Abstract: The subject of this study is the first general presidential election of the Fifth Republic in 1965. This is one of the key events of the presidency of General Charles de Gaulle, since for the first time since the adoption of the constitutional amendment on October 28, 1962, the elections of the head of state of France have acquired the status of universal popular vote. This presidential campaign is of particular research interest due to the fact that de Gaulle, the leader and savior of the French nation, failed to immediately collect a majority of votes in the first round of voting. Did the General's failure mark the transformation of the political behavior of the French people? And if so, why did this happen? In order to answer these questions, the author studies the peculiarities of the election campaign and the motives of the voters, which is the object of the study. There is no denying that the presidential campaign of 1965 has already been the subject of research in the works of Western scientists who appeared in the first few years after the elections, it is also described in general works on the Degoll presidency. At the same time, the influence of the peculiarities of the 1965 election campaign on the choice of voters did not become a separate topic of study. The main conclusion of this article is that the change in the motives of the French vote was associated with the new economic situation, with a new generation of young voters - children of the war era and the occupation of France. Also, the choice of the people was influenced by the widespread use of modern propaganda methods, primarily television. De Gaulle was "blackballed" in the first round largely due to the fact that he initially refused to use the possibilities of new ways of propaganda, did not at all create a more attractive, understandable image to voters, believing that his previous merits would be enough to win.