1956 French legislative election

none February 2020 1956 French legislative election France parliamentary no 1951 French legislative election 1951 1958 French legislative election 1958 544 seats in the National Assembly 2 January 1956 81.98% ( 1.79pp) 130x130px USSR stamp M.Thorez 1965 6k.jpg Maurice Thorez French Communist Party 97 seats 147 50 5,514,403 25.89% National Centre of Independents and Peasants 95 130 none National Centre of Independents and Peasants 87 seats 95 8 3,259,782 15.30% Guy Mollet Archief.PNG Guy Mollet French Section of the Workers' International 94 seats 88 6 3,247,431 15.25% Pierre-Henri Teitgen.jpg Pierre-Henri Teitgen Popular Republican Movement 82 seats 71 11 2,366,321 11.11% Mendès-France Harcourt 1948.jpg FFBF00 Pierre Mendès France (Radical) René Pleven (UDSR) Radical–UDSR – 73 New 2,389,163 11.22% 704214 Pierre Poujade UFF – 51 New 2,483,813 11.66% Élections législatives françaises de 1956.svg Results by department Prime Minister Edgar Faure Radical Party (France) Guy Mollet French Section of the Workers' International Legislative elections were held in France on 2 January 1956 to elect the third National Assembly of the Fourth Republic. The elections were held using party-list proportional representation.https://archive.org/details/frenchpolitician0000will registration 63 French election 1956. French Politicians and Elections 1951-1969 CUP Archive Williams, Philip M. 1970 9780521096089Goguel François 1956 Les élections françaises du 2 janvier 1956 http://dx.doi.org/10.3406/rfsp.1956.402673 Revue française de science politique 6 1 5–17 10.3406/rfsp.1956.402673 0035-2950 subscription The elections had been scheduled for June 1956; however, they were brought forward by Edgar Faure using a constitutional sanction.https://books.google.com/books?id=7eGJAgAAQBAJ&q=French+election+1956&pg=PA70 The Extreme Right in France: From Pétain to Le Pen Routledge Shields, James 2007 9781134861118 The previous legislative elections in 1951 had been won by the Third Force, a coalition of center-left and center-right parties, but it was divided about denominational schools question and, when faced with the colonial problem, the governments had gradually moved towards the right. A part of the Rally of the French People (RPF), the Gaullist party, joined the majority in opposing the leadership of Charles de Gaulle, who then retired. The defeat in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954 caused a political crisis. The Radical Pierre Mendès-France became leader of the cabinet and ended the First Indochina War. He also began the process of independence for Morocco and Tunisia, but from November 1954 on, France was confronted by the Algerian War. In February 1955, Mendès-France was replaced, at the head of the cabinet, by his rival in the Radical Party, Edgar Faure. This one led a more repressive policy in Algeria. The far-right, led by Pierre Poujade, re-appeared at about the same time. He was a critic of "fiscalism", and leader of a shopkeepers and craftsmen's movement. Many voters seemed tired of the political system's numerous ministerial crises, and he had much support in the rural areas, which were in decline. The anticipated legislative elections took place when Faure was defeated by the National Assembly. Even though the French Communist Party re-emerged as the country's most popular party, it did not join the government. A coalition was formed behind Mendès-France and advocated a peaceful resolution of the Algerian conflict. This Republican Front was composed of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO, socialist party) of Guy Mollet, the Radical Party of Pierre Mendès-France, the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance of François Mitterrand and the National Centre of Social Republicans of Jacques Chaban-Delmas. Faure was excluded from the Radical Party – in response he transformed the Rally of the Republican Lefts (which had been abandoned by those groups which had now joined the Republican Front) into a party that he led, and he campaigned with the center-right parties. The French Communist Party remained the largest party and the Republican Front obtained a relative majority in order to end the Algerian War. The Poujadists won 51 seats versus predictions of six to eight, including a young Jean-Marie Le Pen,1956-02-11 France Needs Some Drastic Political Surgery https://archive.org/details/the-saturday-evening-post-1956-02-11/page/n11/mode/2up The Saturday Evening Post editorial en 10 2020-03-24 and the press stated that they held the balance of power. Media reception was mixed, with the result welcomed by communist supporters and condemned by papers such as The Times, Le Figaro,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138116278 Shade of Hitler Seen in French Election Vote. The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926–1995) 5 January 1956 20 April 2014 AAP/Reuters and The Saturday Evening Post.sep19560211 The coalition cabinet was led by the Socialist leader Guy Mollet. At the beginning he was also supported by the Communists, but pressure from the pieds-noir in Algeria incited him into leading a very repressive policy against the Algerian nationalists. This policy was criticized by Vice-Prime Minister Mendès-France and other members of the cabinet, who resigned, splitting the Republican Front. Mollet and his successors floundered in the conflict until May 1958. Results #F8F9FA 147 French Communist Party 88 French Section of the Workers' International 73 Rally of Republican Lefts 16 National Centre of Social Republicans 71 Popular Republican Movement 95 Moderates National Centre of Independents and Peasants 51 Union for the Defense of Tradesmen and Artisans #704214 3 Independent politician French Communist Party 5514403 147 Moderates 3259782 95 National Centre of Independents and Peasants French Section of the Workers' International 3247431 88 Union for the Defense of Tradesmen and Artisans 2483813 51 #704214 Republican Front (Radical Party–UDSR) 2389163 73 2 Rally of Republican Lefts Radical Party–RGR–UDSR (non-Front) 838231 Rally of Republican Lefts Popular Republican Movement 2366321 71 National Centre of Social Republicans (non-Front) 585764 16 2 National Centre of Social Republicans 256587 Far-right 260749 0 Miscellaneous 98600 3 647160 26772255 Mackie & Rose,Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1982) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, pp132–134 Becker Further reading Maurice Duverger, François Goguel, Jean Touchand. 1957. Les Élections du 2 janvier 1956. Association française de science politique. References Category:Legislative elections in France Legislative