ABSTRACT
The presidential election has been one of the major causes of the escalation of campaign costs. After 1958, the question immediately arose as to whether the independence of the parties would be sufficiently preserved if they were to be financed, even partially, by public money. In 1974, the new President, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, wanted to draw up legislation concerning the financing of the parties. There were eleven bills between 1978 and 1988 in connection with the financing of campaigns but only three had provisions related to presidential elections. In each of the legislative texts, three key aspects of the financing of political life remained of central concern: the need for transparency, the safeguarding of independence, and the necessity for moderation. Great disparities still exist between the ways in which candidates finance their campaigns, depending on their resources and – to some extent – their ideologies.
