| Election Name: | 1968 French legislative election |
| Country: | France |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1967 French legislative election |
| Previous Year: | 1967 |
| Next Election: | 1973 French legislative election |
| Next Year: | 1973 |
| Seats For Election: | All 487 seats to the French National Assembly 244 seats were needed for a majority |
| Election Date: | 23 June and 30 June 1968 |
| Turnout: | 80.0% (0.9 pp) (1st round) 77.8% (2.2 pp) (2nd round) |
| Leader1: | Georges Pompidou |
| Party1: | Union of Democrats for the Republic |
| Leaders Seat1: | Cantal-2nd |
| Last Election1: | 243 seats |
| Seats1: | 354* |
| Seat Change1: | 111 |
| Popular Vote1: | 9,667,532 (round) 6,762,170 (round) |
| Percentage1: | 43.65% (round) 46.39% (round) |
| Leader2: | François Mitterrand |
| Party2: | Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left |
| Leaders Seat2: | Nièvre-3rd |
| Last Election2: | 117 seats |
| Seats2: | 57 |
| Seat Change2: | 60 |
| Popular Vote2: | 3,660,250 (round) 3,097,338 (round) |
| Percentage2: | 16.53% (round) 21.25% (round) |
| Leader4: | Waldeck Rochet |
| Party4: | French Communist Party |
| Leaders Seat4: | Seine-Saint-Denis |
| Last Election4: | 73 seats |
| Seats4: | 34 |
| Seat Change4: | 39 |
| Popular Vote4: | 4,434,832 (1st round) 2,935,775 (2nd round) |
| Percentage4: | 20.02% (1st round) 20.14% (2nd round) |
| Colour5: | 7FFFD4 |
| Leader5: | Camille Laurens (NCIP), Jean Lecanuet (CD, above) |
| Party5: | Progress and Modern Democracy |
| Leaders Seat5: | Seine-Maritime (Lecanuet, as Senator) |
| Last Election5: | 41 seats (CD) |
| Seats5: | 33 |
| Seat Change5: | 11 |
| Popular Vote5: | 2,289,849 (1st round) 1,141,305 (2nd round) |
| Percentage5: | 10.34% (1st round) 7.83% (2nd round) |
| Map Size: | 1px |
| PM | |
| Before Election: | Georges Pompidou |
| Before Party: | Union of Democrats for the Republic |
| After Election: | Maurice Couve de Murville |
| After Party: | Union of Democrats for the Republic |
Early legislative elections were held in France on 23 and 30 June 1968,[1] to elect the fourth National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. They were held in the aftermath of the a general strike in May 1968. On 30 May 1968, in a radio speech, President Charles de Gaulle, who had been out of the public eye for three days (he was in Baden-Baden, Germany), announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and called legislative elections to restore order.
While the workers returned 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.