1885 French legislative election

The 1885 general election was held on 14 and 18 October 1885.

1885 French legislative election

4–18 October 1885
All 584 seats to the Chamber of Deputies 293 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	70.4
Leader Henri Brisson Baron Armand de Mackau René Goblet Party Union of the Left Parties Democratic Union Independent Radicals Union of the Right Parties Royalists Bonapartists Conservatives Radicals Leader's seat Cher Orne Somme Seats won 283 201 100 Seat change 128 159 54 Popular vote 3,837,879 2,735,678 1,355,945 Percentage 48.4% 34.5% 17.1% Swing 27.0% 26.7% 8.7%
Prime Minister before election Henri Brisson Republican Union Elected Prime Minister Henri Brisson Democratic Union

Following the deaths of Napoléon, Prince Imperial and the Comte de Chambord, the monarchists and Bonapartists formed a conservative electoral alliance under the leadership of the Baron de Mackau. In the first round of the election, the conservatives won 176 seats, whereas the Republicans - partly because radical and moderate Republicans ran against each other, underestimating the danger from the right - only won 127. However, in the second round the radical and moderate Republicans agreed that the worse-placed Republican candidates would withdraw, and Republicans won 244 seats to the conservatives' 25, leading to a Republican victory.[1]

Henri Brisson remained premier immediately after the election, but resigned in December following his defeat in the presidential election to the incumbent, Jules Grévy. Brisson was replaced as premier by Charles de Freycinet.

Results

 Summary of the 4–18 October election results

Parties and coalitions			Votes	%	Seats
		Democratic Union	2,711,890	34.2	200
		Center-left	1,125,989	14.2	83
		Independent Radicals	547,135	6.9	40
Republican-Radical majority			4,385,015	55.3	323
		Royalists	991,188	12.5	73
		Bonapartists	888,104	11.2	65
		Conservatives	856,386	10.8	63
Conservative opposition			2,735,678	34.5	201
	Radicals and Socialists		816,739	10.2	60
Total			7,929,503	100	584
Source: Roi et President

References

1. Gildea, R., Children of the Revolution, London, 2008, p. 257