With the majority of the ballots counted on Monday morning, the official results of the first round of the French presidential election appear to confirm the power dynamics at work from the previous election.
Emmanuel Macron (La République en Marche, LREM) and Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement National, RN) have made it into the second round – in the same order as five years ago, making it the second time the duel will take place. The last and only time this happened in France was when Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (RPR) twice faced off against François Mitterrand (Socialist Party), first in 1974, when the right-wing candidate won and then again in 1981, when the socialist candidate triumphed.
Such stability is largely linked to the main candidates’ clout. Already in the game five years ago, Macron and Le Pen have been able to retain a loyal electoral base. Over the past weeks new voters have rallied around them, prioritising a so-called strategic vote (“vote utile”) over partisan considerations.
