French legislative election, 1968

French legislative election, 1968

23 June and 30 June 1968

All 487 seats to the French National Assembly 244 seats were needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Georges Pompidou François Mitterrand Party UDR FGDS Leader's seat Cantal-2nd Nièvre-3rd Last election 243 seats 117 seats Seats won 354^* 57 Seat change 111 60 Popular vote 9,667,532 (1st round) 6,762,170 (2nd round) 3,660,250 (1st round) 2,935,775 (2nd round) Percentage 43.65% (1st round) 46.39% (2nd round) 16.53% (1st round) 20.14% (2nd round)   Third party Fourth party   Leader Waldeck Rochet Camille Laurens (NCIP), Jean Lecanuet (CD, above) Party PCF Progress and Modern Democracy Leader's seat Seine-Saint-Denis Seine-Maritime (Lecanuet, as Senator) Last election 73 seats 41 seats (CD) Seats won 34 33 Seat change 39 11 Popular vote 4,434,832 (1st round) 2,935,775 (2nd round) 2,289,849 (1st round) 1,141,305 (2nd round) Percentage 20.02% (1st round) 20.14% (2nd round) 10.34% (1st round) 7.83% (2nd round)

^* Including Independent Republicans.

PM before election Georges Pompidou UDR Elected PM Maurice Couve de Murville UDR

French legislative elections took place on 23 and 30 June 1968 to elect the fourth French National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. They were held in the aftermath of the events of May 1968. On 30 May 1968, in a radio speech, President Charles de Gaulle, who had been out of the public eye for three days (he was in Baden-Baden, Germany), announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, and a new legislative election, by way of restoring order.

While the workers went back to their jobs, Prime Minister Georges Pompidou campaigned for the "defence of the Republic" in the face of the "communist threat" and called for the "silent majority" to make themselves heard. The Left was divided. The Communists reproached the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (FGDS) leader François Mitterrand for not having consulted it before he announced his candidacy in the next presidential election, and for the formation of a provisional government led by Pierre Mendès-France. The Far-Left and the Unified Socialist Party protested against the passivity of the left-wing parties. The Gaullist Union for the Defence of the Republic became the first party in the French Republic's history to obtain an absolute parliamentary majority. The FGDS disintegrated.

However, the relation between the two heads of the executive power had deteriorated during the crisis. One month later, Georges Pompidou resigned and was replaced by Maurice Couve de Murville.

Results

Parties and coalitions			1st round		2nd round		Total seats
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Union for the Defense of the Republic (Union pour la défense de la République) - Independent Republicans (Républicains indépendants) Union for the Defense of the Republic (Union pour la défense de la République) Independent Republicans (Républicains indépendants)	UDR-RI	9,667,532	43.65	6,762,170	46.39	354 293 61
	Progress and Modern Democracy (Progrès et démocratie moderne)	PDM	2,289,849	10.34	1,141,305	7.83	33
	Miscellaneous Right	DVD	917,758	4.14	496,463	3.41	9
Total Right ("Presidential Majority" and PDM)			12,875,139	58.13	8,399,938	57.62	396
	French Communist Party (Parti communiste français)	PCF	4,434,832	20.02	2,935,775	20.14	34
	Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (Fédération de la gauche démocrate et socialiste)	FGDS	3,660,250	16.53	3,097,338	21.25	57
	Unified Socialist Party (Parti socialiste unifié)	PSU	1,037,063	4.29	144,361	0.99	-
Total Left			9,132,145	40.84	6,177,474	42.38	91
	Miscellaneous		111,195	0.50	-	-	-
	Republican Alliance for the Progress and Liberties (Alliance républicaine pour le progrès et les libertés)	ARPL	28,736	0.13	-	-	-
	Total		23,751,213	100.00	14,577,412	100.00	487
Abstention: 20.04% (1st round); 22.17% (2nd round)

Popular vote (first round)
UDR-RI			43.65%
PCF			20.02%
FGDS			16.53%
PDM			10.34%
PSU			4.68%
DVD			4.14%
Others			0.63%

4th National Assembly by Parliamentary Group

Group		Members	Caucusing	Total
	UDR Group	270	23	293
	Independent Republicans Group	57	4	61
	FGDS Group	57	0	57
	Communist Group	33	1	34
	Progress and Modern Democracy Group	30	3	33
	Non-Inscrits	9	0	9
	Total:	456	31	487