Two rounds and you're out -- or in!

The fight for the Elysée Palace can look like a free-for-all, with more than a dozen candidates who don't pull punches and often hit below the belt to secure their place as the next French president. Here are the basic rules for those who hope to replace the incumbent Jacques Chirac:

Voters elect the country's leader for a five-year mandate by direct universal suffrage. A candidate must obtain the absolute majority of the votes cast. If no candidate crosses the 50 per cent threshold in the first round - and none ever has -- a second round is held between the two candidates who got the most votes in the first poll.

Almost anybody can run for president. All you have to do is be at least 23 years old, a French citizen, and gather signatures from 500 elected officials who endorse your candidacy. This means that, along with the usual suspects, there are usually some fresh faces, and sometimes some flaky ones, in the multiparty first round. In 2002, 16 candidates got the signatures needed. This year, those who manage to gather the 500 signatures by March 16 will get their chance to be counted in, or out, on April 22.

The first-round scrum is often referred to by the French as the "vote of the heart," where people cast ballots for their favorite candidate - or to spite those who disappoint them - regardless of who has a real chance of winning. They usually save their "vote of reason" for run-off, which is scheduled for May 6. There is only one winner possible in that round: the new president of France.

Some dates to watch in this year's election:

March 16: deadline for presidential candidates to gather the 500 signatures needed.

April 9: Electoral campaign officially kicks off.

April 20: Electoral campaign officially ends.

April 22: First-round vote.

May 6: Second-round vote.

May 17: New President's mandate officially begins.

-- Florence Villeminot