The 1902 general election was held on 27 April and 11 May 1902. These elections were a victory for the ''

Bloc des gauches The Lefts Bloc (french: Bloc des gauches, ) was a coalition of Republican political forces created during the French Third Republic in 1899 to contest the 1902 legislative elections. It initially supported Emile Combes's cabinet (June 1902-Ja ...

'' alliance between Socialists, Radicals, and the left wing of the Republicans, over the anti-Dreyfusard right wing of the Republicans, the ''progressistes''. The ''Bloc des gauches'' had been brought together to support the "Republican Defense Cabinet" (''gouvernement de défense républicaine'') formed by

Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau (; 2 December 184610 August 1904) was a French Republican politician who served as the Prime Minister of France. Early life Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau was born in Nantes, Brittany. His father, René W ...

following the assault on the newly elected president,

Émile Loubet Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906. Trained in law, he became mayor of Montélimar, where he was not ...

, on the

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...

on 4 June 1899, during the

Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

. However, Waldeck-Rousseau's own supporters (the ARD) took few seats in the election compared to the Radicals and Socialists. After the election, President Loubet invited the Radical

Émile Combes Émile Justin Louis Combes (; 6 September 183525 May 1921) was a French statesman and freemason who led the Bloc des gauches's cabinet from June 1902 to January 1905. Career Émile Combes was born in Roquecourbe, Tarn. He studied for the pri ...

to form a government, which lasted until January 1905, when the Socialists withdrew from the ''Bloc des gauches''.Gildea, R., ''Children of the Revolution'', London, 2008, p. 278-282

Results

, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9; text-align:center;" , - , colspan="6" , Chambre des Députés 1902

, - ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Parties and coalitions ! Votes ! % ! Seats , - , rowspan="4" style="background-color:#FFC6D5;border-bottom-style:hidden;" , , style="background-color:#D99694;", , style="text-align:left;", Radical Left , 1,842,387 , 21.9 , 129 , - , style="background-color:#C96765;", , style="text-align:left;", Radical-Socialists , 1,489,052 , 17.7 , 104 , - , style="background-color:#EAB200;", , style="text-align:left;", Left Republicans , 883,336 , 10.5 , 62 , - , style="background-color:#E60000;", , style="text-align:left;",

Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

, 614,129 , 7.3 , 43 , - style="background-color:#FFC6D5;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Bloc des gauches , 4,828,905 , 57.4 , 338 , - , rowspan="3" style="background-color:#B9DAFF;border-bottom-style:hidden;" , , style="background-color:#95B3D7;", , style="text-align:left;",

Progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...

, 1,808,736 , 21.5 , 127 , - , style="background-color:#1F497D;", , style="text-align:left;",

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, 1,270,321 , 15.1 , 89 , - , style="background-color:#4F81BD;", , style="text-align:left;", Liberals , 504,763 , 6.0 , 35 , - style="background-color:#B9DAFF;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Parliamentary right , 3,583,820 , 42.6 , 251 , - , colspan="6" style="background-color:#E9E9E9;", , - style="font-weight:bold;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Total , 8,412,727 , 100 , 589 , - , style="text-align:left;font-size:90%;" colspan="12", Source
Lingane, les élections de 1902

References

*L'année Politique 1902, by André Daniel, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1903

External links

1902 1902 elections in France {{France-election-stub