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All 573 seats to theFrench National Assembly 287 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 78.12% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legislative elections were held in France on 16 March 1986 to elect the eighthNational Assembly of theFifth Republic. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electoral system used was that ofparty-list proportional representation.[1][2]
Since the1981 election ofFrançois Mitterrand, the Presidential Majority was divided. In March 1983 Prime MinisterPierre Mauroy renounced the left's radicalCommon Programme which had been agreed in the 1970s. Wages and prices were frozen. This change of economic policy was justified by the will to stay in theEuropean Monetary System. A year later, the Communist ministers refused to remain inLaurent Fabius' cabinet.[3]
In opposition, the two main right-wing parties tried to forget their past quarrels. They were able to win the mid-term elections (1982 departmental elections, 1983 municipal elections, 1984 European Parliament election) and succeeded in forcing the government to abandon its policy of limiting the financing of private schools in 1984. TheRally for the Republic (RPR), led byJacques Chirac, abandoned the traditionaldirigiste andEurosceptic Gaullist doctrines about the economy andEuropean integration. It was then able to sign an electoral platform with theUnion for French Democracy (UDF). It proposed notably to sell the companies nationalized by PresidentMitterrand andPierre Mauroy.[3]
However, France had also witnessed the electoral rise of theNational Front (FN). Its leader,Jean-Marie Le Pen, made nationalist and xenophobic remarks. He appealed to part of the conservative electorate, notably some RPR voters. The right-wing opposition was divided on the question of an alliance with the FN. In 1985, President Mitterrand's decision to re-establishparty-list proportional representation at the legislative election caused political outrage. The RPR/UDF opposition accused him of wanting to strengthen the FN in order to weaken the Republican Right, which was favourite to win according to the polls. Proportional representation was the only electoral system which was considered likely to allow the election of FN deputies. Following the election, Jacques Chirac changed the electoral system so that proportional representation would not be used again.[4]
While opinion polls indicated a win by the RPR/UDF coalition, the former UDF Prime ministerRaymond Barre argued that the next parliamentary majority should refuse to govern if President Mitterrand did not resign. Advised byEdouard Balladur, Jacques Chirac noted, however, thatimpeachment did not exist in theFrench Constitution. Instead, the next majority would "cohabit" with Mitterrand. The right-wing cabinet would enforce its domestic policy programme and Mitterrand would keep control of foreign and military affairs.[3]
Eventually the RPR/UDF coalition obtained only a two-seat majority. Consequently, for the first time of the history of the Fifth Republic, the parliamentary majority was opposed to the President. Nevertheless, theSocialist Party held more seats than the polls had indicated. The FN was able to form a parliamentary group with its 35 elected members. The decline of theFrench Communist Party continued. Mitterrand nominated Chirac as Prime Minister. The first "cohabitation" of the Fifth Republic started. The new cabinet abolished proportional representation for the next legislative elections. The "cohabitation" ended with the1988 legislative election.[3]
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| Union of the Opposition for Renewal | RPR–UDF joint list | 6,017,207 | 21.45 | 147 | ||
| Rally for the Republic | 3,145,171 | 11.21 | 77 | |||
| Union for French Democracy | 2,330,072 | 8.31 | 53 | |||
| Total | 11,492,450 | 40.97 | 277 | |||
| Socialist Party | 8,705,163 | 31.04 | 207 | |||
| French Communist Party | 2,740,972 | 9.77 | 35 | |||
| National Front | 2,705,336 | 9.65 | 35 | |||
| Miscellaneous right | 1,096,511 | 3.91 | 14 | |||
| Far-left | 427,753 | 1.53 | 0 | |||
| Ecologists | 340,138 | 1.21 | 0 | |||
| Miscellaneous left | 290,059 | 1.03 | 5 | |||
| Movement of Left Radicals | 107,754 | 0.38 | 2 | |||
| Far-right | 57,334 | 0.20 | 0 | |||
| Union of the Left | 56,044 | 0.20 | 2 | |||
| Regionalists | 28,045 | 0.10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 28,047,559 | 100.00 | 577 | |||
| Valid votes | 28,047,559 | 95.63 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,280,549 | 4.37 | ||||
| Total votes | 29,328,108 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 37,541,124 | 78.12 | ||||
| Source:IPU | ||||||
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Socialist Group | 212 | |
| RPR Group | 155 | |
| UDF Group | 131 | |
| Communist Group | 35 | |
| FN Group | 35 | |
| Non-Inscrits | 9 | |
| Total | 577 | |
| Source:IPU | ||
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