🇫🇷 France

Almost every French election uses the two-round majority system. In the presidential election, held every five years since the 2000 reform shortened the term from seven, a candidate who wins an absolute majority of the first round is elected outright; otherwise the top two contest a run-off two weeks later — a format that has structured French politics around the question of who reaches, and who is blocked in, the second round. The 577 deputies of the National Assembly are elected the same way in single-member constituencies, with any candidate clearing 12.5% of registered voters able to advance to the run-off, so three-way second rounds (triangulaires) are possible. Elections are administered by the Ministry of the Interior, which publishes official results, with the Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel) proclaiming the presidential outcome.

Figures from official electoral authorities — see Data & Methodology. Last updated 2026-11-02.