French Presidential Elections 2022: Liberté, Égalité, Continuité?

French presidential elections of 2022 seem to be a repeat of the 2017 elections in many ways: 7 out of the 12 candidates were the same, as are the two candidates advancing to the second round, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron.

The threat of the far-right is once again evoked to mobilise voters, while there are serious discussions of what France under the Le Pen presidency might look like.

Yet there are many changes as well, both in the internal, but perhaps even more importantly in the external context. Emmanuel Macron's five years in office were marred by controversy and strong criticism of his actions boosting the opposition at the national level. On the EU level, the next French president will face off a new German chancellor for the unofficial leadership of the Union, while Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised questions both about Macron’s foreign policy and Le Pen’s cordial relations with Putin. With warnings that the outcome of the second round is far from certain, how will the results of these elections reflect trends and shifts in the French political landscape in the long term?

• Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies is inviting you to the Skytte Election Analysis Seminar on French Presidential Elections on Tuesday, April 26, from 16:15 to 18:00 (UTC+3) at Lossi 36-214 and on Zoom (Meeting ID: 980 1253 3147, passcode: 644965).

Leading the discussion are Dr. Stefano Braghiroli, Associate Professor of European Studies, and Skytte graduates Dylan Bonfils, former collaborator at the French National Assembly, and Vootele Päi, consultant at Corpore public affairs and communications agency, who has previously worked at the Estonian Ministry of Defence and the British Embassy in Tallinn.

The event is moderated by Merili Arjakas, Junior Research Fellow of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the ICDS.

Additional information: Kristel Vits, kristel.vits@ut.ee