PARIS After an unprecedented electoral campaign characterized by multiple political upheavals , the first round of Frances presidential elections has confirmed that the republic is in the midst of a radical renewal.

While this is nothing new turmoil has rocked French political life for many months now Sundays vote has underscored the crisis of democracy and political establishment this nation and others are witnessing in the face of populism and globalization. This is the only instance in more than six decades that France has seen a candidate for president in the runoff who ultimately rejects the traditional parties of the left and right. Thus, whoever wins the runoff in May, whether centrist Emmanuel Macron or far-right Marine Le Pen, will have a tricky job ahead of them as they seek to embrace a festering rebellion and push through new policies.

In the fall of 2016, the shift began to take shape with surprising primary election results of mainstream parties. Les Rpublicains saw the elimination of Nicolas Sarkozy , the former French president, as well as Alain Jupp , prime minister under former French President Jacques Chirac. In December of the same year, Franois Hollande, the outgoing president, decided not to run for re-election because of his dismal approval ratings . In January 2017, Manuel Valls , the former prime minister, was eliminated in the Socialist Partys primary elections. Voters continued with unabated determination to shake the oldest and most entrenched political establishments to their core, eroding the traditional parties in the process.

Now, for the first time in this current governmental system, neither one of the large parties of the right and left, which have shaped Frances political life for over 60 years, is represented in the runoff elections for the presidency. Benot Hamon, the candidate for the ruling Socialist Party, garnered just above a mere 6 percent of the votes cast, and Franois Fillon, the candidate of Les Rpublicains, only got approximately 20 percent . Only an average of about one out of four voters supported one of the two major powers that have historically driven politics in recent years.