French legislative election, 1958
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The French legislative elections took place on November 23 and 30, 1958 to elect the 1st National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.
Since 1954, the Fourth Republic had been mired in the Algerian War. In May 1958, Pierre Pflimlin, a Christian-Democrat, became Prime Minister. He was known to be in favour of a negotiated settlement with the Algerian nationalists. On May 13, riots broke out in Algiers, with the complicity of the army. A rebel government was formed in order to defend "French Algeria". The next day, General Massu demanded the return to power of General de Gaulle.
France was threatened by a possible civil war. The rebellious generals took control of Corsica. In Paris, the political leaders were trying to find a compromise. On June 1st, De Gaulle replaced Pflimlin to lead a government of national unity and nominated as Ministers of State (Vice-Prime Ministers) Pierre Pflimlin (MRP), Guy Mollet (SFIO), Louis Jacquinot (CNIP) and Félix Houphouet-Boigny. He obtained the right to develop a new Constitution. Only the Communists and some center-left politicians such as Pierre Mendès-France and François Mitterrand, opposed this "coup against the Republic".
On September 28, the new Constitution was approved by 79.2% of voters. The Fifth Republic was born. The Two-round system was re-established for the legislative elections. The Gaullists created the Union for the New Republic which became the largest parliamentary group. Their opponents were crushed. The division in the Left between the supporters and the opponents to the Fifth Republic explained, in due to this ballot system which encourages the alliances, the small number of left-wing MPs.
On December 21st, De Gaulle was elected President of France by a electoral college. His Justice Minister Michel Debré became Prime Minister. The pro-Fifth Republic center-left parties (SFIO Socialist Party and Radical Party) left the majority.
[edit] Results
| Parties and coalitions | Abbr. | Votes (1st round) | % (1st round) | Seats (2nd round) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union for the New Republic (Union pour la nouvelle République) | UNR | 3 603 958 | 17.6 | 189 | |
| French Section of the Workers International (Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière) | SFIO | 3 167 354 | 15.5 | 40 | |
| National Center of Independents and Peasants (Centre national des indépendants et paysans) | CNIP | 2 815 176 | 13.7 | 132 | |
| Miscellaneous Right-wing | 2 395 751 | 11.8 | 81 | ||
| Popular Republican Movement (Mouvement républicain populaire) | MRP | 1 858 380 | 9.1 | 57 | |
| Radical Party (Parti radical) and allies | PR | 1 669 890 | 8.4 | 35 | |
| Total "Pro-Fifth Republic Majority" | 15 510 509 | 76.2 | 534 | ||
| French Communist Party (Parti communiste français) | PCF | 3 882 204 | 18.9 | 10 | |
| Far-Right | 669 518 | 3.3 | - | ||
| Union of the Democratic Forces (Union des forces démocratiques) | UFD | 347 298 | 1.7 | 2 | |
| Abstention: 22.9% (1st round), 29.3% (2nd round) | |||||
[edit] 3nd National Assembly by Parliamentary Group
| Group | Members | Caucusing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNR Group | 199 | 7 | 206 | |
| IPAS Group | 107 | 10 | 117 | |
| FAEAS (Algerian and African deputies) Group | 66 | 0 | 66 | |
| RPCD Group | 49 | 15 | 64 | |
| Socialist Group | 43 | 4 | 47 | |
| FANI Group | 40 | 0 | 40 | |
| Non-Inscrits | 36 | 0 | 36 | |
| Total: | 540 | 36 | 576 | |
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