Ah, the beginning of November is upon us… the season of spectacular foliage, chilling temperatures, and… particularly divisive elections.
As tomorrow, Tuesday, November 8, is the day Americans go to the polls to choose their next president, let’s go over some French election terms (no pun intended!).
Courtesy of Theresa Thompson
Le président de la République française is elected for five-year terms (called un quinquennat). Before the year 2000, French presidents were actually elected for seven-year terms (un septennat). Just as in the United States, presidents can only serve two consecutive terms (deux mandats consécutifs).
The last élections présidentielles were held in April and May 2012, when current president François Hollande was elected.
That means that the next elections will be held in April and May 2017. Because this is Hollande’s first term as president (or, you could say, the incumbent president le président sortant ou le président en exercise), he is eligible to run for a second term.
This election will most likely be pretty divisive in France, as the American presidential election has been, due to recent political divides and the raised terror threat.
Unlike in the United States, the French president is directly elected through French citizens’ votes (and not through something like the Electoral College). (Although the French president was elected by the equivalent of the electoral college – le collège électoral –until a referendum in 1962 called for direct voting).
There are typically two rounds of voting (deux tours) in the presidential election; to run in the first round a potential candidate (un candidat) must have 500 signatures from officials (called sponsorships, or les parrainages) who can only officially support one candidate. There are often many candidates for whom people can vote during the first round.
If one candidate does not receive a majority of all the votes, then it goes off into the run-off round (le deuxième tour). The elected president must be inaugurated into office in a solemn ceremony called la passation des pouvoirs (the handing over of powers).
Here are some more French vocabulary terms for this election season:
Élire – to elect
Un Electeur – a voter
Isoloir – voting booth
Un vote – a vote
Un Bulletin de vote – a ballot
Une Urne électorale – a ballot box
Dépouillement – counting the votes
Happy voting!
Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.
This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.
Do you want more information ?
So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.
For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...
Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.
You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.
For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk
