Retelling the Story of the 2017 French Presidential Election: The contribution of Approval Voting

This paper contributes to the literature which questions idea that left-right axis still characterizes political landscape, and challenges view 2017 French election marked a sharp discontinuity in development of politics. It analyzes outcomes using an original source information on voters’ preferences method leads alternative reading politics presidential election. Firstly, use experimental data approval voting enables us provide new narrative process outcome. Secondly, we introduce procedure generates endogenous axis, construct indices revealing how why conventional approach opposing left right is only partially relevant. In particular, younger voters, less they conform axis. However, show this does not represent rejection existing parties, as official results would suggest, but erosion minds barriers between distinct camps, traditional populist parties.