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1967 French legislative election

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1967 French legislative election

← 1962 5 March 1967 (first round)
12 March 1967 (second round)
1968 →

All 487 seats in the French National Assembly
246 seats needed for a majority
Turnout80.90% (first round) Increase 12.17pp
70.09% (second round) Decrease 2.21pp
  Majority party Minority party
 
Georges Pompidou 1969 (cropped).jpg
François Mitterrand 1968.jpg
Leader Georges Pompidou François Mitterrand
Party UDR FGDS
Leader's seat Cantal-2nd Nièvre-3rd
Last election 249 seats 107 seats
Seats won 240 118
Seat change Decrease 8 Increase 11
Popular vote 8,453,512 (1st round)
7,972,908 (2nd round)
4,207,166 (1st round)
4,505,329 (2nd round)
Percentage 37.75% (1st round)
42.61% (2nd round)
18.79% (1st round)
24.08% (2nd round)

  Third party Fourth party
 
Waldeck Rochet 1968 (cropped).jpg
Jean_Lecanuet.jpg
Leader Waldeck Rochet Jean Lecanuet
Party PCF Democratic Centre
Leader's seat Seine-Saint-Denis-3rd Seine-Maritime (Senator)
Last election 41 seats 64 seats (MRP and CNIP)
Seats won 73 42
Seat change Increase 32 Decrease 22
Popular vote 5,029,808 (1st round)
3,998,790 (2nd round)
2,864,272 (1st round)
1,328,777 (2nd round)
Percentage 22.46% (1st round)
21.37% (2nd round)
12.79% (1st round)
7.10% (2nd round)

Results by constituency

PM before election

Georges Pompidou
UDR

Elected PM

Georges Pompidou
UDR

Legislative elections were held in France on 5 March 1967, with a second round on 12 March,[1] electing the third National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Although the Gaullists retained their absolute majority, the results made it clear that Charles de Gaulle's position was weakening, as the French Communist Party and the Socialists achieved 40% representation in parliament.[2]

Background

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In December 1965 Charles de Gaulle was re-elected President of France in the first Presidential election by universal suffrage. However, contrary to predictions, there had been a second ballot. This election marked a process of rebuilding by the opposition.

François Mitterrand's unexpected result, as De Gaulle's challenger in the second round of the presidential election, allowed him to establish himself as the leader of the non-Communist Left. He led the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (FGDS), composed of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO, socialist party), the Radical Party and several left-wing republican clubs, which concluded an electoral agreement with the French Communist Party (PCF).

Ahead of the election, minor redistricting occurred to account for the impending dissolution of the Seine and Seine-et-Oise departments in Ile-de-France, which contained Paris and its western suburbs, due to take place on 1 January 1968. While the existing constituencies in Paris were already fully contained within the city's boundaries, and thus needed no change in light of its promotion to a department in its own right, the remaining constituencies of the two dissolved departments were replaced by ones for the then-unestablished Yvelines, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, and Val-d'Oise.

The centrist and right-wing opposition to de Gaulle gathered in the Democratic Centre led by Jean Lecanuet, the "third man" of 1965 presidential election. However some centrists refused to integrate into this group and joined the Gaullist Party, which became the Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic (UD5).

Campaign

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Prime Minister Georges Pompidou led the campaign of the incumbent majority, but this was divided. In January 1966, a cabinet reshuffle took place. The Independent Republicans (RI) leader and Economy minister Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was dismissed from the cabinet. His group stayed in the Presidential Majority but with a more critical position. He summed up this attitude by a "yes, but..." to Gaullist policies.

Results

[edit]

The result of the first round was perceived as a punishment against the Presidential Majority, which obtained a surprisingly low result. The outcome of the second round depended on the centrist voters. The Gaullists warned voters against a return to the Fourth Republic, political instability and "Communist danger". The alliance between centrists and the candidates of the Presidential Majority in some constituencies explained the victory of the Right in the second round.

The left improved in comparison with the previous legislative election and the Presidential Majority won with only a one-seat majority. The centrist deputies were not numerous enough to force the Gaullists to make compromises. Georges Pompidou was confirmed as Prime Minister of a UDR-RI cabinet.

PartyFirst roundSecond roundTotal
seats
Votes%Votes%
Union for the Defence of the RepublicIndependent Republicans8,453,51237.757,972,90842.61240
French Communist Party5,029,80822.463,998,79021.3773
Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left4,207,16618.794,505,32924.08118
Democratic Centre2,864,27212.791,328,7777.1042
Miscellaneous1,136,1915.07702,3523.759
Unified Socialist Party and far-left506,5922.26173,4660.935
Republican Alliance for Progress and Liberties194,7760.8728,3470.150
Total22,392,317100.0018,709,969100.00487
Valid votes22,392,31797.8418,709,96996.97
Invalid/blank votes494,8342.16584,3683.03
Total votes22,887,151100.0019,294,337100.00
Registered voters/turnout28,291,83880.9027,526,35870.09
Source: Quid, IPU

Parliamentary groups in the National Assembly

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73
121
41
42
200
9
PartySeats
Union for the Defence of the Republic Group200
Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left Group121
French Communist Party Group73
Independent Republicans Group42
Progress and Modern Democracy Group41
Non-Inscrits9
Total486
Source: Quid

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "France" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union.
  2. ^ Aliyev, Pelin (2023). "Charles De Gaulle's Effect on French Politics". Journal of Gazi Academic View. 17 (33): 207–227 – via EBSCOHOst.