At each presidential election, the same refrain: there are candidates, “small” as well as “bigger”, who encounter difficulties in obtaining the 500 signatures of elected officials necessary to validate their candidacy. On February 22, Marine Le Pen, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Eric Zemmour, Christiane Taubira, Philippe Poutou or even Nicolas Dupont-Aignan did not succeed. They only have a short week – until March 4, the deadline set by the Constitutional Council – to collect these precious donations.
According to these struggling competitors, this rule would be imperfect for our modern democracy. Worse, say some of those, it is made to protect candidates “from the system”. If they are prevented, it would be neither more nor less than a democratic scandal. Really?
The rule of 500 sponsorships does not appear to be dizzying for anyone planning to settle at the Elysée. In 2022, 42,433 elected officials can do so. A fat reserve. These candidates are all the more critical of the public nature of the sponsorships. The 2016 reform would, they say, put additional pressure on mayors and other local elected officials who fear their sponsorship will be seen as political support. In reality, they have been public since the presidential election of… 1981.
