1965 French presidential election

1965 French presidential election

← 1958 5 December 1965 (first round) 19 December 1965 (second round) 1969 →
Turnout	84.75% (first round) 84.32% (second round)
Candidate Charles de Gaulle François Mitterrand Party UNR FGDS Popular vote 13,083,699 10,619,735 Percentage 55.20% 44.80%
First round results by department Second round results by department
President before election Charles de Gaulle UNR Elected President Charles de Gaulle UNR

Presidential elections were held in France on 5 December 1965, with a second round on 19 December. They were the first direct presidential elections in the Fifth Republic and the first since the Second Republic in 1848. It had been widely expected that incumbent president Charles de Gaulle would be re-elected, but the election was notable for the unexpectedly strong performance of his left-wing challenger François Mitterrand.