ABSTRACT
In 2007, because of what was dubbed by the media as the “beauty and the beast struggle,” the macho style coverage of Segolene Royal, the first woman candidate with a real chance to win the French presidency, is seen as having ruined her chance to win against her opponent, Nicolas Sarkozy. In 2002, almost 5 million French citizens voted for the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, thus placing him in the presidential election run-off. In 2002, the election coverage was and still is considered as the main cause not only of voter apathy (28.4% of the eligible voters did not bother to vote, a record in a presidential election) but also of the motivation for the vote for the extreme-right candidate. If other explanations are associated with the main one (the election coverage), they are considered to be secondary. 1
