Lexique de l'élection présidentielle

Abstention: The fact, for a registered voter, of not taking part in the vote. The abstention rate is calculated on the number of registered voters.
Arcom: Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority, which succeeded the CSA in 2022. It monitors compliance with pluralism and candidates' speaking time on radio and television.
National Assembly: Lower chamber of Parliament, made up of 577 deputies elected for five years by direct universal suffrage. It has the final say on the passage of laws and can topple the government.
Runoff: Situation in which no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first round, which requires a second round. All presidential elections of the Fifth Republic have been decided in two rounds.
Blank ballot: Blank sheet or empty envelope placed in the ballot box. Since 2014, blank votes have been counted separately from spoiled votes, but they are not included in valid votes cast.
Spoiled ballot: Invalid ballot: torn, annotated, bearing several names, or several ballots placed in the same envelope. It is not included in valid votes cast.
Official campaign: Period that opens on the second Monday before the first round. Strict equality of speaking time applies, and official billboards are allocated.
CNCCFP: National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing. It oversees candidates' campaign accounts and the financing of parties.
Cohabitation: Situation in which the President of the Republic and the majority in the National Assembly come from opposing political camps. The Fifth Republic has experienced three: 1986-1988, 1993-1995 and 1997-2002.
Polling Commission: Authority that oversees the quality and publication of election polls. Each published poll must be the subject of a notice filed with it.
Constitutional Council: Judge of the presidential election. It receives endorsements, draws up the official list of candidates, ensures the regularity of the vote and proclaims the results.
Constitution: Fundamental text that organizes public authorities. The Constitution of the Fifth Republic was adopted by referendum on 28 September 1958 and promulgated on 4 October 1958.
Dissolution: Power of the President of the Republic to end the mandate of deputies before its term, which triggers new legislative elections. The President cannot dissolve the National Assembly again within the year following those elections.
Executive: Power responsible for enforcing laws and conducting the country's policy. Under the Fifth Republic, it is shared between the President of the Republic and the government led by the Prime Minister.
Political family: Set of parties and currents that share a common tradition of ideas, from the far left to the far right, including ecologists, centrists and sovereigntists.
Republican front: Instruction or practice of voting, in the second round, for the candidate opposed to the far right, regardless of their camp. The expression, which is older, took on particular prominence in 2002.
Poll hypothesis: List of candidates tested in a poll. As long as candidacies are not finalized, pollsters often test several hypotheses; the site's average uses the main hypothesis.
Voter registration: Procedure required to vote. It is automatic at age 18 for young people who have been registered through the census, and possible at the town hall, by mail or online until the sixth Friday before the election.
Voting intention: Response given by a person surveyed to the question “Who would you vote for if the election were held on Sunday?” It measures a balance of forces at a given moment, not a result.
Nomination: Official designation of a candidate by his or her party. For the presidential election, a party's nomination is not enough: candidates must also gather 500 sponsorships.
Judicial: Power to judge, entrusted to magistrates. The Constitution makes the President of the Republic the guarantor of the independence of the judicial authority.
Legislative: Power to vote laws and oversee the government, exercised by Parliament: the National Assembly and the Senate.
Absolute majority: More than half of the votes cast. This is the threshold to be elected president, in the first or second round.
Margin of error: Possible gap between a poll's result and the actual outcome, linked to sample size. For 1,000 people surveyed, it is around 2 to 3 points around 50%.
Motion of censure: Vote through which the National Assembly can bring down the government. It must gather an absolute majority of deputies, that is at least 289 votes.
Sponsorship: Endorsement of a candidate by an elected official (mayor, parliamentarian, departmental or regional councillor...). Candidates need 500 sponsorships, from at least 30 departments, to stand in the presidential election.
Turnout: Share of registered voters who cast a ballot. The record under the Fifth Republic is 87.33%, in the second round of 1974.
Political party: Association that contributes to the expression of suffrage, under Article 4 of the Constitution. Parties field candidates and receive public funding based on their results.
Blackout period: Period beginning at midnight the day before the vote. All electoral propaganda and publication of polls are prohibited until the last polling stations close.
Spending cap: Maximum amount a candidate may spend on their campaign. In 2022, it was 16.851 million euros in the first round and 22.509 million euros for the two finalists.
Prime Minister: Head of government, appointed by the President of the Republic. Directs the government's action and is accountable to the National Assembly.
Primary: Vote organised by a party or coalition to choose its candidate ahead of the presidential election. It may be open to all voters or reserved for members.
Proxy vote: Procedure allowing an absent voter to entrust their vote to another voter. It can be done online or at a police station, gendarmerie or consulate.
Five-year term: Five-year mandate. It replaced the seven-year term for the President of the Republic following the referendum of 24 September 2000, and has applied since the 2002 election.
Referendum: Vote through which citizens directly decide on a text. The President may call one under the conditions set out in Articles 11 and 89 of the Constitution.
Reimbursement: State reimbursement of part of campaign spending: up to 47.5% of the spending cap for a candidate who exceeds 5% of votes cast, and 4.75% below that threshold.
Vote transfer: How the voters of a candidate eliminated in the first round divide their votes in the second round. Second-round polls seek to estimate this.
Senate: Upper house of Parliament, composed of 348 senators elected for six years by indirect suffrage by around 160,000 grands électeurs. Half of it is renewed every three years.
Seven-year term: Seven-year mandate of the President of the Republic, in force from 1873 to 2002 under the Third, Fourth and Fifth Republics.
Poll: Survey conducted among a representative sample of the population to measure opinions or voting intentions. Electoral polls are regulated by the law of 19 July 1977.
Direct universal suffrage: Electoral system in which all adult citizens vote themselves to elect the candidate. The President has been elected this way since the constitutional reform of 1962.
Votes cast: All ballots valid for a candidate. Blank and spoiled ballots are not included; candidates' percentages are calculated on this basis.
Speaking time: Length of airtime a candidate and their supporters receive in audiovisual media. Arcom enforces fairness before the official campaign, then strict equality during it.
Fifth Republic: Political regime in force in France since 1958, established by the Constitution of 4 October 1958 under the impetus of General de Gaulle.
Sixth Republic: Proposed change of regime advocated by several political leaders, who propose a new Constitution giving more powers to Parliament or to citizens.
Compulsory voting: Legal obligation to vote, on pain of a fine, in force in certain countries such as Belgium. Voting is not compulsory in France for the presidential election.

Updated: 2026-11-01T15:27+01:00