French Election Analysis

France is a representative democracy in which the executive (President) is elected directly by the people. This head of state is elected on the national level to a five-year term. The maximum number of terms a president can have in France is two. Although French politics display some two party system tendencies, meaning that power generally alternates between two relatively stable coalitions (the Socialist party on the left and the UMP on the right), There are many more parties that are relevant to the dynamics of power.

The election of the President of the Republic is done using a two-round runoff voting method. This means that the two top vote getters in round one compete again in round two so that the elected President always has a majority vote. In order to be admitted as an official candidate, one must receive signed nominations from more than 500 elected officials (mostly mayors) from at least 30 departments. No more than 10% of nominations should be from the same department, and each official can only nominate one candidate.

Spending and financing of campaigns is highly regulated. There is a cap on how much each candidate can spend which is around 20 million Euros. Advertising on TV is forbidden, however official time is given to candidates on public TV. An independent agency monitors the presidential election and party financing. After the new French president is elected, he goes through a solemn ceremony in which power is handed over from the previous head of state.

Nicolas Sarkozy was elected French President in May 2007. Beating out the Socialist Party's Segolene Royal with 53.06% of the vote. Prior to the election Sarkozy served as the UMP leader, in which he called for radical changed to France's social and economic policies. Sarkozy advocated a "fairer" tax system, with a maximum taxation rate, he wanted to deny social support to unemployed Frenchmen who refused to work, and pressed for a reduction in Frances budget deficit.

Overall Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency can be described as one of both reform and controversy. His regime raised the retirement age from 60 to 62, relaxed the 35-hour work week, overhauled the universities, and altered the tax system in order to encourage overtime and home ownership. Sarkozy was also at the forefront of the European response to the global economic crises in 2008 and helped establish the G20 summits involving the world's largest economies. President Sarkozy vowed to punish speculators and believed in a strong state role in the economy.

He also angered human rights activists with his immigration policies, which included a mass deportation of gypsies. His presidency also saw the highest jobless rates in France in 12 years. In August 2008, President Sarkozy brokered an end to the Russia-Georgia conflict. He held the six-month EU rotating presidency at this time, and was assertive as its representative. In March 2011, France was