I withdraw from political life: when Lionel Jospin recognized his resounding failure in the first round of the 2002 presidential election

Lionel Jospin has died at the age of 88, it was learned on March 23. The surprise was total when in 2002, he did not qualify for the second round of the presidential election, leaving Jean-Marie Le Pen in a duel with Jacques Chirac.

A shock wave. On April 21, 2002, at the end of the first round of the French presidential election, the Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin was eliminated in the first round, overtaken by Jean-Marie Le Pen. A major and unexpected political setback.

A few minutes after the announcement of the results, Lionel Jospin speaks, and utters the phrase that remains in memory: “I withdraw from political life”, amid the cries of his supporters, announcing “fully assuming the responsibilities of this failure”.

Building a barrier “without illusions”

An immediate decision ending several decades of political career, which surprises even in his own camp, and which has earned him his share of criticism. Often perceived as the result of excessive pride, political commentators believe that by remaining at the head of the plural left, he could have prevented the Socialist Party from a heavy defeat in the legislative elections of June 2002.

Five days later, as the second round of the election takes place on May 5, the former Prime Minister calls to “build a barrier without illusions” against the National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen. Jacques Chirac is ultimately re-elected by a wide margin.