2002 French presidential election

French television's 8 p.m. first-round reveal, April 21, 2002 French results nights hinge on a single second: polls close at 8 p.m. and the screen shows the faces of the two finalists. That evening viewers watched, stunned, as Jean-Marie Le Pen appeared beside President Jacques Chirac, with Prime Minister Lionel Jospin knocked out by roughly 194,600 votes. Jospin then appeared before supporters, took full responsibility and said he would leave political life. Few broadcasts show so cleanly how a format built around one reveal can turn a routine first round into a national shock.