In France, the president is elected by direct popular vote in a two-round election every five years.

Let’s look at this more closely:

The president is elected directly by the people. If you’re French and over 18, all you have to do is make sure you’re on the voting list (and if you’re not, sign up at your local mairie, or city hall).

It’s a two-round election. On the first-round election day, you go to the polling station and cast your vote for one of the dozen or so candidates. If no candidate secures the absolute majority in the first round, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the second round. The second round takes place two weeks after the first.
By the way, elections are always held on a Sunday.

The election takes place every five years. It used to be every seven years, and as a president can be reelected once, he can potentially hold the presidency for a total of 14 years (like François Mitterrand did, from 1981 to 1995). In 2000, then-president Jacques Chirac held a referendum to change the term from seven to five years. It passed, and when he was reelected in 2002, he served for another five years, with a total of 12 years in office.

So far, there have been no female presidents. A woman made it to the second round in 2007 and in 2017, and in the 2022 presidential elections, there are four women among the 12 official candidates.

In order to become an official candidate, you need the official support (“parainnage”) of 500 elected officials, such as members of parliament, mayors, or senators. In 2022, there were 64 individuals who received at least one parrainage, 22 of whom were not even trying to become a candidate (such as the astronaut Thomas Pesquet). Add to that 16 individuals who tried to but did not receive any parrainage.

You get the idea, the field is crowded. Some go in for the attention, or to make a statement (political or otherwise).
The serious contenders, those who become official candidates, need to obtain at least 5% of the vote to get a meaningful chunk of their campaign expenses reimbursed. With twelve official candidates vying for the votes, good luck to them.