French presidential election, 1988

French presidential election, 1988

← 1981 24 April and 8 May 1988 1995 →
Candidate François Mitterrand Jacques Chirac Party PS RPR Popular vote 16,704,279 14,218,970 Percentage 54.0% 46.0%
Results of the second round by department   François Mitterrand (>60%)   François Mitterrand (55–60%)   François Mitterrand (50–55%)   Jacques Chirac (>50%)
President before election François Mitterrand PS Elected President François Mitterrand PS

François Mitterrand
PS

François Mitterrand
PS

Presidential elections were held in France on 24 April and 8 May 1988.

In 1981, the Socialist Party leader, François Mitterrand, was elected President of France and the Left won the legislative election. However, in 1986, the right regained a parliamentary majority. President Mitterrand was forced to "cohabit" with a conservative cabinet led by the RPR leader Jacques Chirac. Chirac took responsibility for domestic policy while the President focused on his "reserved domain" – foreign affairs and defense policy. Moreover, several other prominent candidates opposed the two heads of the executive.

Chirac's cabinet advocated liberal-conservative policies, in abolishing the solidarity tax on wealth and selling some public companies. It was faced with opposition from social movements, supported covertly by President Mitterrand.

Meanwhile, the leadership of Chirac over the right was challenged by the former UDF Prime Minister Raymond Barre. Barre gained some popularity by condemning the principle of the "cohabitation", claiming that it is incompatible with the "spirit of the Fifth Republic". He appeared as an alternative to the executive duo. In January 1988, when he announced his candidacy, Chirac was credited with 19.5% in the first round by SOFRES polls institute, against 23% for Barre. But, from the start of February, Chirac benefited from the internal divisions in the UDF, and took the lead among the right-wing candidates.