French legislative election, 1962

French legislative election, 1962
France
18 November and 25 November 1962

All 491 seats to the French National Assembly
246 seats were needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Georges Pompidou Guy Mollet Maurice Faure
Party UNR SFIO Radical
Leader's seat Cantal-2nd Pas-de-Calais-1st Lot
Last election 233 seats 47 seats 37 seats
Seats won 206 65 44
Seat change Decrease 27 Increase 18 Increase 7
Popular vote 5,855,744 (1st round)
6,169,890 (2nd round)
2,298,729 (1st round)
2,264,011 (2nd round)
1,429,649 (1st round)
1,172,711 (2nd round)
Percentage 31.94% (1st round)
40.36% (2nd round)
12.54% (1st round)
14.83% (2nd round)
7.79% (1st round)
7.68% (2nd round)

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Maurice Thorez André Colin Camille Laurens
Party PCF MRP CNIP
Leader's seat Seine Finistère (Senator)
Last election 10 seats 57 seats 132 seats
Seats won 41 36 28
Seat change Increase 31 Decrease 21 Decrease 104
Popular vote 4,003,553 (1st round)
3,195,763 (2nd round)
1,665,695 (1st round)
821,635 (2nd round)
1,404,177 (1st round)
- (2nd round)
Percentage 21.84% (1st round)
20.94% (2nd round)
9.08% (1st round)
5.45% (2nd round)
7.66% (1st round)
- (2nd round)

  Seventh party
 
Leader Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Party Independent Republicans
Leader's seat Puy-de-Dôme
Last election N/A (split from CNIP)
Seats won 27
Seat change N/A
Popular vote 1,089,348 (1st round)
1,444,666 (2nd round)
Percentage 5.94% (1st round)
9.46% (2nd round)

PM before election

Georges Pompidou
UNR

Elected PM

Georges Pompidou
UNR

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French legislative elections took place on 18 November and 25 November 1962 to elect the second National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.

Since 1959 and the change of Algerian policy (Charles de Gaulle decided in favour of the "self-government" and "Algerian Algeria"), France had faced bomb attacks by the Secret Armed Organization (Organisation armée secrète or OAS) which opposed the independence of Algeria, negotiated by the FLN with the March 1962 Evian agreements and approved by referendum by the French people. This policy was disapproved by some members of the "Presidential Majority".

Simultaneously, when Georges Pompidou replaced Michel Debré as Prime minister, the center-right parties (MRP and CNIP) left the majority due to de Gaulle's eurosceptic declaration. Like the Left, they denounced the presidentialization of the regime.

On 22 August de Gaulle escaped from an assassination attempt by the OAS in Le Petit-Clamart. He subsequently announced a controversial referendum in which he proposed the election of the president of the French Republic under universal suffrage. The presidential majority composed of the UNR and the Independent Republicans (RI) (which came from a CNIP split) campaigned for a "yes", while all the other parties formed a "coalition of no" and brought down Pompidou's cabinet by a vote of no confidence (motion de censure).[1]

However, de Gaulle finally won the referendum and dissolved the National Assembly. During the legislative campaign, all the parties, except the UNR and the RI, criticized the "personal power" which they believed distorted France's Republican institutions. Indeed, in the French political culture and in their mind, Republicanism was inseparable from parliamentary democracy and the reinforcement of the presidential powers was associated with Bonapartism. Contrary to the previous legislative election, the left-wing parties finalized an electoral agreement. The subsequent legislative elections saw advances for the left-wing opposition. However, conservative voters sanctioned the center-right parties, preferring to vote for the Gaullist party. Pompidou became Prime Minister again.

Results

 
Parties and coalitions 1st round 2nd round Total seats
Votes % Votes %
Union for the New Republic-Democratic Union of Labour (Union pour la nouvelle République-Union démocratique du travail) UNR-UDT 5,855,744 31.94 6,169,890 40.36 233
Popular Republican Movement (Mouvement républicain populaire) MRP 1,665,695 9.08 821,635 5.45 36
National Centre of Independents and Peasants (Centre national des indépendants et paysans) CNIP 1,404,177 7.66 - - 28
Independent Republicans (Républicains indépendants) RI 1,089,348 5.94 1,444,666 9.46 27
Total Right ("Presidential Majority", MRP and CNIP) 10,014,964 54.62 8,436,191 55.27 324
French Communist Party (Parti communiste français) PCF 4,003,553 21.84 3,195,763 20.94 41
French Section of the Workers International (Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière) SFIO 2,298,729 12.54 2,264,011 14.83 65
Radical Party (Parti radical) PR 1,429,649 7.79 1,172,711 7.68 44
Unified Socialist Party (Parti socialiste unifié) PSU 427,467 2.33 138,131 0.90 2
Total Left 8,159,398 44.50 6,770,616 44.34 152
Far-Right 159,429 0.87 52,245 0.34 -
Total 18,333,791 100.00 15,208,101 100.00 476
Abstention: 31.28% (1st round); 27.90% (2nd round)
Popular vote (first round)
UNR
 
31.94%
PCF
 
21.84%
SFIO
 
12.54%
MRP
 
9.08%
Radical
 
7.79%
CNIP
 
7.66%
RI
 
5.94%
PSU
 
2.33%
Far-right
 
0.87%

3rd National Assembly by Parliamentary Group

Group Members Caucusing Total
  UDR-UDT Group 216 17 233
  Socialist Group 64 2 66
  Democratic Centre Group 51 4 55
  Communist Group 41 0 41
  RD Group 35 4 39
  Independent Republicans Group 32 3 35
  Non-Inscrits 13 0 13
Total: 452 30 482

References

  1. Proceedings of the National Assembly, 4 October 1962, second sitting; vote tally on p. 3268. p. 38 in the PDF file
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