1962 French legislative election

Legislative elections were held in France on 18 November and 25 November 1962 to elect the second National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.

1962 French legislative election

← 1958 18 November and 25 November 1962 1967 →
All seats in the French National Assembly
Turnout	68.7% ( 8.4 pp) (1st round) 72.1% ( 3.4 pp) (2nd round)
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Georges Pompidou Guy Mollet Maurice Faure Party UNR SFIO PRV Leader's seat Cantal-2nd Pas-de-Calais-1st Lot Last election 189 seats 40 seats 37 seats Seats won 229 65 42 Seat change 40 25 5 Popular vote 5,855,744 (1st round) 6,169,890 (2nd round) 2,298,729 (1st round) 2,264,011 (2nd round) 1,429,649 (1st round) 1,172,711 (2nd round) Percentage 31.94% (1st round) 40.43% (2nd round) 12.54% (1st round) 14.84% (2nd round) 7.80% (1st round) 7.69% (2nd round)   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Maurice Thorez André Colin Camille Laurens Party PCF MRP CNIP Leader's seat Seine Finistère (Senator) Last election 10 seats 57 seats 132 seats Seats won 41 36 28 Seat change 31 21 104 Popular vote 4,003,553 (1st round) 3,195,763 (2nd round) 1,665,695 (1st round) 821,635 (2nd round) 1,404,177 (1st round) - (2nd round) Percentage 21.84% (1st round) 20.94% (2nd round) 9.09% (1st round) 5.38% (2nd round) 7.66% (1st round) - (2nd round)   Seventh party   Leader Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Party RI Leader's seat Puy-de-Dôme Last election N/A (split from CNIP) Seats won 20 Seat change N/A Popular vote 1,089,348 (1st round) 1,444,666 (2nd round) Percentage 5.94% (1st round) 9.47% (2nd round)
Prime Minister before election Georges Pompidou UNR Elected Prime Minister Georges Pompidou UNR

Since 1959 and the change of Algerian policy (Charles de Gaulle decided in favour of the "self-government" and "Algerian Algeria"), France had faced bomb attacks by the Secret Armed Organization (Organisation armée secrète or OAS) which opposed the independence of Algeria, negotiated by the FLN with the March 1962 Evian agreements and approved by referendum by the French people. This policy was disapproved by some members of the "Presidential Majority".

Simultaneously, when Georges Pompidou replaced Michel Debré as prime minister, the center-right parties (MRP and CNIP) left the majority due to de Gaulle's eurosceptic declaration. Like the Left, they denounced the presidentialization of the regime.

On 22 August de Gaulle escaped from an assassination attempt by the OAS in Le Petit-Clamart. He subsequently announced a controversial referendum in which he proposed the election of the president of the French Republic under universal suffrage. The presidential majority composed of the UNR and the Independent Republicans (RI) (which came from a CNIP split) campaigned for a "yes", while all the other parties formed a "coalition of no" and brought down Pompidou's cabinet by a vote of no confidence (motion de censure).^[1]

However, de Gaulle finally won the referendum and dissolved the National Assembly. During the legislative campaign, all the parties, except the UNR and the RI, criticized the "personal power" which they believed distorted France's Republican institutions. In the French political culture and in their mind, Republicanism was inseparable from parliamentary democracy and the reinforcement of the presidential powers was associated with Bonapartism. Contrary to the previous legislative election, the left-wing parties finalized an electoral agreement. The subsequent legislative elections saw advances for the left-wing opposition. However, conservative voters sanctioned the center-right parties, preferring to vote for the Gaullist party. Pompidou became Prime Minister again.

Results

Party		First round			Second round			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Union for the New Republic–Democratic Union of Labour	5,855,744	31.94	46	6,169,890	40.43	183	229
	French Communist Party	4,003,553	21.84	9	3,195,763	20.94	32	41
	French Section of the Workers' International	2,298,729	12.54	1	2,264,011	14.84	64	65
	Popular Republican Movement	1,665,695	9.09	14	821,635	5.38	22	36
	Radical Party & miscellaneous left	1,429,649	7.80	8	1,172,711	7.69	34	42
	National Centre of Independents and Peasants	1,404,177	7.66	6	1,444,666	9.47	22	28
	Independent Republicans	1,089,348	5.94	12			8	20
	Unified Socialist Party & far-left	427,467	2.33	0	138,131	0.91	2	2
	Far-right	159,429	0.87	0	52,245	0.34	0	0
	Others							2
Total		18,333,791	100.00	96	15,259,052	100.00	367	465
Valid votes		18,333,791	96.91		15,259,052	96.11
Invalid/blank votes		584,368	3.09		616,889	3.89
Total votes		18,918,159	100.00		15,875,941	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		27,526,358	68.73		21,957,468	72.30
Source: Quid

Parliamentary groups in the National Assembly

41 66 39 55 35 233 13
Party		Seats
	UNR–UDT Group	233
	Socialist Group	66
	Democratic Centre Group	55
	Communist Group	41
	Democratic Rally Group	39
	Independent Republicans Group	35
	Non-Inscrits	13
Total		482
Source: Quid

References

1. Proceedings of the National Assembly, 4 October 1962, second sitting; vote tally on p. 3268. p. 38 in the PDF file