French presidential election 2027: dates, two rounds and how to vote

The first round will be held on Sunday 18 April 2027 and the second round, if needed, on Sunday 2 May 2027. The Minister of the Interior announced these dates to the Council of Ministers on 1 July 2026. In Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Polynesia and at French embassies and consulates in the Americas, people vote one day earlier, on Saturday 17 April and Saturday 1 May.

The Constitution requires the election to take place between 20 and 35 days before the end of the outgoing president’s term, which ends in May 2027. The Government formally calls the election by a decree, which must be published at least ten weeks before the first round: by 7 February 2027 at the latest. The collection of sponsorships for candidates opens the day after.

The President of the Republic is elected for five years by direct universal suffrage: voters choose a candidate themselves, and the whole country, including overseas France and French citizens abroad, forms a single constituency. Nobody may serve more than two consecutive terms (Constitution, article 6). Emmanuel Macron, elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2022, therefore cannot stand in 2027.

The Constitutional Council oversees the election, examines complaints and proclaims the results (article 58).

The election can have two rounds:

1. First round. A candidate who wins an absolute majority of the votes cast, that is, more than half, is elected straight away. Blank and spoilt ballots are counted separately and are not part of the votes cast.
2. Second round. If no candidate reaches an absolute majority, a second round is held fourteen days later. Only two candidates take part: the two with the most votes in the first round, once any candidate ahead of them has withdrawn. Withdrawals must reach the Constitutional Council by midnight on the Thursday after the first round.
3. Result. The candidate with the most votes in the second round is elected. The Constitutional Council proclaims the official results.

In 2022, twelve candidates stood in the first round. The leading candidate won 27.85% of the votes cast, far from an absolute majority, so the top two went through to a second round.

To stand, a candidate needs at least 500 sponsorships (parrainages) from elected officials, such as members of Parliament, French members of the European Parliament, regional and departmental councillors and mayors. The sponsors must come from at least 30 departments or overseas territories, and no more than a tenth of them from the same one. A sponsorship cannot be withdrawn once it has been sent.

Sponsorships are sent by post to the Constitutional Council, which publishes the names of the sponsors at least twice a week. They can be sent from the day after the decree calling the election until 18:00 on the sixth Friday before the first round, which is expected to be 12 March 2027. The Council then checks them and draws up the official list of candidates, expected to be published in the Journal officiel on Tuesday 16 March 2027.

Each candidate must also file a declaration of assets and a declaration of interests and activities. Campaign spending is capped: the law sets €13.7 million for the first round and €18.3 million for each of the two candidates in the second, amounts multiplied by a coefficient of 1.23 (in 2022, €16.851 million and €22.509 million).

There are no official candidates yet. Many people have said they intend to run, but only those who collect 500 sponsorships will be on the official list, expected on 16 March 2027. The test includes 11 declared candidates, chosen with the criteria explained on the methodology page, as of 19/10/2026. It will follow the official list, and after the first round it will keep only the two candidates in the second round.

What each candidate stands for, question by question, is on the candidate pages.

Who can vote. French citizens who are 18 or over on the day before the election, have their civil and political rights and are registered on an electoral roll, in France or at a consulate abroad. Citizens of other European Union countries living in France cannot vote in the presidential election: they can vote only in European and municipal elections.

Registering. Most people are registered automatically: at 18 if they completed the citizenship census (recensement citoyen), and when they become French. If you have moved, you must register in your new town. To vote in 2027, register by Friday 12 March 2027, online on service-public.fr or at your town hall. You can check your registration and your polling station online on the same site.

At the polling station. On election day, polling stations are open from 8:00 to 19:00. The prefect can keep them open later in some towns, but never after 20:00; in practice, large cities close at 20:00. You vote in person at the polling station where you are registered.

By proxy. If you cannot go to your polling station, another voter can vote for you (procuration). You can choose any voter, even one registered in another town, and that person votes for you at your polling station. You do not have to give a reason. You apply online on Maprocuration and then confirm your identity at a police or gendarmerie station, or online without travelling if you have a certified France Identité digital ID, or with the paper form. A proxy can cover one election or up to a year. Each voter can hold only one proxy made in France. Apply as early as possible, so that it reaches your town hall in time.

Results. No result, partial or final, may be published before the last polling stations in metropolitan France close at 20:00. The Constitutional Council then checks the count and proclaims the official results; in 2022 it did so three days after each round.

At a consulate. French citizens living abroad can register on the consular electoral list of their embassy or consulate and vote there in person. In the Americas, voting takes place on the Saturday, one day before metropolitan France.

By proxy. You can also ask another voter to vote for you. Abroad, you make the proxy at an embassy or consulate, or online with a certified France Identité digital ID. For voters on a consular list, a proxy can cover up to three years.

No internet or postal voting. In the presidential election you cannot vote online or by post. Internet voting is used only to elect the members of Parliament for French citizens abroad and in consular elections, and in 2025 the Government said it did not intend to extend it to other elections.

The official campaign opens on a date set by the decree calling the election. Once the list of candidates is published, radio and television must treat all candidates fairly, and during the official campaign they must give them equal airtime, under the supervision of the regulator Arcom. From Saturday at 0:00 until the last polling stations in metropolitan France close at 20:00 on Sunday, no election poll may be published, broadcast or commented on, by any means (Law No. 77-808, article 11). The ban applies throughout France, including where people vote on Saturday. From the day before the vote, electoral propaganda is also banned, including online (Electoral Code, article L49).

The barometer on this site is not an opinion poll: it brings together the anonymous results of people who chose to take the test, and it is not representative. It is still switched off during these hours in each round, and none of its figures are published. The test itself stays open.