French legislative election, 1968
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French legislative elections took place on June 23 and 30, 1968 to elect the 4th 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 De Gaulle, who had vanished 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.
[edit] Results
| Parties and coalitions | Abbr. | Votes (1st round) | % (1st round) | Seats (2nd round) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union for the Defense of the Republic (Union pour la défense de la République) | UDR | 8 442 413 | 38.1 | 294 | |
| Progress and Modern Democracy (Progrès et démocratie moderne) | PDM | 2 289 849 | 10.3 | 27 | |
| Independent Republicans (Républicains indépendants) | RI | 1 225 119 | 5.5 | 64 | |
| Miscellaneous Right-wing | DVD | 917 753 | 4.1 | 9 | |
| Total Right ("Presidential Majority" and PDM) | 12 875 134 | 58.1 | 394 | ||
| French Communist Party (Parti communiste français) | PCF | 4 434 832 | 20.0 | 34 | |
| Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (Fédération de la gauche démocrate et socialiste) | FGDS | 3 660 250 | 16.5 | 57 | |
| Unified Socialist Party (Parti socialiste unifié) | PSU | 873 581 | 3.9 | - | |
| Total Left | 9 132 145 | 41.2 | 91 | ||
| Miscellaneous | 111 200 | 0.5 | - | ||
| Republican Alliance for the Progress and Liberties (Alliance républicaine pour le progrès et les libertés) | ARPL | 28 736 | 0.1 | - | |
| Total | 22 147 215 | 100 | 485 | ||
| Abstention: 20.0% (1st round); 22.2% (2nd round) | |||||
[edit] 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 | |
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