Submission of candidates in the French presidential elections of the Fifth Republic period as aform of rationalisation of the electoral process

The article concerns the process of selecting candidates in French elections for the office of President of the Republic. The author discusses the mechanism of nomination by at least five hundred public officials at various levels (members of parliament, members of regional and departmental councils, maires, etc.). The subject of the study are also the legislative changes made in this regard after 1958, i.e. throughout the functioning of the political apparatus of the Fifth Republic. Particular attention is given to the implications of this specific procedure, including the problems it can generate in political practice. Doubts have also been raised as to the consistency of these solutions with the design of general presidential elections. In view of these reservations, further legislative changes in this area have been proposed in recent years.