Twelve candidates will be able to take part in the vote on April 10. Since 2002, no presidential election has seen less than ten candidates participate, and the maximum was reached in 2002 with sixteen contenders. These are the first two polls of the Ve Republic, in 1965 and 1969, which had the fewest candidates, six and seven respectively.
There is a relative renewal of candidates since only five candidates out of twelve have never taken part in a presidential election; Fabien Roussel (French Communist Party, PCF), Anne Hidalgo (Socialist Party, PS), Yannick Jadot (Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, EELV), Valérie Pécresse (Les Républicains, LR) and Eric Zemmour (Reconquète!).
The other seven were already candidates for the previous presidential election, such as the outgoing president, Emmanuel Macron (On the march!), or Jean Lassalle (Let’s resist!). It will even be the third participation in a row for five of them: Nathalie Arthaud (Lutte Ouvrière, LO), Philippe Poutou (New Anti-Capitalist Party, NPA), Jean-luc Mélenchon (La France insoumise, LFI), Nicolas Dupont- Aignan (Debout la France, DLF) and Marine Le Pen (National Rally, RN).
During the last presidential elections, it was in the major parties which organized primaries, on the left (PS), on the right (LR) or among the ecologists that we observed a greater renewal of candidates.
The prize for longevity goes to candidate Arlette Laguiller (LO), who participated in six successive elections between 1974 and 2007. On the far right side, the Le Pen family (National Front then RN) took part in eight presidential elections ; five for Jean-Marie Le Pen between 1974 and 2007 then three for his daughter Marine Le Pen since 2012.