Alternate French presidents

[big bad fab]

My guess (just guess):

Charles de Gaulle (1959-1966), did not run for reelection
Georges Pompidou (1966-1973), did not run for reelection due to poor health
Jacques Chaban-Delmas (1973-1980), defeated
Francois Miterrand (1980-1994)
Michel Rocard (1994-2006), second term just five years
Dominique de Villepin (2006-present)

Nothing special, wait for your ideas

In your series, which is a realistic one until 1994, Rocard would in no way win in 1994. Not any socialist would have won.
So, it would be Balladur 1994-2001
Jospin 2001-2006
Sarkozy 2006-...

Well,  to have some fun (oh no, after some years, it becomes a German or Swedish TL, sort of...) :

- De Gaulle 1958-1961
- Salan 1961, after a coup
- De Gaulle 1961-1962, left after having reinstated the Republic and having a new Constitution agreed
- Pompidou 1962-1969, defeated
- Mendès-France 1969-1974, eventually convinced he had to run, and he won and he reduced the presidential mandate to 5 years, but the crisis had him defeated
- Giscard d'Estaing 1974-1979, defeated
- Rocard 1979-1989, had a limit of 2 terms adopted
- Barre 1989-1994, didn't run again
- Delors 1994-1999, didn't run again
- Juppé 1999-2009
- Strauss-Kahn 2009-....

[big bad fab]

No, he just left after having done the job... It's a what-if, remember...
But, from time to time, he was tired of leading France and I assume a military coup, even by dumb generals, would hurt him deeply and, hence, he would have dropped all this "big mess" after having done his duty.

I'm glad of my series (), as I include Mendès-France and, after VGE, moderate and clever guys from both sides, without having to fall in Mitterrand-Chirac and even Jospin.
Sure, I wasn't able to avoid Giscard... I haven't brainstormed enough !

[big bad fab]

Kalwejt, Rocard wouldn't have won after the autumn of 1979, because of the Metz Congress. Before it, it was in the wake of the 1978 legislative elections, where Rocard was leader of the left, sort of.
After that, Mitterrand used the left and the "old" wing of the party to kill him in Metz.

Of course, you can build a series without any real date besides it. But I think that should be realistic towards the general chronology.

As for Villepin, no way he could have won in 2006, in the middle of massive young demonstrations.
In fact, Villepin could have won in 2002-2004 after his speech against Bush's war in the UN and after his diving at La Baule in front of TV cameras and of a Sarkozy entirley dressed waiting for him...
But Villepin is a mad man, like Bayrou and Royal.

Imagine that his friends (not a few...) have just created a club to support his likely bid in 2012 and they have named it "Club Villepin"... OMG ! LOLz !
He'll never be president: all the old "chiraquiens" will gather around Copé (or around a coming back Juppé if Sarkozy's popularity falls in the 20s), not around Villepin. And Villepin's campaign would be almost the same as Bayrou's one.

[big bad fab]

Charles de Gaulle (1958-1962)
Gaston Monnerville (acting, 1962)
Antoine Pinay (1962-1969)
Jean Lecanuet (1969-1976)
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1976-1990)
Édouard Balladur (1990-1997)
Laurent Fabius (1997-present)

Nobody has anything to say?

Based on de Gaulle losing the 1962 referendum, no?

Or dying. It doesn't really matter.

Why on earth Lecanuet would have won in 1969 ?

Either you've got a conservative reaction to 68 or the left is able to take power (hence my own Mendès in 1969: had he followed the appeal of Charléty...).

And Lecanuet wouln't have been again candidate in your series, as Giscard AND Lecanuet wouldn't have competed together.

As for Balladur winning after 14 years of Giscard, very doubtful.

In my series, I've tried to pick, for each election year, the best placed politically and electorally.

[big bad fab]

Charles de Gaulle (1958-1962)
Gaston Monnerville (acting, 1962)
Antoine Pinay (1962-1969)
Jean Lecanuet (1969-1976)
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1976-1990)
Édouard Balladur (1990-1997)
Laurent Fabius (1997-present)

Nobody has anything to say?

Based on de Gaulle losing the 1962 referendum, no?

Or dying. It doesn't really matter.

Why on earth Lecanuet would have won in 1969 ?

Either you've got a conservative reaction to 68 or the left is able to take power (hence my own Mendès in 1969: had he followed the appeal of Charléty...).

And Lecanuet wouln't have been again candidate in your series, as Giscard AND Lecanuet wouldn't have competed together.

As for Balladur winning after 14 years of Giscard, very doubtful.

In my series, I've tried to pick, for each election year, the best placed politically and electorally.

All Presidents would be elected by the electoral college, remember. This would result, I think, in a string of generic center-right Presidents, with the occasional SFIO President (quite like the Fourth Republic).

Oh, OK, I haven't understood: I can't "remember", as you say, because you didn' write it first.

Well, even in this case, Lecanuet wouldn't have won in 1969. Pompidou, Chaban, Maurice Schumann or Guichard.

In 1976, Giscard is OK.

But in 1983, with local elections being still positive to the left, Defferre, Mauroy, Maurice Faure would have had an opportunity.

In which case, your Balladur 1990 would be fine.

In 1997, Fabius is excellent,
but in 2004, Chirac would have been strong, with Barnier and Raffarin as possible winners also.

[big bad fab]

My own version (with Chaban instead of Giscard) with direct presidential election:

- De Gaulle 1958-1961
- Salan 1961, after a coup
- De Gaulle 1961-1962, left after having reinstated the Republic and having a new Constitution agreed
- Pompidou 1962-1969, defeated
- Mendès-France 1969-1974, eventually convinced he had to run, and he won and he reduced the presidential mandate to 5 years, but the crisis had him defeated
- Chaban-Delmas 1974-1979, defeated
- Rocard 1979-1989, had a limit of 2 terms adopted
- Barre 1989-1994, didn't run again
- Delors 1994-1999, didn't run again
- Juppé 1999-2009
- Strauss-Kahn 2009-....

And my series with the remaining electoral college and a 4th Republic style:

- De Gaulle 1958-1965
- Pinay 1965-1972
- Olivier Guichard 1972-1979
- Robert Fabre 1979-1986
- Simone Veil 1986-1993
- Edouard Balladur 1993-2000
- Laurent Fabius 2000-2007
- Michel Barnier 2007-...