1978 French legislative election

Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 March 1978 to elect the sixth National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. On 2 April 1974, President Georges Pompidou died. The non-Gaullist centre-right leader Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was elected to succeed him. Because the Gaullist Union of Democrats for the Republic (Union des démocrates pour la République, UDR) was the largest party in the pro-Giscard majority in the Assembly, Giscard chose Jacques Chirac to lead the cabinet. This period was one of renovation for Gaullism.

1978 French legislative election

← 1973 12 and 19 March 1978 1981 →

All 491 seats to the French National Assembly
246 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout82.8% (Increase 1.6 pp) (1st round)
84.7% (Increase 1.9 pp) (2nd round)
  Majority party Minority party
 
Jacques Chirac 1980.jpg
Jean_Lecanuet.jpg
Leader Jacques Chirac Jean Lecanuet
Party RPR UDF
Leader's seat Corrèze-3rd Seine-Maritime (Senator)
Last election 183 seats (UDR) 119 seats (Reforming Movement, Centre, Democracy and Progress, and Independent Republicans)
Seats won 150 121
Seat change Decrease 33 Increase 2
Popular vote 6,462,462 (1st round)
6,651,756 (2nd round)
6,128,849 (1st round)
5,907,603 (2nd round)
Percentage 22.62% (1st round)
26.11% (2nd round)
21.45% (1st round)
23.18% (2nd round)

  Third party Fourth party
 
Confidences de François Mitterrand (cropped).jpg
Georges Marchais (cropped) 2.JPG
Leader François Mitterrand Georges Marchais
Party PS PCF
Leader's seat Nièvre-3rd none
Last election 102 seats 73 seats
Seats won 104 86
Seat change Increase 2 Increase 13
Popular vote 6,451,151 (1st round)
7,212,916 (2nd round)
5,870,402 (1st round)
4,744,868 (2nd round)
Percentage 22.58% (1st round)
28.31% (2nd round)
20.55% (1st round)
18.62% (2nd round)

Prime Minister before election

Raymond Barre
UDF

Elected Prime Minister

Raymond Barre
UDF

The presidential will to "govern towards the centre" and to promote a "modern liberal society" disconcerted the Gaullist party. The Abortion Act and the reduction of the age of majority to 18 years worried a part of the conservative electorate. Furthermore, a personal conflict opposed the two heads of the executive. In August 1976, Chirac resigned because he considered that he did not have "the means to carry on [his] function of Prime Minister".

Three months later, the UDR was replaced by the Rally for the Republic (Rassemblement pour la République, RPR). This, Chirac's electoral machine, was officially a member of the Presidential Majority but frequently criticized the liberal and pro-European policy of President Giscard d'Estaing and his new prime minister Raymond Barre. The executive duo reacted by federating the non-Gaullist centre-right in the Union for French Democracy (Union pour la démocratie française, UDF).

While the right-wing majority was divided and the economic situation deteriorated, the "Union of the Left" won the mid-term local elections. According to the polls, it was the favourite to win the legislative election. In his Verdun-sur-le-Doubs speech, President Giscard d'Estaing warned the French voters that he could not prevent the enforcement of the left-wing Common programme if the "Union of the Left" won. The Socialist Party (Parti socialiste, PS) and the French Communist Party (Parti communiste français, PCF) did not update their Common programme due to increasing tension between the two parties resulting from the PS gaining in electoral success at the PCF's expense.

For the first time since 1936, the Socialists obtained more votes than the Communists. Furthermore, the French electorate appeared evenly shared between four equivalent political parties (RPR, UDF, PS, PCF). Barre was confirmed as Prime Minister. Until the 2007 French legislative election, it was the last time that either the right or the left had won back-to-back legislative elections.

Results

edit
PartyFirst roundSecond roundTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Rally for the Republic6,462,46222.63316,651,75626.11119150
Socialist Party6,451,15122.5917,212,91628.31103104
Union for French Democracy6,128,84921.46265,907,60323.1998124
French Communist Party5,870,40220.5544,744,86818.628286
Far-left953,0883.3400
Miscellaneous793,2742.78057,4180.2311
Presidential majority684,9852.406305,7631.201016
Ecologists612,1002.1400
Radical Movement of the Left603,9322.110595,4782.341010
Total28,560,243100.006825,475,802100.00423491
Valid votes28,560,24398.0025,475,80297.21
Invalid/blank votes581,7362.00730,9082.79
Total votes29,141,979100.0026,206,710100.00
Registered voters/turnout35,204,15282.7830,956,07684.66
Source: Roi et President, IPU, Quid

References

edit
edit