1981 French legislative election

none December 2020 France legislative 1978 French legislative election 1978 1986 French legislative election 1986 All 491 seats to the French National Assembly 246 seats were needed for a majority 14 June and 21 June 1981 70.3% (first round) 12.5pp 74.5% (second round) 4.2pp Pierre Mauroy 1981 (cropped).jpg 130 130 150 0 0 Pierre Mauroy Socialist Party (France) Nord 103 seats, 22.6% 269 166 9,432,362 (1 round) 9,198,332 (2 round) 37.52% (1 round)49.25% (2 round) Jacques Chirac mid-eighties.jpg 130 130 150 0 0 Jacques Chirac Rally for the Republic Corrèze 148 seats, 22.6% 85 63 5,231,269 (1 round) 4,174,302 (2 round) 20.81% (1 round) 22.35% (2 round) Lecanuet 1984.jpg 130 130 150 0 0 Jean Lecanuet Union for French Democracy Seine-Maritime (Senator) 121 seats, 21.5% 62 59 4,827,437 (1st round) 3,489,363 (2nd round) 19.20% (1st round) 18.68% (2nd round) Georges Marchais (cropped) 2.JPG 130 130 150 0 0 Georges Marchais French Communist Party none 86 seats, 20.6% 44 42 4,065,540 (1st round) 1,303,587 (2nd round) 16.17% (1st round) 6.98% (2nd round) 350px Prime Minister Raymond Barre Union for French Democracy Pierre Mauroy Socialist Party (France) Legislative elections were held in France on 14 and 21 June 1981,http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/FRANCE_1980_1981_E.PDF France Inter-Parliamentary Union to elect the seventh National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The elections were called after François Mitterrand won the 1981 presidential elections and subsequently dissolved the National Assembly.Goldey David B. Knapp Andrew F. 1982 Time for a change: The French elections of 1981: II. The National Assembly elections https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0261379482900026 Electoral Studies 1 2 169–194 10.1016/0261-3794(82)90002-6 0261-3794 subscription The Socialist Party (PS) achieved the biggest electoral success of their history. This result marked the triumph of Mitterrand's strategy. Like the Gaullist Union of Democrats for the Republic in 1968, the PS obtained an absolute parliamentary majority. The French Communist Party (PCF) obtained its poorest result since 1936 and lost the half of its MPs, most of them to the PS. However, four Communists became members of Pierre Mauroy's government. This was the first PCF governmental participation since 1947. The two main right-wing parliamentary parties, the Rally for the Republic (RPR) and Union for French Democracy (UDF), lost the half of their seats too. This result earned the nickname "the pink wave" from the press. Background On 10 May 1981 François Mitterrand was elected president, becoming the first Socialist to win a presidential election under universal suffrage. It was also the first occasion of alternance (between the right and the left) in government during the Fifth Republic. The new head of state nominated Pierre Mauroy to lead a Socialist cabinet. He then dissolved the National Assembly so that he could rely on a parliamentary majority. The left had lost the 1978 legislative election and the full term of the National Assembly would have expired in 1983. Campaign Knocked out after its defeat in the recent presidential election, the right campaigned against the concentration of the powers and the possible nomination of Communist ministers. However, it suffered from the economic crisis, the will for change amongst the electorate, and the rivalry between RPR leader Jacques Chirac and previous UDF President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The formation of the Union for a New Majority appeared as a false reconciliation and so, had not convinced voters. Furthermore, as the PCF had been declining, and was no longer the dominant party of the Left, it did not seem to be a real danger. The Communist leaders were very disappointed by the result of their candidate, Georges Marchais, in the presidential election, and very worried by the legislative elections. During the presidential campaign, the PCF had denounced the "turn towards the right" of the Socialist Party, in vain. It understood that Mitterrand was ready to win his bet, expressed in the 1972 Congress of the Socialist International, to capture 3 of the 5 million PCF voters. Perceiving the great hope of the left-wing voters after Mitterrand's election, Marchais signed a "contract of government" with the First Secretary of the PS Lionel Jospin. Results Socialist Party 9432362 2 47 9198332 2 222 269 Movement of Left Radicals 1 13 14 Rally for the Republic 5231269 50 4174302 35 85 Union for French Democracy 4827437 43 3489363 18 61 French Communist Party 4065540 7 1303587 37 44 Miscellaneous right 704788 7 408861 4 11 Far-left 334674 0 3517 0 0 Ecologists 271688 0 3 0 Miscellaneous left 183010 1 97066 6 7 Far-right 90422 0 3 0 367610 512678 36257433 27757374 IPU Parliamentary groups in the National Assembly #F8F9FA 44 French Communist Party 285 Socialist Party (France) 62 Union for French Democracy 88 Rally for the Republic 12 Non-Inscrits Socialist Group 285 RPR Group 88 UDF Group 62 Communist Group 44 Non-Inscrits 12 References Category:Legislative elections in France Legislative