1879 French Senate election

none France legislative Indirect 1879 01 05 82 of the 300 seats in the Senate 151 1876 French Senate election 1876 1882 French Senate election 1882 Leon_Gambetta_by_Etienne_Carjat.jpg Léon Gambetta (non-candidate) Republican 149 66 174 25 Camille_de_Meaux.jpg Camille de Meaux Monarchist 151 16 126 25 President of the Senate Gaston d'Audiffret-Pasquier Monarchist Louis Martel Republicanthumb|Geographical distribution of seats up for election in 1879.Following the 1870 war, France lost the Alsace-Moselle departments.Alsace-Lorraine Encyclopædia Britannica live https://web.archive.org/web/20150621074031/https://www.britannica.com/place/Alsace-Lorraine June 21, 2015 https://www.britannica.com/place/Alsace-Lorraine 22 August 2025 Overseas territories with Senate representation included the three departments of French Algeria, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, and the French establishments in India. #000000 Five senators renewed #494949 Four senators renewed #7d7d7d Three senators renewed #a3a3a2 Two senators renewed #dddddd One senator renewed|right|286x286px Senate elections were held in France on January 5, 1879 as part of the triennial renewal for Series B, marking the first partial renewal of the Senate under the Third Republic.Brousse Vincent October 6, 2011 1879-2011, les basculements du Sénat 1879-2011, the turning points of the Senate https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/10/06/1879-2011-les-basculements-du-senat_1582700_3232.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20111006191125/https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/10/06/1879-2011-les-basculements-du-senat_1582700_3232.html October 6, 2011 May 10, 2020 Le Monde.fr fr Electoral system The 1879 Senate election followed the electoral framework established by the Constitutional Laws of 1875 for the Third Republic. Senators were elected indirectly by a college of electors in each department, comprising National Assembly deputies, general councilors, municipal councilors, and additional delegates from larger communes. This system, designed to favor rural and conservative interests, allocated voting power disproportionately to smaller communes, where local notables held significant influence.Garrigues Jean https://books.google.com/books?id=WvCFtgAACAAJ Les hommes providentiels : histoire d'une fascination française Seuil 2012 978-2-02-097375-5 102–104 fr Providential Men: History of a French Fascination For the Series B renewal, 82 seats were contested across 29 metropolitan departments (from Gard to Nord), the department of Constantine in French Algeria, and Martinique. Each department elected a fixed number of senators based on its population, ranging from one to five, with replacements for deceased senators also included.Conord Fabien http://books.openedition.org/pur/45625 Les élections sénatoriales en France : 1875-2015 Presses universitaires de Rennes 2020 978-2-7535-5562-4 18–45 fr Senate elections in France: 1875-2015 Chapitre I. Le temps des choix : République ou monarchie ? (1875-1885) 10.4000/books.pur.45625 December 31, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20201211103935/https://books.openedition.org/pur/45625 December 11, 2020 live Voting occurred in a single round, with electors casting ballots for candidates in a majority system, where the candidate with the most votes won, provided they secured an absolute majority; otherwise, a second round could be held.Yvert Benoît https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4801192m.texteImage Dictionnaire des ministres (1789–1989) Perrin 1990 978-2-262-00710-2 45–46 fr Dictionary of Ministers (1789–1989) https://web.archive.org/web/20190512031546/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4801192m.texteImage May 12, 2019 live This indirect system reinforced the Senate's role as a conservative counterbalance to the directly elected Chamber of Deputies. Seats up for election The seats up for election in Series B were distributed across various departments, with the number of senators renewed varying from one to five per department, plus replacements for deceased senators. Results thumb|1878 caricature from Le Grelot, predicting the conservatives' loss of Senate majority.|275x275px Series B covered 29 metropolitan departments, listed alphabetically from Gard to Nord, plus the department of Constantine and the colony of Martinique. The right held a majority in this series, particularly in the Catholic western departments with Chouan or Vendée traditions, including Indre-et-Loire, Loire-Inférieure, Loir-et-Cher, Mayenne, Maine-et-Loire, Manche, and Morbihan. The Gard represented the Midi blanc, a legitimist stronghold. Catholic areas in the south and east of the Massif Central were also included, such as Loire, Haute-Loire, and Lozère. Following the 1878 municipal elections, where republicans gained ground, the right suffered a significant defeat. Of the 82 senators elected, 66 were from the republican camp, compared to 16 conservatives, including 13 monarchists. The defeat of Camille de Meaux, a former Minister of Agriculture, in the Forez highlighted the scale of the loss. Political tendency Outgoing seats Seats won Total seatsLegitimists 64 13 126 Bonapartists 3Republicans 18 66 174 Total 82 82 300Source: Conord Consequences The election gave republicans a majority in the Senate, previously controlled by monarchists by a single vote. The new Senate President was Louis Joseph Martel, a life senator from the conservative republican Centre-left group. This pivotal event led to the resignation of President Patrice de MacMahon and triggered the republican purge of the civil service.Wright Vincent 1972 L'épuration du Conseil d'État en juillet 1879 The purge of the Council of State in July 1879 https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhmc_0048-8003_1972_num_19_4_2239 live Revue d'Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine fr 19 4 621–653 10.3406/rhmc.1972.2239 https://web.archive.org/web/20181130123450/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhmc_0048-8003_1972_num_19_4_2239 November 30, 2018 December 31, 2021 See also 1877 French legislative election 1881 French legislative election Constitutional Laws of 1875 French Third Republic 16 May 1877 crisis Republican Union (France) Legitimist Bonapartism Notes References France Politics History France Category:French Third Republic France Category:Senate (France) elections