1958 French legislative election explained

Election Name:1958 French legislative election
Country:France
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1956 French legislative election
Previous Year:1956
Next Election:1962 French legislative election
Next Year:1962
Seats For Election:All 576 seats to the French National Assembly
289 seats were needed for a majority
Election Date:23 and 30 November 1958
Turnout:77.1% (5.7 pp) (1st round)
Leader1:Charles de Gaulle
Party1:Union for the New Republic
Last Election1:22 seats
Seats1:189
Seat Change1: 167
Popular Vote1:3,603,958 (round)
4,769,052 (round)
Percentage1:17.6% (round)
26.4% (round)
Leader2:none
Party2:National Centre of Independents and Peasants
Last Election2:95 seats
Seats2:132
Seat Change2: 37
Popular Vote2: 4,092,600 (round)
4,250,083 (round)
Percentage2: 19.9% (round)
23.6% (round)
Leader3:Pierre Pflimlin
Party3:Popular Republican Movement
Leaders Seat3:Bas-Rhin-8th
Last Election3:71 seats
Seats3:57
Seat Change3: 14
Popular Vote3:2,387,788 (round)
1,365,064 (round)
Percentage3:11.6% (round)
7.5% (round)
Leader4:Guy Mollet
Party4:French Section of the Workers International
Leaders Seat4:Pas-de-Calais-1st
Last Election4:95 seats
Seats4:40
Seat Change4: 55
Popular Vote4:3,167,354 (round)
2,484,417 (round)
Percentage4:15.5% (round)
13.8% (round)
Colour5:FFBF00
Leader5:Félix Gaillard
Party5:Radical Party (France)
Leaders Seat5:Charente-2nd
Last Election5:77 seats
Seats5:37
Seat Change5: 40
Popular Vote5:2,695,287 (1st round)
1,398,409 (2nd round)
Percentage5:12.9% (1st round)
7.7% (2nd round)
Leader6:Maurice Thorez
Party6:French Communist Party
Leaders Seat6:Seine-50th
Last Election6:150 seats
Seats6:10
Seat Change6: 140
Popular Vote6:3,882,204 (1st round)
3,741,384 (2nd round)
Percentage6:18.9% (1st round)
20.7% (2nd round)
Prime Minister
Before Election:Charles de Gaulle
Before Party:Union for the New Republic
After Election:Michel Debré
After Party:Union for the New Republic

Legislative elections were held in France on 23 and 30 November 1958 to elect the first National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic.

Since 1954, the French Fourth Republic had been mired in the Algerian War. In May 1958, Pierre Pflimlin, a Christian-Democrat, became Prime Minister. He was known to be in favour of a negotiated settlement with the Algerian nationalists.

On 13 May, riots broke out in Algiers, with the complicity of the army in what is known as the May 1958 crisis in France. A rebel government seized power in Algiers in order to defend "French Algeria". The next day, General Massu demanded the return to power of General Charles de Gaulle.

The rebellious generals took control of Corsica threatening to conduct an assault on Paris, involving paratroopers and armoured forces based at Rambouillet. In Paris, the political leaders were trying to find a compromise. On 1 June, returning from his 12 years out of power since his abrupt resignation as Head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic in 1946, De Gaulle replaced Pflimlin to lead a government of national unity and nominated as Ministers of State (Vice-Prime Ministers) Pierre Pflimlin (Popular Republican Movement, MRP), Guy Mollet (French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), Louis Jacquinot (National Center of Independents and Peasants, CNIP) and Félix Houphouët-Boigny. He obtained the right to develop a new Constitution. Only the Communists and some center-left politicians such as Pierre Mendès-France and François Mitterrand, opposed this "coup against the Republic". This opposition came to a head the day De Gaulle took office with a 200,000 strong demonstration taking place in Paris to oppose the unprecedented power given to De Gaulle. However, these oppositions were then met with counter demonstrations with a series of car honking stand off from Parisians occurring at the Avenue des Champs Elysées that very same night. Further demonstrations between both partisans occurred in other cities including Toulouse and Bordeaux.

On 28 September the new constitution was approved in a referendum in the French Union by 83% of all voters, and in metropolitan France by 79% of voters. The Fifth Republic was born. The two-round system was re-established for the legislative elections. The Gaullists created the Union for the New Republic which became the largest parliamentary group. Their opponents received vastly less seats with in particular the PCF losing 137 seats compared to 1956. The small number of left-wing deputies elected may be explained by divisions among left-leaning parties between supporters and opponents to the Fifth Republic: the two-round ballot tends to reward parties which are able to form alliances with each other. As such, De Gaulle's new party formed a coalition with the CNIP to form a new government.

On 21 December de Gaulle was elected President of France by an electoral college. His Justice Minister Michel Debré became Prime Minister. The pro-Fifth Republic center-left parties (SFIO and Radical Party) left the presidential majority. This established the first Gaullist centre-right government.

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