Presidential elections and Europe: the 2012 game-changer

As well as marking 60 years since the signature of the Treaty of Rome, 2017 will see the 10th Presidential election of France’s 5th Republic. The overlap between the question of Europe and the election to France’s highest office provides the framework for this article to explore the development of the European debate in France. Prior to 2012, and despite the increasing and undeniable salience of it for French domestic concerns, the question of Europe is widely considered to have been a secondary issue in Presidential elections. Focussing in particular on the period since the pivotal debate and referendum on the Maastricht Treaty and the intervening transition from 'permissive consensus' to 'constraining dissensus', this article will explain how and why Europe has seemingly defied logic to remain on the margins of successive election campaigns before presenting the 2012 Presidential elections as a game-changer on how the question of Europe featured. The conclusion offers a discussion on the ramifications for future Presidential elections, starting with that of 2017