Legislative elections in France

Legislative elections in France (French: élections législatives en France), or general elections (French: élections générales) per the Constitution's wording, determine who becomes Members of Parliament, each with the right to sit in the National Assembly, which is the lower house of the French Parliament.

Legislative elections under the Fifth Republic

Constituencies

The total number of constituencies has varied since 1958 but since the 1986 electoral reform re-establishing the two-round system for legislative elections, the total number of constituencies is 577. The last electoral boundaries readjustment dates back to 2010.

Out of the 577 existing constituencies, there are:

539 constituencies in metropolitan France; 27 constituencies in the Overseas; 11 constituencies for French people living abroad.

Moreover, the French Constitution sets the maximum number of MPs at 577.

Timing

MPs are elected for a five-year-term.

Following the reduction of the presidential term's length from 7 to 5 years after the 2000 referendum, a 2001 organic law has set the expiration of the outgoing National Assembly's powers on the third Tuesday of June of the fifth year following the last general election. The government sets the election dates by decree.

Legislative elections need to be held during the 60-day period preceding the expiration of the outgoing Assembly's powers. Therefore, legislative elections are usually held in June, some weeks after the presidential election. Until the electoral calendar reform of 2001, legislative elections, apart from early elections, were usually held in March.

Besides, per the French Constitution (article 12), the President has the power to dissolve the National Assembly after consulting with the Prime minister and the heads of the lower and upper houses of Parliament. The Constitution does not set limits on that power apart from prohibiting another dissolution from occurring less than a year after the last one. General elections have to be held necessarily from 20 to 40 days after the Assembly has been formally dissolved.

A snap legislative election, held on 30 June and 7 July 2024, was called on 9 June by President Emmanuel Macron in the aftermath of the European Parliament elections. It was the first snap election since 1997 when President Jacques Chirac dissolved the National Assembly a year early.

Electoral system Along with the establishment of the Fifth Republic, the two-round system (TRS) was established as the country's voting system for legislative/general elections in 1958.

MPs are elected in single-member constituencies. A candidate who receives an absolute majority of valid votes and a vote total greater than 25% of the registered electorate is elected in the first round. If no candidate reaches this threshold, a runoff election is held between the top two candidates plus any other candidate who received a vote total greater than 12.5% of registered voters. The candidate who receives the most votes in the second round is elected.

Since then, every legislative election, apart from the 1986 list-PR election, used TRS.

List of general elections in French history

Kingdom of France & First Republic

1791136345264 1792200389160 1795 63 54 33 1797 28 44105 1798106 44 1799 30240150 80

Bourbon Restoration & July Monarchy

May 1815 40510 80 August 1815 50350 1816 20 10136 92 1820 80194160 1824 17413 1827170260 1830274282 1831 73282104 1834 75 50320 15 1837 19142 56 64168 15 1839240199 20 1842193266 1846168290

1848 Provisional Government & Second Republic

1848 80600200 1849180 75450

Second Empire

1852 3253 7 1857 7276 1863 17251 15 1869 30212 41

Third Republic

1871 38112 72 20214182 1876 27 98193 48 15 22 76 40 15 24 1877 27 73147 66 3111 38 56 1881 48 1 47170157 44 8 44 38 1885 60 40200 83 65 63 73 1889 57 13 69214 14 3169 37 1893 67 41 99242 30 27 61 14 1898 97 55 86232 5 53 39 14 1902 43104129 62127 89 35 1906 54 20132115 90 66 78 30 1910 75 24261 1 66 30131 7 1914 5102 22192 66 77 50 88 1919 68 26 86107 21 29183 1924 26104 44139123 29116 1928 11102 60125180 24100 1932 9 10132 43160121 49 83 1936 6 72149 44115 82 42100

Provisional Government of the French Republic & Fourth Republic

1945159146 60 6151 64 June 1946151127 31 9166 61 November 1946182102 69 29173 72 1951103107 90 95 96121 13 1956150 95 77 14 7 83 95 22 52

Fifth Republic

ElectionPresidentElectoral systemWinning party/coalitionGovernment vote share(1st round)Seat majorityTurnout1958 UNR-CNIP-MRP and allies43.1%77.2%(1st round)76.3%(2nd round)1962 UNR/UDT-RI38.9%68.7%(1st round)72%(2nd round)1967UDR-FNRI-DVD37.8%80.9%(1st round)79.7%(2nd round)1968UDR-FNRI-DVD47.8%80%(1st round)77.8%(2nd round)1973 UDR-MR-FNRI-CDP-DVD41.2%81.2%(1st round)81.9%(2nd round)1978 RPR-UDF46.5%82.8%(1st round)84.7%(2nd round)1981 PS-PCF-MRG-DVG54.4%70.7%(1st round)74.5%(2nd round)1986 RPR-UDF-DVD44.8%78.5%1988 PS-MRG-DVG(minority government)37.5%65.7%(1st round)69.9%(2nd round)1993Union for France42.9%68.9%(1st round)67.6%(2nd round)1997 Plural Left43.1%67.9%(1st round)71.1%(2nd round)2002Union for the Presidential Majority43.4%64.4%(1st round)60.3%(2nd round)2007 UMP-NC-MPF-DVD45.6%60.4%(1st round)60%(2nd round)2012 PS-PRG-EELV-DVG39.9%57.2%(1st round)55.4%(2nd round)2017 LREM-MoDem-PRG32.3%48.7%(1st round)42.6%(2nd round)2022Ensemble(minority government)25.8%47.5%(1st round)46.2%(2nd round)2024Ensemble-LR(minority coalition government)31.5%66.7%(1st round)66.6%(2nd round)

1958 10 40 37 1 57132189 1962 41 2 65 44 6 36233 28 27 1967 73 4117 9 41243 1968 34 57 9 33354 1973 73 1102 12 30272 1978 86104 10 17121150 1981 44283 17 62 85 1986 35206 2 23127149 35 1988 27260 9 23 2129126 1 1993 24 53 50207242 1 1997 35 7255 12 16112139 1 2002 21 3140 7 20 29357 2007 15 4186 7 27 3 22313 2012 7 17280 12 6 45 2 12194 2 2017 10 17 1 30 3 28308 42 18112 8 2022 12 72 4 21 26 1 3 60150 48 27 3 61 89 2024 9 74 6 28 59 2 51102 33 26 5 39 17126

References

Notes

See also Elections in France