2017 French presidential election

The President of the French Republic and French Co-Prince of Andorra is elected to a five-year term in a two-round election under Article 7 of the Constitution: if no candidate secures an absolute majority of votes in the first round, a second round is held two weeks later between the two candidates who received the most votes.[7] In 2017, the first and second rounds were held 23 April and 7 May.[8]

Each presidential candidate must meet a specific set of requirements in order to run. They must be a French citizen of at least 18 years old. It is also necessary for candidates to be on an electoral roll, proving their eligibility to vote.

To be listed on the first-round ballot, candidates must secure 500 signatures[9] (often referred to as parrainages) from national or local elected officials from at least 30 different departments or overseas collectivities, with no more than a tenth of these signatories from any single department.[10] The official signature collection period followed the publication of the Journal officiel on 25 February to 17 March.[11] The collection period had initially been scheduled to begin on 23 February, but a visit by Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to China on that date forced a delay.[12] French prefectures mailed sponsorship forms to the 42,000 elected officials eligible to give their signature to a candidate, which must then be delivered to the Constitutional Council for validation. Unlike in previous years, a list of validated signatures was posted on Tuesday and Thursday of every week on the council's website; in the past, signatories were published only after the official candidate list had been verified after the end of the collection period. The end of the signature collection period also marked the deadline for the declaration of personal assets required of prospective candidates. The final list of candidates was declared on 21 March.[11]

The Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) ensured that all candidates receive equal time in broadcast media "under comparable programming conditions" from 19 March onward.[8] The CSA warned on 8 March that the amount of speaking time broadcasters had given Fillon and his supporters was "unusually high", even given the unusual circumstances surrounding his candidacy.[14] After the official start of the campaign on 10 April, the CSA strictly enforced equal time in broadcast media. Campaigning for the first round of the election ended at midnight on 21 April, two days before the vote. The Constitutional Council verified the results of the first round between the 24–26 April and officially certified the vote tallies on 26 April, with the same procedure being used for the second round. The new President of the French Republic was set to be proclaimed on 11 May and undergo their investiture ceremony on 14 May at the latest.[8]

On 18 March 2017, the Constitutional Council published the names of the 11 candidates who received 500 valid sponsorships, with the order of the list determined by drawing lots.[15]

Candidate name and age,[16] political party			Political office(s)	Campaign logo	Details
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (56) Debout la France (DLF)			President of Debout la France (since 2008) Deputy for Essonne (since 1997) Mayor of Yerres (1995–2017)		A former member of the RPR, RPF and UMP, Dupont-Aignan left the latter party on the eve of the 2007 presidential election due to disagreements with Nicolas Sarkozy. He subsequently founded the sovereignist political party Debout la République (DLR), which was later renamed Debout la France (DLF) in 2014. He previously stood as a candidate in the 2012 presidential election, in which he garnered 1.79% of the vote in the first round. Claiming the mantle of Gaullism, he sought to position himself between Le Pen and Fillon.[17] Five days after his elimination in the first round, he announced his support for Le Pen in the second round.[18]
Marine Le Pen (48) National Front (FN)			President of the National Front (2011–2017) MEP for North-West France (2004–2017)		Main article: 2017 Marine Le Pen presidential campaign When Le Pen, a lawyer by occupation, stood in the 2012 presidential election, she came in third with 17.90% of first-round votes. She rose within the ranks of the National Front (FN), founded and previously led by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, culminating in a bitter leadership struggle which she won in 2011. Her campaign programme prioritised the national interests of France and an exit from the eurozone,[17] emphasising her party's traditional concern about security and immigration, as well as socioeconomic issues and the sovereignty of the French state, on matters of currency, borders, the economy and rule of law.[19] Her campaign was punctuated by judicial inquiries into her party and personal associates.[17]
Emmanuel Macron (39) En Marche! (EM)			President of En Marche! (2016–2017) Minister of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs (2014–2016)		The youngest candidate in the race and a former cabinet member who had never run for elected office, Macron described himself as "neither of the right nor the left". He was appointed deputy Secretary-General of the Élysée in 2012 and became Economy Minister in 2014, lending his name to the "Macron law" to promote economic growth and opportunities. He founded the En Marche! movement in April 2016 before resigning from the cabinet on 30 August.[17] The most explicitly pro-European of the candidates, Macron intends to implement reforms to modernize the French economy.[19] Macron secured support across the political spectrum, but primarily among liberal-leaning figures;[20] notable supporters include perennial centrist candidate François Bayrou, president of the Democratic Movement (MoDem),[21] as well as Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian.[22]
Benoît Hamon (49) Socialist Party (PS)			Deputy for Yvelines (2012 and 2014–2017) Other offices Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research in 2014 Deputy Minister of the Economy and Finance responsible for Consumer Affairs and the Social and Solidarity Economy from 2012 to 2014 Deputy Minister of the Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade responsible for the Social and Solidarity Economy in 2012 MEP for East France from 2004 to 2009		Hamon, a left-wing critic of Hollande's policies, was the surprise winner of the Socialist primary in January 2017, defeating former Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Hamon's primary victory was driven in part by his support for a universal basic income, which remained integral to his program. He negotiated the withdrawal and support of Yannick Jadot of Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) in February, becoming the joint candidate of both parties.[17] He also advocated for the legalization of cannabis and reforming the structure of government to a "Sixth Republic".[19] He endorsed Emmanuel Macron in the second round.[2]
Nathalie Arthaud (47) Workers' Struggle (LO)			Spokeswoman of Lutte Ouvrière (since 2008)		Arthaud first ran for the presidency in the 2012 election under the LO banner, receiving 0.56% of votes in the first round. A professor of economics, she described the objective of her candidacy as being to, "make the workers' voice heard", hoping to "allow workers, the unemployed and exploited to defend their interests, as opposed to [those who pocketed] millions and millions".[17] She claims that she is the only communist candidate, and wants to see borders disappear and overthrow capitalism.[19] She intended to cast a blank vote in the second round.[2]
Philippe Poutou (50) New Anticapitalist Party (NPA)			Spokesperson of the New Anticapitalist Party (since 2009)		A long-time radical left-wing activist, as well as a trade unionist and Ford mechanic in Blanquefort, Poutou led opposition to the shutdown of the local factory. He also ran in the 2012 presidential election, obtaining 1.15% of votes. He launched his political activities at Lutte Ouvrière before joining the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) which became the NPA in 2009.[17] With Marxist and anarchist roots, he crusades against capitalism and espouses radical-left ideas.[19] He offered no voting instructions to his supporters for the second round.[2]
Jacques Cheminade (75) Solidarity and Progress (S&P)			President of Solidarity and Progress (since 1996)		Cheminade founded Solidarity and Progress in 1996 and is the figurehead of the LaRouche movement in France. He proposes leaving NATO, the EU, the eurozone and returning to the franc. He supports colonisation of the Moon to facilitate exploration of Mars. He was a candidate twice before, in 1995 and 2012, collecting 0.28% and 0.25% of the vote, respectively, but failed to appear on the ballot in 1981, 1988, 2002 and 2007.[17] His position on the second round is unclear,[2] only specifying that he, personally, would not cast a vote for Le Pen while also denouncing the forces of "financial occupation".[23]
Jean Lassalle (61) Résistons!			Deputy for Pyrénées-Atlantiques (since 2002) Mayor of Lourdios-Ichère (since 1977)		Lassalle, a former member of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) and associate of François Bayrou running under the banner of Résistons!, considered himself the "defender of rural territories and a humanist ecology". He became famous for a successful 39-day hunger strike protesting the movement of the Total factory from Accous to the Lacq basin 65 km (40 mi) away. In 2013, he walked 6,000 km (3,700 mi) on foot to "meet the French".[17] He opted to cast a blank vote in the second round.[24]
Jean-Luc Mélenchon (65) La France Insoumise (FI)			MEP for South-West France (2009–2017) Other offices President, then co-president of the Left Party from 2009 to 2014 Senator for Essonne from 1986 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2010 Deputy Minister of Vocational Education from 2000 to 2002		Denouncing the "liberal drift" of the party, Mélenchon left the PS in 2008 to found the Left Party. He made a previous presidential run in 2012, coming in fourth with 11.10% of votes,[17] with the backing of the French Communist Party (PCF). A critic of the presidency of François Hollande, he launched his 2017 bid without consulting the PCF, instead choosing to start his own movement, La France Insoumise (FI).[19] He later won the PCF's support by a narrow margin.[25] His programme underlined left-wing and environmental principles,[17] including the establishment of a Sixth Republic, redistribution of wealth, renegotiating EU treaties, environmental planning and protecting the independence of France, namely from the United States. He sought a withdrawal from NATO and was largely criticised for refusing to denounce authoritarian leaders, most notably Nicolas Maduro.[19] He ran an innovative campaign, gathering a large following on social media[26] and holding simultaneous meetings in multiple cities via hologram.[27] He intended to consult with his movement before making any pronouncement on the second round.[2] After a few days, he stated that he would not vote for the FN, but never explicitly provided any further voting instructions.[28]
François Asselineau (59) Popular Republican Union (UPR)			President of the Popular Republican Union (since 2007)		A sovereignist, Asselineau surprised political observers with his ability to secure the 500 sponsorships required to stand as a candidate. Formerly of the RPF and UMP, he founded the Popular Republican Union (UPR) in 2007 and has agitated for the French to exit from the EU.[17] Sometimes classified as a far-right Eurosceptic, he has denounced "American imperialism" and proposed leaving NATO.[19] He offered no endorsement in the second round.[2]
François Fillon (63) The Republicans (LR)			Deputy for Paris (2012–2017) Prime Minister (2007–2012) Other offices Co-president of the Union for a Popular Movement (interim) in 2014 President of the Rassemblement-UMP group in the National Assembly from 2012 to 2013 Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing in 2012 Deputy for Sarthe from 1981 to 1993, from 1997 to 2002 and in 2007 Senator for the Sarthe in 2004 and from 2005 to 2007 Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research from 2004 to 2005 Minister of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity from 2002 to 2004 President of the regional council of Pays de la Loire from 1998 to 2002 Mayor of Sablé-sur-Sarthe from 1983 to 2001 President of the general council of the Sarthe from 1992 to 1998 Deputy Minister responsible for Post, Telecommunications and Space from 1995 to 1997 Minister of Information Technology and Post in 1995 Minister of Higher Education and Research from 1993 to 1995		Fillon led a prolific political career starting from the early 1970s. The surprise winner of the primary of the right offered a liberal economic program ending the 35-hour workweek, dismissing 500,000 civil servants, abolishing the wealth tax (ISF), streamlining the labour code, and reforming the health insurance system. However, his campaign was hobbled in January 2017 following the publication of allegations of fictitious employment of family members, including his wife, collectively known as "Penelopegate". He initially said he would drop his bid if placed under formal investigation, but continued his candidacy after such investigations began on 15 March.[17] He endorsed Emmanuel Macron in the second round.[2]

Penelope Fillon in 2007

On 25 January 2017, the satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné first alleged that François Fillon employed his wife Penelope as his parliamentary assistant from 1998 and 2002 and for six months in 2012, with no evidence that she completed any substantial work. She collected a monthly salary of €3,900 to €4,600. After her husband's appointment as Minister of Social Affairs in 2002 and during his later tenure as Minister of National Education, she went on to serve until 2007 as a parliamentary aide to Marc Joulaud, Fillon's substitute, earning an increased salary upwards of €7,900 and with still no evidence of substantial work. The article claimed that she received a total of over €500,000 as a parliamentary aide, as well as €100,000 as a literary adviser to the Revue des deux Mondes. Its owner, billionaire Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, is a close friend of François Fillon. While deputies in the National Assembly can employ family members, those are still required to complete legitimate work, evidence of which the paper was unable to find.[103] Based on that information and on the same day, the PNF (Parquet national financier, or national financial prosecutor's office) initiated a preliminary investigation into possible embezzlement and misuse of public funds.[104]

On 26 January, François Fillon appeared on TF1 to respond to these allegations, stating that his wife had "edited my speeches" and "stood in for me at events when I couldn’t be there", also claiming that the reason that she was never seen working in the Palais Bourbon was because "she was never on the front line". In the interview, he disclosed that he also paid two of his children while a Senator for the Sarthe between 2005 and 2007, claiming that he employed them in their capacity as lawyers. He also pledged to resign if he would be personally placed under investigation.[105] However, on 27 January, it was revealed that both Marie and Charles Fillon were only law students when their father employed them during his stint in the Senate, contrary to his statements the previous day.[106] Interrogated by investigators the same day, former editor-in-chief of the Revue des deux Mondes Michel Crépu claimed that only "two or maybe three" bylines in the review were attributed to her, also saying that he had seen "no trace" of any work by her that would "resemble [that of] a literary adviser".[107]

Marc Joulaud in 2014

On 1 February, a week after its initial report, Le Canard enchaîné published revelations that the total sum received by Penelope Fillon in fictitious jobs apparently totaled more than €930,000; with the addition of the period from 1988 to 1990, her income as a parliamentary assistant now totaled €831,440. In addition, the satirical weekly also revealed that the payments to two of Fillon's children reached nearly €84,000, with €57,084 net for Marie Fillon and €26,651 for Charles Fillon.[108] Video excerpts of a May 2007 Sunday Telegraph interview with Penelope Fillon surfaced on 2 February, in which she claimed that she had "never been his assistant", referring to her husband; The footage aired on Envoyé spécial on France 2 that evening.[109] The PNF expanded investigation into the fictitious employment affair to include Fillon's two eldest children the same day to verify the veracity of their work, after Le Canard enchaîné reported that neither Marie nor Charles Fillon were lawyers at the time their father served in the Senate.[110] In a video on 3 February, François Fillon insisted that he would maintain his candidacy and called on his supporters to "hold the line", seeking to assuage worries from within his own camp about the maintenance of his candidacy.[111]

On 6 February, Fillon held a press conference at which he "apologized to the French people" and acknowledged that he had committed an "error" in employing family members as parliamentary assistants, but appended that he "never broke the law". He also argued that his wife's "salary was perfectly justified", adding that everything reported by the press on the issue was "legal and transparent". He said he would not reimburse the payments received by his wife or children, and, saying that he had "nothing to hide", divulged his property holdings. In addition to promising that his lawyers would question the competency of the PNF to carry out the investigation, he lambasted a "media lynching" of his campaign. His remarks followed Juppé's declaration that "NO means NO" earlier in the day in response to rumors that he might replace Fillon as the party's candidate should he decide to drop his bid.[112]

Sarkozy in 2015

Le Canard enchaîné continued its run of stories on Fillon in its issue of 8 February, revealing that Penelope Fillon collected severance payments totaling €45,000, with €16,000 in August 2002 for the period 1998–2002 and €29,000 in 2013 for seventeen months of employment for which she earned €65,839. The satirical weekly also asserted that she received a double salary during the summer of 2002, as she was hired by Joulaud's office on 13 July, more than a month before her contract as a parliamentary assistant with her husband expired, on 21 August. Although aides are eligible to collect severance payments, the law does not permit such a high level for parliamentary assistants. An article in the same issue reported that Marie Fillon was simultaneously employed as a parliamentary assistant while training to become a lawyer, taking the first post in October 2005 and entering the EFB in January 2006. Fillon responded to the claims in a press release by saying that Le Canard enchaîné conflated the amount his wife collected in November 2013 with reported earnings in August 2007 after the conclusion of her work with Joulaud,[113] and denounced the paper's allegations as "lies".[114]

On 16 February, Fillon seemingly withdrew his earlier promise that he would terminate his candidacy if placed under formal investigation, saying "even if I am put under investigation, nothing will stop me" in private.[115] In an interview with Le Figaro published on 17 February, he insisted on continuing his campaign, declaring "I am the candidate and I will continue until victory" and that the closer to the election it was, the "more scandalous it would be to deprive the right and centre of a candidate".[116] On 24 February the PNF finally opened a judicial investigation into the "embezzlement of public funds, [...] influence-peddling and failure to comply with transparency obligations of the HATVP" against François Fillon, his wife, two of his children, and Marc Joulaud (who were left unnamed, presumably, to allow for expanding the investigation to other suspects, if necessary). The OCLCIFF, which failed to unearth any tangible proof of work by Fillon's wife as a parliamentary assistant to her husband from 1988 to 1990, 1998 to 2000, and 2012 to 2013 or to Marc Joulaud from 2002 to 2007, and was unconvinced by the two reviews in the Revue des deux Mondes attributed to Penelope Fillon, tasked three investigative judges to continue pursuing the affair.[117] These three judges were identified on 27 February as Serge Tournaire, Stéphanie Tacheau, and Aude Buresi.[118]

On 1 March, Fillon was informed that he was summoned to appear before the judges and likely to be placed under formal investigation – generally a precursor to an eventual indictment – on 15 March.[119] In the subsequent hours and days, hundreds of campaign members, allies, and supporters rescinded their support for Fillon, including the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), a centre-right party whose president Jean-Christophe Lagarde backed Juppé in the primary, suspended its participation in the campaign.[120] fifteen campaign staffers,[121] and hundreds of others; a total of 306 elected officials and members of the Fillon campaign withdrew their support for the candidate by 5 March.[122] Many of those rescinding their support speculated about the potential return of Juppé to replace Fillon as the party's candidate, with Fenech urging elected officials file sponsorships for the ex-primary candidate.[123] Meanwhile, associates of Juppé indicated that he was apparently warming to the idea of stepping in to run if needed, "ready but loyal".[124]

Alain Juppé in 2015

Despite this chain of defections, François Fillon remained defiant, holding a rally at the Trocadéro on that afternoon intended as show of force.[125] He then appeared on 20 heures on France 2 that evening, during which he refused to give up his candidacy, saying that "there is no alternative" and adding that "no one today can stop me from being a candidate", insisting that "it is not the party that will decide" the fate of his candidacy. He said that the rally at the Trocadéro cemented his legitimacy, and that though he would have stepped down two months ago if indicted then, it was now too close to the presidential election and it would be unfair to voters of the right if he quit now. With a "political committee" planned for the following day, he proposed to assemble a modified campaign team, naming François Baroin, Éric Ciotti, and Luc Chatel, in an attempt to rally support around his candidacy.[126] Immediately after Fillon's appearance, Juppé announced on Twitter that he give a statement to the press in Bordeaux at 10:30 CET the day after.[127]

Juppé officially announced his abstention from the race on 6 March, saying that "for me, it is too late", and added that Fillon was at a "dead end" with his allegations of political assassination.[33] The same day, the party's "political committee" rallied behind Fillon, unanimously reaffirming its support for his candidacy.[128] The same day, Le Canard enchaîné revealed that Fillon had failed to declare to the HATVP a €50,000 loan from Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, president of the Revue des deux Mondes.[129] The UDI renewed its support for Fillon that evening, albeit only conditionally.[130] On 13 March, Le Parisien revealed that investigators discovered suspicious wire transfers made by Marie and Charles Fillon to their father while employed by him, with Marie returning €33,000 of the €46,000 she was paid. Charles Fillon, in his hearing, referred to similar transfers to his parents' joint account, worth about 30% of his salary.[131]

On the morning of 14 March, Fillon was placed under formal investigation for misuse of public funds, embezzlement, and failure to comply with HATVP disclosure requirements.[132] On 16 March the investigation into Fillon was extended to "aggravated fraud, forgery, and falsification of records". In particular, the probe sought to determine whether documents seized during a search of the National Assembly in March were forged in order to corroborate the veracity of Penelope Fillon's work as a parliamentary assistant.[133] The investigation was also expanded into possible influence-peddling related to Fillon's consulting firm 2F Conseil, which was previously hired by billionaire Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, owner of the Revue des deux Mondes, which employed Penelope Fillon. In 2013 de Lacharrière also provided a €50,000 loan to François Fillon, who failed to declare it as legally required.[134] On L'Émission politique on 23 March, Fillon said that Bienvenue Place Beauvau, a book co-authored by Didier Hassoux of Le Canard enchaîné, suggested President Hollande ran a shadow cabinet to spread rumours about his opponents, a claim Hassoux subsequently denied.[135] On 24 March, Marc Joulaud, Fillon's former substitute, was formally placed under investigation for embezzlement of public funds.[136] Penelope Fillon was placed under formal investigation for complicity in and concealment of embezzlement and misuse of public funds, as well as aggravated fraud, on 28 March.[137]

On 10 April, Mediapart revealed that Penelope Fillon had in fact been paid by the National Assembly starting in 1982, not 1986, as earlier claimed by François Fillon.[138] The edition of Le Canard enchaîné set for publication on 12 April revealed that François Fillon secured his then-fiancée a job three times the minimum wage in a Parisian ministry as early as 1980 while he was serving as deputy chief of staff to Minister of Defence Joël Le Theule; her contract ended in 1981, after 15 months, after the Socialists swept into power.[139]

Yannick Jadot (EELV) withdrew to support Hamon

After securing his party's nomination in its presidential primary on 29 January 2017, Socialist Party (PS) dissident Benoît Hamon proposed forming a "governmental majority" with Jean-Luc Mélenchon of la France Insoumise (FI) and Yannick Jadot of Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV), seeking to "reconcile the left and the environmentalists". Though Mélenchon had earlier demonstrated hostility to the possibility of an alliance, he expressed "satisfaction" with Hamon's sentiments shortly after the primary.[140] On 23 February, Jadot cemented an agreement to withdraw his candidacy in favor of Hamon,[32] but on 26 February Hamon acknowledged that talks to secure an alliance with Mélenchon had failed, the pair only agreeing to a code of mutual respect.[141] The talks failed in part because of the candidates' differing positions on matters related to the European Union (EU), European Central Bank (ECB), EU treaties, European defense, and the obligation to maintain a budget deficit below 3% of GDP, among other divergences.[142]

During a trip to Algeria on 15 February, Emmanuel Macron, candidate of En Marche!, remarked in an interview with local press that the French presence in the country had been a "crime against humanity" and "truly barbaric", drawing the ire of numerous right-wing French politicians. François Fillon of the Republicans denounced Macron's remarks as a "hatred of our history, this constant repentance is unworthy of a candidate for the presidency of the Republic".[143] Seeking to put aside the controversy in a meeting in Toulon on 18 February, he attempted to qualify his remarks, saying that he was "sorry" for having "hurt" and "offended" many as a result, but nevertheless continued to insist on acknowledging that France had a responsibility for its colonial past, not just in Algeria.[144] His remarks were followed by a temporary resurgence for Fillon in polls of voting intentions.[145]

Marine Le Pen at Moscow Kremlin in 2017

The various investigations of the fictitious employment of 29 parliamentary assistants to 23 National Front (FN) MEPs, implicating the entourage of Marine Le Pen,[146] continued through 2017. These fictitious jobs would constitute €7.5 million in losses for European taxpayers from the period 2010 to 2016. The European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) pursued the case, establishing that one of Le Pen's parliamentary assistants, Catherine Griset, never secured a lease in Brussels during the five years she was employed and only rarely appeared in the European Parliament, while another, Thierry Légier, worked as a bodyguard at the same time.[147] Though the European Parliament demanded that Le Pen return €298,392 by 31 January 2018,[148][149] representing the salary "unduly paid" to Griset,[150] she refused to do so,[148] and the European Parliament began to reduce her salary to reclaim the money.[149] On 20 February, investigators raided the FN's headquarters in Nanterre for a second time in connection to the case;[151] though Le Pen was summoned to appear before judges on 22 February in the Griset case, she refused to do so until after the June legislative elections, invoking the parliamentary immunity granted to her as an MEP.[152] On 3 March, summoned to appear before judges to potentially be charged for breach of confidence, Le Pen was absent, again affirming that she would not respond to the case before the end of the campaign.[153] On 6 March, Charles Hourcade, who served as parliamentary assistant to FN MEP Marie-Christine Boutonnet, faced charges of "concealment of breach of confidence" in a separate case; like Le Pen, who described the investigations into the FN's fictitious employment of parliamentary assistants as a "political operation", Boutonnet declined to appear before judges.[154]

On 20 April, three days before the first round, three police officers were shot and one killed in an attack on the Champs-Élysées, interrupting the 15 minutes pour convaincre (15 minutes to convince) on France 2, a program featuring successive interviews with the 11 candidates; in the following interviews, the remaining candidates paid tribute to the victims of the attack.[155] In the wake of the attack, Le Pen and Fillon, suspended campaign activities the following day – the final day of campaigning – while Macron canceled two trips and Mélenchon insisted on maintaining his schedule to demonstrate that he would not allow violence to interrupt the democratic process; Hamon made similar remarks, proceeding with one campaign event the following day.[156]

A report published on 25 April by the Japan-based security firm Trend Micro alleged that a group of hackers was targeting the Macron campaign. The group, known as "Pawn Storm" (better known as APT28 or "Fancy Bear"), is believed to be linked to the Russian state, and was responsible for previous attacks, including on TV5Monde in April and the Bundestag in May 2015. In particular, the group attempted a phishing operation, registering four domains strongly resembling those actually used by En Marche!, of which three were domiciled in Ukraine and one in France.[157]

In an interview with Associated Press the head of the French government's cyber security agency, which investigated leaks from President Emmanuel Macron's election campaign, said that they didn't find any trace of a notorious Russian hacking group behind the attack.[158]

A voting line of French expatriates in Morges, Switzerland

The official campaign began on 10 April and ended at midnight on 21 April. During this period, the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel was to ensure equal speaking time for candidates in audiovisual media.[8] On French public broadcasters, ten slots were allotted to the eleven candidates from 10 to 18 and 20 April, with nine slots on 19 April and eleven slots – one for each candidate – on 21 April, the final day of active campaigning.[159]

Voting in the first round took place on Saturday 22 April from 08:00 to 19:00 (local time) in the French overseas departments and territories situated east of the International Date Line and west of metropolitan France (i.e. French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Pierre and Miquelon), as well as at French diplomatic missions in the Americas.[160] Although overseas voting took place one day before that in metropolitan France, the election results and final turnout figures were announced at the same time, starting at 20:00 (Paris time) on 23 April, once voting ended in metropolitan France.[161][162] Voting in metropolitan France (as well as the French overseas departments and territories of Mayotte, New Caledonia, Réunion and Wallis and Futuna, and French diplomatic missions outside the Americas) took place on 23 April from 08:00 to 19:00 or 20:00 (local time).[160]

The official election results were declared by the Constitutional Council on 26 April, with Macron and Le Pen advancing to the second round.[8]

Candidates in the second round
Emmanuel Macron	Marine Le Pen
En Marche!	Front National
Minister of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs (2014–2016)	Member of the European Parliament for North-West France (2004–2017)

La Rotonde, where Macron celebrated the results of the first round

Supporters of Macron celebrating his victory at the Louvre on 7 May

After being eliminated in the first round, both François Fillon and Benoît Hamon called to vote for Emmanuel Macron, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon refused to pronounce in favor of either candidate, preferring to first consult activists from his movement.[2] Jean Lassalle and Nathalie Arthaud opted to cast a blank vote,[2][24] Philippe Poutou and François Asselineau gave no voting instructions,[2] and Jacques Cheminade only stated that he would personally refuse to vote for Le Pen and denounced the forces of "financial occupation".[23] Nicolas Dupont-Aignan endorsed Le Pen during the evening of 28 April,[18] and was subsequently revealed as her choice for Prime Minister the following day.[190] On 2 May, the result of Mélenchon's consultation was published, with 36.12% voting for a blank vote, 34.83% supporting a vote for Macron, and 29.05% opting to abstain;[191] Mélenchon, for his part, issued no voting instructions, only urging his supporters not to make the "terrible error" of voting for Le Pen.[192] Jean-Marie Le Pen supported his daughter.[193]

Voting cards for the second round.

On the evening of the first round, Macron and members of his entourage celebrated the result at La Rotonde, a brasserie in the 6th arrondissement of Paris; the move was criticized as premature and complacent, viewed as reminiscent of Nicolas Sarkozy's widely criticized post-election celebration at Fouquet's in 2007.[194] On 24 April, Le Pen vacated her position as leader of the National Front on 24 April to focus on her presidential candidacy but remained a member of the party.[195] On 26 April, while Macron met with union representatives in his hometown of Amiens employed at the local Whirlpool factory, slated to close in 2018, Le Pen arrived at the site of the factory outdoors around noon in a visit to speak with workers, catching Macron by surprise. When Macron subsequently arrived at the factory site in mid-afternoon, he was whistled and heckled by a hostile crowd, with some shouting "Marine présidente", before he subsequently spoke with the workers for half an hour.[196]

The official campaign ended at midnight on 5 May.[197] Just minutes before the election silence went into effect, emails and documents from the Macron campaign were leaked on a file-sharing website. The campaign team subsequently issued a statement claiming that they had been compromised, and alleged that the leak contained both real as well and some fabricated documents. Numerama, an online publication focusing on digital life, described the leaked material as "utterly mundane", consisting of "the contents of a hard drive and several emails of co-workers and En Marche political officials." Leaked documents included "memos, bills, loans for amounts that are hardly over-the-top, recommendations and other reservations, amidst, of course, exchanges that are strictly personal and private — personal notes on the rain and sunshine, a confirmation email for the publishing of a book, reservation of a table for friends, etc.", in addition to some documents unrelated to Macron.[198]

Voting in the second round took place on Saturday 6 May from 08:00 to 19:00 (local time) in the French overseas departments and territories situated east of the International Date Line and west of metropolitan France (i.e. French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Pierre and Miquelon), as well as at French diplomatic missions in the Americas. Voting in metropolitan France (as well as the French overseas departments and territories of Mayotte, New Caledonia, Réunion and Wallis and Futuna, and French diplomatic missions outside the Americas) took place on Sunday 7 May from 08:00 to 19:00 or 20:00 (local time).[160] The results of the second round were officially proclaimed on 10 May.[199]

First round

Second round