How long is the term of the French president?
Five years, with a limit of two consecutive terms.
A French president serves a five-year term. Since a 2008 reform, no one may serve more than two consecutive terms.
The term was seven years until a 2000 referendum shortened it to five. It was first applied in the 2002 election. The change aligned the presidential calendar more closely with the legislative one.
Emmanuel Macron was re-elected in 2022 and cannot run again in 2027, so the next election will choose a new president.
Explore France's 2027 presidential election
Keep reading
Official calendar: service-public.gouv.fr. This page is a general explainer and will be updated as the campaign develops.
Teaching and learning
Intended audience: Undergraduate students in French studies, history, political science and related fields; independent adult learners.
Suggested uses: Guided data interpretation, election comparison and evidence-based discussion.
After using this resource, learners should be able to:
- Interpret the election results, turnout figures and ballot statistics presented in this resource.
- Identify the election, round, geographic scope and denominator before comparing figures.
- Distinguish descriptive patterns in the data from claims about individual voting motives.
Use the objectives that correspond to the material available on this page. Collection pages provide entry points to individual resources; unfinished or unavailable material is not a completed learning activity.
Original materials © Dr. Amine Zidouh / French Politics, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 unless otherwise indicated. When sharing or reproducing covered material, credit Dr. Amine Zidouh and French Politics, link to the source and license, and identify changes. Images, protest signs, artworks and other third-party materials are excluded. See Rights, Credits & Educational Reuse for scope, attribution and the as-is disclaimer.