Legislative elections were held in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

on 8 February 1871 to elect the first legislature of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 194 ...

, the unicameral

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. The elections were held during a situation of crisis in the country, as following the Franco-Prussian War, 43 departments were occupied by Prussian forces. As a result, all public meetings were outlawed and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

was the only city where an election campaign took place. The electoral law allowed candidates to run in more than one

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

at a time. As a result, several candidates were elected in more than one seat, with

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

elected in 86 constituencies. A series of by-elections were subsequently held on 2 July to elect representatives for the 114 vacant seats. This election saw the victory of monarchists (

Legitimists The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They r ...

and Orleanists), favourable to peace with the German Empire, with a large majority.

Results

, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9; text-align:center;" , - , colspan="6" , French_National Assembly_1871

, - ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Parties and coalitions ! Votes ! % ! Seats , - , rowspan="2" style="background-color:#B9DAFF;border-bottom-style:hidden;" , , style="background-color:;", , style="text-align:left;", Orléanists , , 33.5 , 214 , - , style="background-color:;", , style="text-align:left;", Legitimists , , 28.5 , 182 , - style="background-color:#B9DAFF;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Monarchist majority , , 62.0 , 396 , - , rowspan="3" style="background-color:#FFC6D5;border-bottom-style:hidden;" , , style="background-color:;", , style="text-align:left;", Republican Left , , 17.5 , 112 , - , style="background-color:#FFC0C0;", , style="text-align:left;",

Centre-Left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

, , 11.4 , 72 , - , style="background-color:;", , style="text-align:left;", Republican Union , , 6.0 , 38 , - style="background-color:#FFC6D5;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Republican opposition , , 34.9 , 222 , - , style="background-color:;", , colspan="2" style="text-align:left;", Bonapartists , , 3.1 , 20 , - , colspan="6" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;", , - style="font-weight:bold;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Total , unknown , 100 , 638 , - , style="text-align:left;font-size:90%;" colspan="12", Source: Quid 2006

References

{{French elections 1871-02 1871 elections in France

Legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ...

February 1871 events

Results

See also

References