1871 French legislative election
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638 of 778 seats to the National Assembly 320 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legislative elections were held in France on 8 February 1871 to elect the first legislature of the French Third Republic, the unicameral National Assembly. The elections were held during a situation of crisis in the country, as following the Franco-Prussian War, 43 departments were occupied by Prussian forces. As a result, all public meetings were outlawed and Paris was the only city where an election campaign took place.
The electoral law allowed candidates to run in more than one seat at a time. As a result, several candidates were elected in more than one seat, with Adolphe Thiers elected in 86 constituencies. A series of by-elections were subsequently held on 2 July to elect representatives for the 114 vacant seats.
This election saw the victory of monarchists (Legitimists and Orleanists), favourable to peace with the German Empire, with a large majority.
Results[]
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Parties and coalitions | Votes | % | Seats | ||||||||
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Orléanists | 33.5 | 214 | |||||||||
Legitimists | 28.5 | 182 | |||||||||
Monarchist majority | 62.0 | 396 | |||||||||
Republican Left | 17.5 | 112 | |||||||||
Centre-Left | 11.4 | 72 | |||||||||
Republican Union | 6.0 | 38 | |||||||||
Republican opposition | 34.9 | 222 | |||||||||
Bonapartists | 3.1 | 20 | |||||||||
Total | unknown | 100 | 638 | ||||||||
Source: Quid 2006 |
See also[]
References[]
- Legislative elections in France
- 1871 elections in France
- 1871 in France
- February 1871 events