Electoral Turnout: Mobilization in All Its Diversity

Abstract

The presidential election is clearly the French electorate’s favorite. In 2012, the strong level of electoral mobilization beginning with the first round broke the cycle of record abstention levels in all the intermediary elections that took place during Nicolas Sarkozy’s five years in power with eight out of ten voters (81.5%) casting a vote. The percentage is a little lower than in 2007 (–2.2 points) but significantly higher than in the first round in 2002 when only 71.6% of voters turned out—a record abstention level for a presidential election. Nonetheless, the strong turnout in 2012 was lower than in 1965 (84.7%) and 1974 (84.2%). However, it was a little higher than the average level of turnout (80.3%) for the eight first rounds of presidential elections held to date under the Fifth Republic. In the second round, abstention dropped by 1.5% but the level of turnout remained two points lower than in the 2007 second round (82% and 84% respectively) and much lower than the record level reached in the second round of the 1974 presidential election (87.3%). During the two presidential elections won by François Mitterrand in 1981 and 1988, a very high percentage of French voters went to the polls—86.8% and 85%, respectively.