French Presidental Election, 2017 (BobSmit)

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French Presidental Francois Hollande stood for re-election in 2017 as the candidate for his Socialist Party.
==Candidates==
Socialist Party (PS)- Incumbent president Francois Hollande stood for re-election as the candidate for the centre-left party.
When past president Nicholas Sarkozy chose not to stand for re-election under the centre-right party, it split into two new forces:
Liberal Union for a Popular Movement (L-UMP)- Past Prime Minster Francois Fillon led this break-away group, and stood as their presidental candidate. They make up the centre/centre-right wing of the party.
People's Union for A Popular Movement (P-UMP)- Former Finance Minster Jean-Francois Cope leads this group, made up of the right-wing and moderately anti-immigrant wing of the party.
National Front (FN)- This far-right party chose popular and charasmatic party leader Marine La-Pen as their candidate.
Left Front (FG)- Jean Luc Melenchon stood as the candidate for this socialist/communist union of far-left parties.
==Results==
First Round Results
Candidate 	Francois Hollande	Marine La-Pen 	Francois Fillon 	Jean-Francois Cope 	Jean Luc Melenchon	Others
Party 	Socialist Party 	National Front	Liberal Union for a Popular Movement	People's Union for a Popular Movement	Left Front 	Various
Percent 	27% 	21% 	18% 	12% 	10% 	12%
Percent +/-	-2% 	+3% 	N/A 	N/A 	-1% 	-3%
In the first round, a divided UMP allowed far-right candidate Marine La-Pen to secure second place, moving her on to the second round. This also happened in 2002 when La-Pen's father, Jean Marie La-Pen, beat out the Socialist Candidate to move him to a second round defeat against the Rally for the Republic's Jacques Chirac.
Candidate 	Francois Hollande	Marine La-Pen
Party 	Socialist Party 	National Front
Percent 	66% 	34%
Percent +/-	+39% 	+13%
In the second round, La-Pen gained 13% of the vote, stemming mainly from three places: Some of  Cope's more right-wing voters, minor far-right party voters, and conservative voters who would do anything not to see Hollande back in. This election was a massive win for the National Front, who dramatically increased their national profile and skyrocketed La-Pen to be one of the most important politicians in the country.
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