Skip to main content

Strategic Voting in the 2002 French Presidential Election

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: French Politics, Society and Culture Series ((FPSC))

Abstract

One of the arguments in favor of the two round system is that people can express their preference among all the candidates in the first round and then decide, in the second round, which of the top two contenders they find acceptable. According to that perspective, voters are allowed to vote “sincerely” on the first ballot and do not have to worry about the candidates’ chances of winning. Furthermore, because there are only two candidates on the second ballot, there is no reason or purpose in thinking strategically on the second ballot either. In both instances, voters do not have to get into complex strategic considerations. They simply express their preference among all the candidates on the first ballot and among the top two contenders on the second.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Bibliography

  • Blais, A. “Why is There So Little Strategic Voting in Canadian Plurality Rule Elections?”, Political Studies 50 (2002) 445–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blais, A. and Massicotte, L. “Electoral Systems”, in L. LeDuc, Richard G. Niemi and P. Norris (eds), Comparing Democracies 2. New Challenges in the Study of Elections and Voting (London: Sage, 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  • Blais, A. Nadeau, R. Gidengil, E. and Nevitte, N. “Measuring Strategic Voting in Multiparty Plurality Elections”, Electoral Studies 20 (2001) 343–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boy, D. and Dupoirier, E. “Is the Voter a Strategist?”, in D. Boy and Nonna Mayer (eds), The French Voter Decides (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, G. and Lomasky, L. Democracy and Decision: The Pure Theory of Electoral Preference (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Capdevielle, J. Dupoirier, E. and Ysmal, C. «Tableau des électorats en Mars 1978», in J. Capdevielle, E. Dupoirier, G. Granberg, E. Scheisguth, and C. Ysmal (ed.), France de Gauche Vote à Droite? (Paris: Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1988).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, G.W. Making Votes Count: Strategic Coordination in the World’s Electoral Systems (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Duverger, M. Les Partis Politiques (Paris: Seuil, 1951).

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. “The Institutional Logics of Presidential Elections”, in R. Elgie (ed.), Electing the French President: The 1995 Presidential Election (London: Macmillan, 1996).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. Electoral Laws and the Survival of Presidential Democracies (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis-Beck, M.S. and Chlarson, K. “Party, Ideology, Institutions and the 1995 French Presidential Election”, British Journal of Polifical Science 32 (2002) 489–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ysmal, C. «D’une Droite en Sursis à une Droite Défaite, 1974–1981», in A. Lancelot (ed.), 1981 : Les Élections de l’Alternance (Paris: Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2004 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Blais, A. (2004). Strategic Voting in the 2002 French Presidential Election. In: Lewis-Beck, M.S. (eds) The French Voter. French Politics, Society and Culture Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523791_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics