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France announces candidates for April presidential election

March 7, 2022

The Constitutional Council published the names of the 12 candidates who are vying to lead France for the next five years. Emmanuel Macron remains the front-runner, but he will face challenges from the left and the right.

https://p.dw.com/p/488uv
Large carnival caricature heads of France's presidential candidates in a warehouse in Nice, France
Incumbent Emmanuel Macron is leading the pack at the moment but 11 challengers are in hot pursuitImage: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Constitutional Council in Paris on Monday announced its official list of candidates seeking France's presidency in April's election. Of the 65 candidates who expressed interest in running, 12 garnered the required support of 500 politicians each to make them eligible to stand.

Who is on the ballot?

Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, buoyed by recent upbeat economic numbers and widely viewed as a candidate for stability in the midst of international crisis such as the current conflict in Ukraine, is the odds-on favorite to win.

Macron, who founded the centrist party En Marche, has led the country since 2017. As was the case in 2017, Macron is expected to face far-right firebrand Marine Le Pen of the National Rally in a runoff.

Other candidates vying for the right to assume the office include Valerie Pecresse, of the center-right party The Republicans; Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, of the Socialist Party; Jean-Luc Melenchon. of the far-left La France Insoumise; Fabien Roussel, of the French Communist Party; Yannick Jadot, of the left-leaning Green Party; and far-right candidate Eric Zemmour.  

The election will be held on April 10. Should no candidate win a majority, the two who receive the most votes would face one another in a runoff on April 24.

js/wd (AFP, dpa)