand with 31% and Chirac with 26%: https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/societe/sondage-mitterrand-est-le-meilleur-president-de-ces-quarante-dernieres-annees-hollande-le-plus-1538592182

Overall, I think we can say that De Gaulle, Miterrand and Chirac are the most popular.

[Coldstream]

More and more, people are recognizing that Emmanuel Macron is, mostly by default, the best president of the Fifth Republic.

He really isn't (and if you asked French people about it in a poll they'd clearly tell you that), but what he is is better than any of the candidates who have any shot of qualifying for the runoff.

Genuine question. Who the French would say was the best President? I doubt Hollande, Sarko or Chirac would feature there.

According to this link, De Gaulle and Chirac are tied: https://fr.statista.com/statistiques/1055822/meilleur-president-selon-francais/

30% De Gaulle
30% Chirac
17% Mitterrand
  7% Macron
  7% Sarkozy
  5% Pompidou
  3% Giscard d'Estaing
  1% Holland

Another one, without De Gaulle in it, has Miterrand with 31% and Chirac with 26%: https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/societe/sondage-mitterrand-est-le-meilleur-president-de-ces-quarante-dernieres-annees-hollande-le-plus-1538592182

Overall, I think we can say that De Gaulle, Miterrand and Chirac are the most popular.

Who are the 1% of people who chose Hollande? I don’t hate the guy, but…best ever? Really?

[JimJamUK]

Who are the 1% of people who chose Hollande? I don’t hate the guy, but…best ever? Really?

Maybe the 1 elected official who nominated Hollande for president this year got polled?

[Continential]

Let's really hope Le Pen can pull this off.

Surprised you aren't supporting Zemmour.