ABSTRACT
The results of the first round of the 2002 French presidential election astounded everyone in France and abroad. The elimination of the Socialist candidate, incumbent Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, and the qualification of the Front National candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen, for the second round, did indeed cause a minor earthquake in the French political landscape. Analysts mainly emphasized the rise of the extreme right, the high abstention rate and the crisis affecting the French party system.
