1871 French legislative election

1871 French legislative election

← 1869 8 February 1871 (1871-02-08) 1876 →
638 of 778 seats to the National Assembly 320 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Henri d'Orléans Henri of Artois Jules Grévy Party Orleanist Legitimist Republican Left Leader's seat Oise Not presented Jura Seats won 214 182 112 Popular vote unknown unknown unknown Percentage 33.5 28.5 17.5%
Prime Minister before election Louis-Jules Trochu Independent Elected Prime Minister Jules Dufaure Independent

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[]

Summary of the 8 February election results

Parties and coalitions			Votes	%	Seats
		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[]

• 1871 French legislative election in Algeria

References[]