1945 French legislative election
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 522 seats in the Constituent Assembly 262 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 79.83% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
|
Legislative elections were held in France on 21 October 1945 to elect a Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for a
Fourth French Republic. A total of 522 seats were elected through proportional representation
; women were allowed to vote for the first time.
Parties and issues
On 21 October 1945 the French voters were called to make two choices: the election of their deputies and a
Three parties alliance
" called for a "Yes" vote, whereas the Radicals and the Conservatives campaigned for a "No".
Symbol of the
National Council of Resistance: the creation of a welfare state, and the nationalization of banks and major industrial companies (such as Renault). The opposition was composed of the parties which had dominated the pre-war governments of the Third Republic: the Radical Party
and the classical Right.
Results
Unsurprisingly, the "Three-parties alliance" won a large majority in the National Assembly. The Radical Party, which had been the leading party of the left in the Third Republic, suffered a catastrophic result, and the right was equally destroyed (because of its support of Marshal
bicameral legislature. De Gaulle advocated a presidential government. He resigned in January 1946. The PCF and SFIO proposals were rejected in the 5 May 1946 referendum
. This assembly was dissolved.
Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
---|---|---|---|---|
French Communist Party | 5,005,336 | 26.08 | 148 | |
Popular Republican Movement | 4,780,338 | 24.91 | 141 | |
French Section of the Workers' International | 4,561,411 | 23.77 | 134 | |
Conservatives (AD–DM–ER–PP–PRL) | 2,545,845 | 13.27 | 62 | |
Radicals (RS–RG–IG–PRRS–RGR) | 2,131,763 | 11.11 | 35 | |
Others | 165,106 | 0.86 | 2 | |
Total | 19,189,799 | 100.00 | 522 | |
Valid votes | 19,189,799 | 97.62 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 467,804 | 2.38 | ||
Total votes | 19,657,603 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 24,622,862 | 79.83 | ||
Source: Nohlen & Stöver[1] |
References
- ISBN 9783832956097
Further reading
- Footitt, Hilary and John Simmonds. France, 1943–1945 (1988)
- Graham, Bruce Desmond. The French socialists and tripartisme, 1944–1947 (University of Toronto Press, 1965)
- Knapp, Andrew, ed. Uncertain Foundation: France at the Liberation 1944–47 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)