French Elections

France held two rounds of voting for its 2007 presidential elections. The first round took place on April 22. Of the 12 candidates, the top two were the Union for a Popular Movement Party's candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, and the French Socialist Party's candidate Segolene Royal.The secondary run-off election between Sarkozy and Royal was held on May 6. Sarkozy won the presidency by about a 6% margin.

First Round Results

Top Candidates

First place: Nicolas Sarkozy
- 11,448,663 votes (31.18%)
Second place: Segolene Royal
- 9,599,112 votes (25.87%)
Third place: Francois Bayrou
- 6,820,119 votes (18.57%)
Fourth place: Jean-Marie Le Pen
- 3,834,530 votes (10.44%)Official Site: Constitutional Council First Round Results

< 10% of Electorate

Olivier Besancenot, Philippe de Villiers, Marie-George Buffet, Dominique Voynet, Arlette Laguiller, Jose Bove, Frederic Nihous, Gerard SchivardiOfficial Site: Constitutional Council First Round Results

Second Round Results

Won: Nicolas Sarkozy
- 18,983,138 votes (53.1%)
Lost: Segolene Royal
- 16,790,440 votes (46.9%)Official Site: Constitutional Council Second Round Results

Candidates for Change

The two leading candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal were the first presidential candidates to be born after World War II. And both entered politics after Charles De Gaulle left office.International Herald Tribune: Voting begins in presidential election in France (April 22, 2007)