The president of French (Conseil Constit...

Paris, FRANCE: The president of French (Conseil Constitutionel) Jean-Louis Debre, flanked by council members, announces the official list of candidates for the French presidency. Twelve candidates are to run in next month's election after gathering the 500 endorsements needed to qualify, he announced. The twelve candidates are : socialist Segolene Royal, centrist Francois Bayrou, right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy, communist Marie-George Buffet, trotskyist Arlette Laguiller, ecologist Dominique Voynet, far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen, Trotskyist Olivier Besancenot, far-left Gerard Schivardi, hunting, fishing, nature and traditions party leader, Frederic Nihous, and far-right Philippe de Villiers. Fom LtoR, Constitutional Council's members : Guy Canivet, Renaud Denoix de Saint-Marc, Jean-Louis Pezant, Dominique Schnapper, Olivier Dutheillet de LamotheJacqueline de Guillenchmidt and Pierre Steinmetz. The 9th member, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing is missing. AFP PHOTO JOEL SAGET (Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)