French presidential debates

French presidential debates, broadcast on TV, traditionally occurred only between the two rounds of the presidential elections.
In 2017, for the first time, a presidential debate took place prior to the first round.

The role of TV in French presidential election became prominent after Charles de Gaulle's decision to propose a referendum on the establishment of the election of the President of the French Republic under universal suffrage. Alain Peyrefitte, Minister of Information, decided to enact the rule that rival candidates will dispose of the same amount of time to speak.

The first such televised debate occurred between François Mitterrand and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1974, on the ORTF, and was presented by Jacqueline Baudriller and Alain Duhamel. Giscard was said by Mitterrand to have won the election with his pun: "you do not have a monopoly on heart."

They reprised their performance in the next election in 1981 when Mitterrand upstaged Giscard and won. Mitterrand memorably retorted to Giscard's description of him as "l'homme du passé" (man of the past) by calling Giscard "l'homme du passif" (man of liabilities).

In 1988, after two years of cohabitation, the debate opposed Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac. Each candidate had 50 minutes to speak, with an additional 3 minutes conclusion at the end of the show. During the most famous moment of the debate, Jacques Chirac declared to Mitterrand:

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