1981 French Presidential Election
The left takes the Élysée26 April 1981 and 10 May 1981 · The age of alternance · direct two-round vote
Presidential elections were held in France on 26 April 1981, with a second round on 10 May. François Mitterrand defeated incumbent president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing to become the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic.
President before
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
UDF
Elected President
François Mitterrand
PS
Winning share
51.8%
second round
Turnout
81.1%
second round 85.8%
The result
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Union for French Democracy · 8 222 432 votes
48.24%
second round
François Mitterrand
Socialist Party · 7 505 960 votes
51.76%
second round
Jacques Chirac
Rally for the Republic · 5 225 848 votes
18.00%
first round
Georges Marchais
French Communist Party · 4 456 922 votes
15.35%
first round
Brice Lalonde
Political Ecology Movement · 1 126 254 votes
3.88%
first round
Arlette Laguiller
Workers' Struggle · 668 057 votes
2.30%
first round
Michel Crépeau
Movement of Radicals of the Left · 642 847 votes
2.21%
first round
Michel Debré
Rally for the Republic (splinter) · 481 821 votes
1.66%
first round
Marie-France Garaud
Rally for the Republic (splinter) · 386 623 votes
1.33%
first round
Huguette Bouchardeau
Unified Socialist Party · 321 353 votes
1.11%
first round