This election came as a shock to many commentators, almost all of whom had expected the second ballot to be between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin. Jospin's poor showing and the widespread splintering of the left-wing vote in the first round of the election meant that instead Jean-Marie Le Pen faced Chirac in the second ballot. The election brought the two round voting system into question as well as raising many concerns about apathy and the way in which the left had become so divided.
There was a widespread stirring of national public opinion, and more than one million people in France took part in street rallies, in an expression of fierce opposition to Le Pen's ideas. Some held up protest signs stating "I'm ashamed to be French".
The choice between Chirac, who was at the time under investigation for actions carried out whilst he was mayor of Paris (see corruption scandals in the Paris region) and who was benefiting from Presidential immunity, and Le Pen, a nationalist, was one that many found tough. In the days before the second ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan "Vote for a Crook, not a Fascist". Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide.
The 2002Frenchpresidentialelection consisted of a first round election on 21 April2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates (Jacques Chirac and Jean-Marie Le Pen) on 5 May2002.
Journalists and politicians then claimed that polls had failed to predict his second place finish in the general election, though Le Pen's strong stance could be seen in the week prior to the election.
The first round of election came as a shock to many commentators, almost all of whom had expected the second ballot to be between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin.
The French electorate turned down a 1969 referendum on the reform of the FrenchSenate, in a move widely considered to be mostly motivated by weariness with de Gaulle.
On May 29, 2005, French voters in the referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe turned down the proposed charter by a wide margin.
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