French legislative election, 1981

French legislative election, 1981
France
14 June and 21 June 1981

All 491 seats to the French National Assembly
246 seats were needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Pierre Mauroy Jacques Chirac
Party PS RPR
Leader's seat Nord Corrèze
Last election 103 seats 148 seats
Seats won 269 85
Seat change Increase 166 Decrease 63
Popular vote 9,432,362 (1st round)
9,198,332 (2nd round)
5,231,269 (1st round)
4,174,302 (2nd round)
Percentage 37.52% (1st round)
49.25% (2nd round)
20.81% (1st round)
22.35% (2nd round)

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Jean-Claude Gaudin Georges Marchais
Party UDF PCF
Leader's seat Bouches-du-Rhône none
Last election 121 seats 86 seats
Seats won 62 44
Seat change Decrease 59 Decrease 42
Popular vote 4,827,437 (1st round)
3,489,363 (2nd round)
4,065,540 (1st round)
1,303,587 (2nd round)
Percentage 19.20% (1st round)
18.68% (2nd round)
16.17% (1st round)
6.98% (2nd round)

PM before election

Raymond Barre
UDF

Elected PM

Pierre Mauroy
PS

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French legislative elections took place on 14 June and 21 June 1981 to elect the seventh National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.

On 10 May 1981 François Mitterrand was elected President of France. He became the first Socialist to win this post 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. Then, he dissolved the National Assembly so that he could rely on a parliamentary majority. Indeed, the left had lost the 1978 legislative election and the full term of the National Assembly would have expired in 1983.

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. Yet, it suffered from the economic crisis, the will for change amongst the electorate, and the rivalry between the RPR leader Jacques Chirac and the 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 French Communist Party (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 (PS), 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 millions of 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.

The Socialists achieved the biggest electoral success of their history. This result marked the triumph of Mitterrand's strategy. Like the Gaullist UDR in 1968, the PS obtained an absolute parliamentary majority. The Communist decline noted at the presidential election was confirmed. The 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 right-wing parliamentary parties lost the half of their seats too. This result earned the nickname "the pink wave" from the press.

Results

 
Parties and coalitions 1st round 2nd round Total seats
Votes % Votes %
Socialist Party (Parti socialiste) including the Movement of Left Radicals (Mouvement des radicaux de gauche) PS 9,432,362 37.52 9,198,332 49.25 283 (14 MRG)
French Communist Party (Parti communiste français) PCF 4,065,540 16.17 1,303,587 6.98 44
Miscellaneous Left DVG 183,010 0.73 97,066 0.52 6
Total "Presidential Majority" (Left) 13,680,912 54.42 10,598,985 56.75 333
Rally for the Republic (Rassemblement pour la République) RPR 5,231,269 20.81 4,174,302 22.35 85
Union for French Democracy ( union pour la démocratie française) UDF 4,827,437 19.20 3,489,363 18.68 62
Miscellaneous Right DVD 704,788 2.80 408,861 2.19 11 (5 CNIP)
Total "Union for a New Majority" (Right) 10,763,494 42.81 8,072,526 43.22 158
Far-Left 334,674 1.33 3,517 0.02 -
Ecologists ECO 271,688 1.08 - - -
National Front (Front national) FN 90,422 0.36 - - -
Total 25,141,190 100.00 18,665,028 100.00 491
Abstention: 29.65% (1st round); 25.54% (2nd round)
Popular vote (first round)
PS
 
37.52%
RPR
 
20.81%
UDF
 
19.20%
PCF
 
16.17%
DVD
 
2.80%
EXG
 
1.33%
ECO
 
1.08%
Others
 
1.09%

7th National Assembly by Parliamentary Group

Group Members Caucusing Total
  Socialist Group 265 20 285
  RPR Group 79 9 88
  UDF Group 51 11 62
  Communist Group 43 1 44
  Non-Inscrits 12 0 12
Total: 450 41 491
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