French presidential elections under the Fifth Republic May. French presidential elections under the Fifth Republic There have been eleven presidential elections in France since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958. Originally the president was elected by the Collège des Notables (an assembly of "notable electors") that included around 80,000 county and city/town councillors (who had been elected locally). Following the 1962 de Gaulle's constitutional reform (the constitutional Act of November 6, 1962) the president has been directly elected by the people of France. Until the French constitutional revision of September 24, 2000, the president had been elected for a seven-year term. Under this revision the
Presidential elections in France absolute majority (including blank and void ballots) of votes in the first round, a second round is held two weeks later between the two candidates who received the most votes. Since 1965, when the current (direct) election system was introduced, every election has gone to a second round. The latest election was in 2017. The first round was held on 23 April 2017, the second on 7 May. Presidential elections in France Presidential elections in France determine who will serve as the President of France for the next several years. Currently they are held once in five years (formerly seven).