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All 12 candidates managed to muster the 500 endorsements from elected French officials needed to confirm their registration by the Constitutional Council.

Polls show that President Emmanuel Macron, elected in 2017, is the overwhelming favourite to come out on top in the second round run-off on April 24, after officially declaring his candidacy last week.

Centrist

Emmanuel Macron 

A former investment banker and economy minister under Socialist former president François Hollande, Macron swept to power five years ago with a centrist platform and newly founded party, pledging to reform France's economy and spur growth. He has presented himself as the dynamic leader of a "start-up nation" reasserting itself on the European and global stage. 

But Macron's policies generated resentment among many who accused him of favouring the rich amid criticisms that he had, in reality, governed largely from the right. A proposed fuel tax hike sparked the fiery Yellow Vest protests of 2018 and 2019 that forced him to make a series of tax and wage concessions.

Conservative

Valérie Pécresse 

The head of the Île-de-France region that includes Paris surprised many by winning the primary for the conservative Les Républicains party, becoming its first female candidate in a presidential election. 

Pécresse, a budget minister under former president Nicolas Sarkozy, has accused Macron of fiscal profligacy and being soft on crime, but her campaign has failed to gain traction despite her party's strong presence in local districts across France.