1981 French presidential election

1981 French presidential election

← 1974 26 April 1981 (first round) 10 May 1981 (second round) 1988 →
Turnout	81.09% (first round) 85.85% (second round)
Candidate François Mitterrand Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Party PS UDF Popular vote 15,708,262 14,642,306 Percentage 51.76% 48.24%
First round results by department and region Second round results by department and region
President before election Valéry Giscard d'Estaing UDF Elected President François Mitterrand PS

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.^[1][2] It is the first presidential election in French history that an incumbent president actively seeking reelection was denied a second term.

In the first round of voting on 26 April 1981, a political spectrum of ten candidates stood for election, and the leading two candidates – Mitterrand and Giscard d'Estaing – advanced to a second round. Mitterrand and his Socialist Party received 51.76% of the vote, while Giscard and his Union for French Democracy trailed with about 48.24%, a margin of 1,065,956 votes.

The Socialist Party's electoral program was called 110 Propositions for France. Mitterrand served as President of France for the full seven-year term (1981–1988) and won re-election in 1988.