1958 French legislative election

The French legislative elections took place on 23 and 30 November 1958 to elect the first National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic.[1]

1958 French legislative election

23 and 30 November 1958
All 576 seats to the French National Assembly 289 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	77.1% ( 5.7 pp) (1st round)
CNIP Leader Charles de Gaulle none Pierre Pflimlin Party UNR CNIP MRP Leader's seat none none Bas-Rhin-8th Last election 22 seats 95 seats 71 seats Seats won 189 132 57 Seat change 173 37 26 Popular vote 3,603,958 (1st round) 4,769,052 (2nd round) 4,092,600 (1st round) 4,250,083 (2nd round) 2,387,788 (1st round) 1,365,064 (2nd round) Percentage 17.6% (1st round) 26.4% (2nd round) 19.9% (1st round) 23.6% (2nd round) 11.6% (1st round) 7.5% (2nd round)   Leader Guy Mollet Félix Gaillard Maurice Thorez Party SFIO PRV PCF Leader's seat Pas-de-Calais-1st Charente Seine Last election 95 seats 77 seats 150 seats Seats won 40 37 10 Seat change 55 40 140 Popular vote 3,167,354 (1st round) 2,484,417 (2nd round) 2,695,287 (1st round) 1,398,409 (2nd round) 3,882,204 (1st round) 3,741,384 (2nd round) Percentage 15.5% (1st round) 13.8% (2nd round) 12.9% (1st round) 7.7% (2nd round) 18.9% (1st round) 20.7% (2nd round)
PM before election Charles de Gaulle UNR Elected PM Michel Debré UNR

Since 1954, the French Fourth Republic had been mired in the Algerian War.[2] In May 1958, Pierre Pflimlin, a Christian-Democrat, became Prime Minister.[3] He was known to be in favour of a negotiated settlement with the Algerian nationalists.[4] On 13 May riots broke out in Algiers, with the complicity of the army.[5] A rebel government seized power in Algiers in order to defend "French Algeria". The next day, General Massu demanded the return to power of General Charles de Gaulle.[6]

The rebellious generals took control of Corsica threatening to conduct an assault on Paris, involving paratroopers and armoured forces based at Rambouillet.[6] In Paris, the political leaders were trying to find a compromise.[7] On 1 June De Gaulle replaced Pflimlin to lead a government of national unity and nominated as Ministers of State (Vice-Prime Ministers) Pierre Pflimlin (Popular Republican Movement, MRP), Guy Mollet (French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), Louis Jacquinot (National Center of Independents and Peasants, CNIP) and Félix Houphouët-Boigny.[8] He obtained the right to develop a new Constitution.[9] Only the Communists and some center-left politicians such as Pierre Mendès-France and François Mitterrand, opposed this "coup against the Republic".[7][10]

On 28 September the new Constitution was approved by 79.25% of voters. The Fifth Republic was born. The two-round system was re-established for the legislative elections.[11] The Gaullists created the Union for the New Republic which became the largest parliamentary group. Their opponents were crushed. The division in the Left between the supporters and the opponents to the Fifth Republic explained, in due to this ballot system which encourages the alliances, the small number of left-wing MPs.[12]

On 21 December de Gaulle was elected President of France by an electoral college.[13] His Justice Minister Michel Debré became Prime Minister.[14] The pro-Fifth Republic center-left parties (SFIO and Radical Party) left the presidential majority.[15][1] This established the first gaullist centre-right government.

Results (Metropolitan France)[16]

Parties and coalitions			1st round		2nd round		Total seats
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Union for the New Republic (Union pour la nouvelle République) and Gaullists	UNR	3,603,958	17.6	4,769,052	26.4	189
	National Center of Independents and Peasants (Centre national des indépendants et paysans) and Moderates	CNIP	4,092,600	19.9	4,250,083	23.6	132
	Popular Republican Movement (Mouvement républicain populaire) and Christian Democrats	MRP	2,387,788	11.6	1,365,064	7.5	57
	French Section of the Workers International (Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière)	SFIO	3,167,354	15.5	2,484,417	13.8	40
	Radical Party (Parti radical), Dissidents and Republican Center	Rad	2,695,287	12.9	1,398,409	7.7	37
	French Communist Party (Parti communiste français)	PCF	3,882,204	18.9	3,741,384	20.7	10
	Extreme Right		669,518	3.3	-	-	1
	Total		20,489,709	99.7		99.7	466
	Abstention: 22.9% (1st round)

Notes

1. Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 253-266.
2. Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 26-44.
3. Laponce 1961, pp. 1-2.
4. Laponce 1961, pp. 9-10; Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 60-61.
5. Macridis & Brown 1960, p. 62.
6. Watson 2003, pp. 123-129; Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 81-91.
7. Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 92-97.
8. Laponce 1961, pp. 12-13; Macridis & Brown 1960, p. 154.
9. Macridis & Brown 1960, p. 117.
10. Mitterrand 1964.
11. Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 210-236, 335-358.
12. Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 249-266.
13. Macridis & Brown 1960, p. 182, 270.
14. Macridis & Brown 1960, p. 152, 273.
15. Macridis & Brown 1960, pp. 242-246.
16. Macridis & Brown 1960, p. 258, N.B.: Unofficial and partly reconstructed

References

• Macridis, Roy C; Brown, Bernard Edward (1960). Long, Norton E. (ed.). The De Gaulle Republic: Quest For Unity. The Dorsey Series in Political Science (1st ed.). Homewood: The Dorsey Press. LCCN 60-14048. OCLC 408387. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
• Laponce, J. A. (1961). The government of the Fifth Republic: French Political Parties and the Constitution. Berkeley, Los Angeles; London: University of California; Cambridge University. LCCN 60-14656. OCLC 501634. Retrieved 11 November 2014 – via Internet Archive.
• Watson, William E. (2003). Tricolor and Crescent: France and the Islamic World. Perspectives on the twentieth century (10th ed.). Westport: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-97470-7. ISSN 1538-9626. LCCN 2002030336. OCLC 50322732. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
• Mitterrand, François (1964). Le Coup d'Etat permanent (in French). Paris: Plon.