France – The presidential election
Does the presidential election solve the political standstill?
Commerzbank Economic Research
09/29/2026
France's politics are slowing the economy
While the economy in the euro area has recently picked up again, France's economy contracted slightly in the first half of this year. Political uncertainty at least contributed to this trend. This is because uncertainty about future taxes, the retirement age, and social benefits is weighing on both households and businesses. With the presidential election coming up next spring, this uncertainty is likely to increase once again. Here is an overview.
A long election campaign lies ahead for the many candidates
Currently, there are about 35 people who are either already official presidential candidates, have registered for their party’s primary, or have announced their intention to run. This is more than at the same point in the last four election campaigns.
But the road to the Élysée Palace is long: Candidates must secure 500 votes from elected officials in at least 30 different departments.In the past, this has narrowed the field of candidates to ten to twelve people. Given the large number of applicants, more candidates could make it to the first round of the presidential election on April 18 this time around than has been the case in the past. If no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first round – as has been the case in all previous elections – a runoff election between the two candidates with the most votes will take place on May 2.
For full text see attached PDF-Version.
