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Legislative elections took place on 10 and 17 June 2012 (and on other dates for small numbers of voters outside metropolitan France) to select the members of the 14th
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 repre ...
of the Fifth Republic, a little over a month after the
French presidential election Presidential elections in France determine who will serve as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra for the French side for the next five years. Until 2002, the elections were held every seven years. They are always held on a Sunday. Si ...
run-off held on 6 May. All 577 single member seats in the assembly, including those representing overseas departments and territories and French residents overseas, were contested using a
two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
.


Background


Presidential election

The elections came a month after the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
won by
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
of the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
. Since 2002, legislative elections immediately follow the presidential ones. This was designed to limit the possibility of a
cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
, whereby the President and his or her Prime Minister, backed by a parliamentary majority, would be of opposite parties. The aim was also to give the new president and his government a "double mandate", the election of the President being followed by that of a parliamentary majority enabling him to implement his policies. This is what happened in 2002 and 2007. Thus, in 2012, the Socialist Party has asked French citizens to "confirm" the result of the presidential election; Hollande's campaign director
Pierre Moscovici Pierre Moscovici (, ; born 16 September 1957) is a French politician who served as the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs from 2014 to 2019. He previously served as Minister of Finance from 2012 to 20 ...
argued it would not make sense to have elected a President only for him to be rendered "powerless" by the legislative election: "This President tomorrow must have a majority with which to govern". By contrast, the
Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...
, on the right, has repeatedly asked that the left not be given "all the powers" through this election."Législatives : le PS veut "une majorité nette", l'UMP veut limiter la casse"
''Le Monde'', 8 May 2012
The legislative elections in France are often described as the "third round" of the presidential election."Un " troisième tour " déterminant"
''Ouest France'', 30 May 2012
"Législatives. Le "troisième tour" en vue"
''Le Télégramme'', 8 May 2012


Ethnic and gender pluralism

In order to make possible the election of some candidates of non-European ethnic background (North African, Subsaharan African and West Indian) as well as for female candidates, the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
had, like in 2007, reserved several constituencies for them, 22 for ethnic minorities and 49% for women. At the end of the second round, there were 13 metropolitan deputies with non-European ethnic background, including two government members (
Kader Arif Kader Arif ( ar, قادر عريف; born 3 July 1959 in Algiers) is a French politician of the French Socialist Party (PS) who served as Junior Minister for Veterans to the French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian from 2012 until 2014. Pr ...
, former Euro MP, and George Pau-Langevin, already deputy since 2007) who will be replaced by their alternate candidates: *6 with Algerian roots:
Kader Arif Kader Arif ( ar, قادر عريف; born 3 July 1959 in Algiers) is a French politician of the French Socialist Party (PS) who served as Junior Minister for Veterans to the French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian from 2012 until 2014. Pr ...
(PS),
Kheira Bouziane Kheira Bouziane-Laroussi (born 23 August 1953) is a French politician, elected in 2012 (as Kheira Bouziane) as a deputy for the Socialist Party. In 2008 she became alderman for solidarity and family in Quetigny, a town in Côte-d'Or. She was ch ...
(PS),
Pascal Cherki Pascal Cherki (born 1 September 1966) is a French politician. A member of the 1 July Movement, he served as a member of the National Assembly between 2012 and 2017 and the mayor of the 14th arrondissement of Paris The 14th arrondissement of ...
(PS),
Jean-François Copé Jean-François Copé (; born 5 May 1964) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Meaux since 1995 with an interruption from 2002 to 2005. He was Government Spokesman between 2002 and 2007, when assumed other tenures in the government—inclu ...
(UMP),
Razzy Hammadi Razzy Hammadi (born in Toulon on 22 February 1979) is a French politician, elected in 2012 as a deputy for the Socialist Party. Born in France of North African-born parents (Algerian Kabyle father, Tunisian mother), he is a former president of ...
(PS),
Chaynesse Khirouni Chaynesse Khirouni (born 17 March 1968 in Douai) is a French politician elected in 2012 as a deputy for the Socialist Party. She is the daughter of a steel industry Algerian toiler. She finished first in the first round in Meurthe-et-Moselle ...
(PS) *2 with Lebanese roots: Christian Assaf (PS),
Henri Jibrayel Henri Jibrayel ( ar, هنرى چيبرايل; born on in Marseille) is a French politician with Lebanese and Assyrian roots. His father was an Assyrian survivor of the Assyrian genocide, that took place in present-day Turkey, who had taken re ...
(PS) *2 with Guadeloupean roots:
Hélène Geoffroy Hélène Geoffroy (born 4 March 1970) is a French politician who was elected to the French National Assembly on 17 June 2012 representing the department of Rhône. References

1970 births Living people Black French politicians People fro ...
(PS),
George Pau-Langevin George Pau-Langevin (; born 19 October 1948 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe) is a French lawyer and politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). Close to Bertrand Delanoë, she was deputy for the Paris's 21st con ...
(PS) *1 with Tunisian roots:
Pierre Lellouche Pierre Lellouche (born 3 May 1951) is a French lawyer and politician of the Republicans who served as Secretary of State for Foreign Trade under the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Christine Lagarde in the government of Prime Minis ...
(UMP) (and Razzy Hammadi, whose mother is a Tunisian) *1 with Chadian roots:
Seybah Dagoma Seybah Dagoma (born 9 June 1978 in Nantes, France) is a French lawyer and politician of the Socialist Party who served as a member of the French National Assembly on 17 June 2012, representing the department of Paris. Early life and education Bo ...
(PS) *1 with Brazilian roots: Eduardo Rihan Cipel (PS) Among the 11 deputies who represent French citizens abroad, one is from Réunion,
Corinne Narassiguin Corinne Narassiguin (born March 7, 1975, in Le Port, Réunion) is a French politician and former member of the National Assembly of France. She was elected on the 17 June 2012, in the 2012 legislative election, representing the North America ...
(PS), another has Chilean roots,
Sergio Coronado Sergio Coronado (born 13 May 1970) is a French politician, former member of the French National Assembly representing French residents overseas. Biography Early life Sergio Coronado left Chile with his family after the coup d'état of Gene ...
(EELV) and a third one has Iranian roots,
Pouria Amirshahi Pouria Amirshahi (born 27 March 1972 in Shemiran, Iran), is a French politician. He was a Deputy in the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, ...
(PS).


Electoral system

A total of 6,603 candidates ran for the 577 seats, an average of 11 per constituency. Some 40% are women. The law mandates that every party must have between 49 and 51% of women among its candidates, or have their public funding significantly reduced. "Some parties, among the richest, prefer to pay the fine" rather than comply with this rule, according to
Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...
. The law also does not take electability into account, and significant numbers of women candidates run in constituencies where their party does not stand a real chance. French expatriates elected their own MPs for the first time – voting early, from 23 to 26 May or on 2 or 3 June for the first round and from 6 to 12 June or on 16 or 17 June for the second, depending on their location and the method by which they cast their ballot. If an expatriate votes via the Internet, he or she has a week to do so from 23 to 26 May. A
postal ballot An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online votin ...
may be cast, if received by 31 May in the Americas or by 1 June in the rest of the world. Those who prefer to vote in person in their local consulate must do so on 2 June in the Americas or 3 June in the rest of the world.


The two-round system

Each of the 577 constituencies elects one representative to the National Assembly, in a two-round election. A candidate is elected in the first round if he or she obtains an absolute majority of the vote in his or her constituency ''and'' the votes of at least one quarter of all registered voters in the constituency. If a large number of voters abstain, an absolute majority of the vote may thus not be enough, although this rarely happens. (In the 2012 election, one surprising example was in
Martinique's 3rd constituency The 3rd constituency of Martinique is a French legislative constituency in the Martinique ''département''. It consists of the commune of Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. In every election of the Fifth Republic, with the exception ...
, where incumbent MP
Serge Letchimy Serge Letchimy (; born 13 January 1953) is the President of the Executive Council of Martinique and former member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the island of Martinique's 3rd constituency since June 2007, and is a member of ...
of the
Martinican Progressive Party The Martinican Progressive Party (french: Parti progressiste martiniquais, PPM) is a democratic socialist political party in Martinique. It was founded on March 22, 1958 by poet Aimé Césaire after breaking off from the French Communist Party. Th ...
received 63.29% of the vote, but narrowly failed to be immediately elected due to a very low turnout (30.67%).) If no candidate is elected in the first round, then the two candidates who finished first and second in the first round advance automatically to the second for a runoff. They may be joined by the third- or even fourth-placed candidate; the second round is open to any candidate who has obtained the votes of at least 12.5% of ''registered'' voters in the constituency. Low turnouts therefore decrease the likelihood of a three-person runoff (known in France as a ''triangulaire''). In the second round, the candidate who obtains the most votes is elected; an absolute majority is not required. (In the unlikely event of a tie, the elder of the tied candidates is elected.) Candidates who advance to the second round have the option of withdrawing. Usually this happens in a ''triangulaire'', where the party and/or candidate that finished third in the first round prefers to favour one of the two leading candidates. In the 2012 election, for example, third-placed UMP candidate Roland Chassain in the Bouches-du-Rhônes's 16th constituency withdrew in order to help the National Front candidate defeat the Socialist candidate. In addition, the parties of the mainstream left (Socialist, Greens, Left Front, Radical Party of the Left, various smaller parties) have a long-standing agreement whereby they do not stand against one another in the second round. If two of them advance to the second round in the same constituency, the less-well-placed of the two automatically withdraws. In some cases, this means a ''triangulaire'' is avoided, and the left is united against a single right-wing candidate. In the 2012 election, for example, in the Hauts-de-Seine's 11th constituency, incumbent MP and Left Front candidate
Marie-Hélène Amiable Marie-Hélène Simone Monique Amiable (born 14 March 1960) is a French politician who has served as the Mayor of Bagneux since 2004. She also served as Member of the National Assembly for the Hauts-de-Seine's 11th constituency from 2007 to 2012 ...
narrowly finished second (29.20%) behind Socialist candidate Julie Sommaruga (29.93%). Amiable withdrew, supporting Sommaruga in her runoff against
New Centre The Centrists (french: Les Centristes, LC), formerly known as New Centre (''Nouveau Centre'', NC) and European Social Liberal Party (''Parti Social Libéral Européen'', PSLE), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of t ...
candidate Jean-Loup Metton, who had finished third in the first round with enough support to advance to the second (24.15%). In other cases, this rule means that only one candidate remains in the "second round". Thus, Socialist Najia Amzal withdrew in favour of Left Front candidate and incumbent MP
Marie-George Buffet Marie-George Buffet (née Kosellek; born 7 May 1949) is a French politician. She was the head of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 2001 to 2010. She joined the Party in 1969, and she served in the government as Minister of Youth Affairs an ...
in
Seine-Saint-Denis's 4th constituency The 4th constituency of Seine-Saint-Denis is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Seine-Saint-Denis departments of France, ''département''. Deputies Election results 2022 , - , colspan="8" bgc ...
; Left Front candidate
Patrick Le Hyaric Patrick Le Hyaric (born 4 February 1957 in Orléans, Loiret) is a French journalist, politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP), elected in the 2009 European election for the Île-de-France constituency. He is the director of the ne ...
withdrew in favour of Socialist candidate
Élisabeth Guigou Élisabeth Guigou (; born Élisabeth Vallier; 6 August 1946) is a French politician of the Socialist Party who served as a member of the National Assembly from 2002 until 2017, representing Seine-Saint-Denis' 9th constituency. Early life and ...
in
Seine-Saint-Denis's 6th constituency The 6th constituency of Seine-Saint-Denis is a French legislative constituency in Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ( ...
; Left Front candidate and incumbent MP
Pierre Gosnat Pierre Gosnat (August 20, 1948 – January 25, 2015) was a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly of France. He represented the Val-de-Marne department, and was a member of the Gauche démocrate et républicaine The D ...
withdrew in favour of
Citizen and Republican Movement The Citizen and Republican Movement (French language, French: ''Mouvement républicain et citoyen'') is a political party in France. The party replaced in 2002 the Citizens' Movement (''Mouvement des citoyens'', MDC) founded by Jean-Pierre Chev ...
candidate
Jean-Luc Laurent Jean-Luc Laurent (born 23 June 1957) is a French politician formerly of the Citizen and Republican Movement. He was Member of Parliament for Val-de-Marne's 10th constituency from 2012 to 2017. Political career He was elected to Parliament in ...
in the
Val-de-Marne's 10th constituency The 10th constituency of Val-de-Marne is a French legislative constituency in the Val-de-Marne ''département''. Description The 10th constituency of Val-de-Marne is in the north west of the department bordering Paris to the north. It include ...
; and Green candidate Stéphane Gatignon withdrew in front of the Left Front's incumbent MP
François Asensi François Asensi (born 1 June 1945) is a French politician who has served as the Mayor of Tremblay-en-France since 1991 and served as Member of the National Assembly for Seine-Saint-Denis' 11th constituency from 1988 to 2017. Early life Franç ...
in
Seine-Saint-Denis's 4th constituency The 4th constituency of Seine-Saint-Denis is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Seine-Saint-Denis departments of France, ''département''. Deputies Election results 2022 , - , colspan="8" bgc ...
. In all these cases, no candidate of the right, centre or far right had reached the second round, meaning that the best-placed and sole remaining left-wing candidate was guaranteed to be elected in a one-person "runoff".


Redistricting

The
Constitutional Council Constitutional Council might refer to: * Constitutional Council (Chad) * Constitutional Council (France) * Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast) * Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka) * Constitutional Council (Cambodia) * Constitutional Council (Kaz ...
approved in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
the first
redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...
of electoral boundaries since 1986 to reflect France's changing demographics. The population ratio between the most populated and least populated constituencies was reduced from 1:3.6 to 1:2. A study by Regards Citoyens indicated that the number of seats increased in areas held by the centre-right coalition led by then governing UMP at the expense of the
Socialist 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 e ...
-led opposition coalition. Officially, the dual purpose of the redistricting was to ensure a more equal number of voters per constituency, but also to provide seats in the National Assembly to French citizens resident overseas. Thirty-three constituencies were abolished, and thirty-three new ones created. Of the latter, nineteen were in France, while the rest of the world was divided into eleven
constituencies for French residents overseas The constituencies for French residents overseas (French: ''Circonscriptions législatives des Français établis hors de France'') are eleven constituencies, each electing one member of the National Assembly. They were created by the 2010 redist ...
.


Parties


Main parties and their aims

The
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
sought to obtain a parliamentary majority with which to implement its policies. Three possible scenarios could have occurred if the left won overall: * The Socialist Party has an absolute majority of seats, and can govern alone, without having to rely on the support of smaller left-wing or centre-left parties. * The Socialist Party has a majority with the support of its government partners:
Europe Ecology – The Greens Europe Ecology – The Greens (french: Europe Écologie Les Verts , EELV ) is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in France. The party is a member of the European Green Party. The party was formed on 13 November 2010 from the merge ...
, the
Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Socia ...
(centre-left), and the small
Citizen and Republican Movement The Citizen and Republican Movement (French language, French: ''Mouvement républicain et citoyen'') is a political party in France. The party replaced in 2002 the Citizens' Movement (''Mouvement des citoyens'', MDC) founded by Jean-Pierre Chev ...
. * The Socialist Party and its aforementioned partners lack a majority alone, and require the support of the Left Front in order to govern. The Left Front has indicated that it would never bring down the Socialist government, but that it would not systematically support the government's policies, and would require support for some of its own policy proposals."Les enjeux des législatives, parti par parti"
''Le Monde'', 5 June 2012
The
Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...
officially aimed to win the election. Its primary stated aim, however, was to obtain enough seats to prevent the left from having the 3/5ths
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
majority which would enable it to adopt constitutional reforms (such as granting the right to vote to foreign residents in local elections). The UMP's task was complicated by the popularity of the far-right National Front, which the polls indicated could obtain enough support to reach the second round in a large number of constituencies, thus splitting the right-wing vote. (Under French electoral law, in legislative elections, a third party advances to the second round if it obtains the votes of at least 12.5% of ''registered'' voters – i.e., including those who abstain.) The Left Front aimed to have a sizable group in Parliament, with which to have meaningful influence on the policies of the Socialist government. The National Front aimed to obtain seats in the Assembly; it had none prior to the election. A secondary aim was to "sow chaos in the UMP" by maintaining candidates in the second round and thus causing the UMP potentially to lose seats. The National Front's stated aim was eventually to replace the UMP as the main party of the right – though opinion polls credit the UMP with at least 209 seats, and the National Front with 8 at most, possibly none at all.
Europe Ecology – The Greens Europe Ecology – The Greens (french: Europe Écologie Les Verts , EELV ) is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in France. The party is a member of the European Green Party. The party was formed on 13 November 2010 from the merge ...
aimed to form an official parliamentary group, which requires having fifteen members in the Assembly. It had only three members prior to the election. The
Democratic Movement A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate ...
aimed to preserve its three seats, although its earlier ambitions were much higher. Opinion polls suggest the party may disappear from the Assembly completely, and is unlikely to obtain any additional seats. In all, twelve parties or alliances stood more than a hundred candidates. The Socialist Party had 459 candidates, and endorsed candidates of allied parties in other constituencies. The UMP had 501 candidates, and endorsed candidates of allied parties (most notably the
New Centre The Centrists (french: Les Centristes, LC), formerly known as New Centre (''Nouveau Centre'', NC) and European Social Liberal Party (''Parti Social Libéral Européen'', PSLE), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of t ...
) in 69 other constituencies. The Left Front had 531 candidates. Europe Ecologie-The Greens had 465. Marine Le Pen's "Marine Blue Gathering" had 571 candidates, and was thus present in all but six constituencies. Most of these candidates were members of the National Front; others were from small, allied extreme right parties. François Bayrou's "Centre for France" alliance had 340 candidates, most of whom were members of the Democratic Movement."La gauche est favorite, mais quelle gauche ?"
''Le Monde'', 9 June 2012

Also standing over a hundred candidates were: * Workers' Struggle: 536 * the
New Anticapitalist Party The New Anticapitalist Party (french: Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste , abbreviated NPA) is a far-left political party in France founded in February 2009. The party launched with 9,200 members and was intended to unify the fractured movements o ...
: 329 * the
Independent Ecological Alliance The Independent Ecological Alliance (french: Alliance écologiste indépendante) was a French electoral coalition originally created to participate in the 2009 European elections composed of the Independent Ecological Movement, Ecology Generati ...
: 292 *
Arise the Republic Debout la France (, ; DLF) is a French political party founded by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan in 1999 under the name Debout la République (''Republic Arise'', DLR) as the "genuine Gaullist" branch of the Rally for the Republic (RPR). It was relaunched ...
: 253 * an alliance of The Clover - The New Ecologists and the Humans, Animals, Nature Movement: 132 * the
Independent Workers' Party The Independent Workers' Party (french: Parti ouvrier indépendant, POI) is a French Marxist political party founded in June 2008 after the dissolution of its predecessor, the Workers' Party. It claimed 10,071 members at its founding congress ...
: 103 *
Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...
: 101


UMP position on the National Front

With the prospect of National Front candidates reaching the second round alongside the mainstream candidates of the left and right in a number of constituencies, the Socialist Party announced that it would withdraw its candidate from the second round in those constituencies, if and only if it appeared that the National Front candidate had a realistic prospect of winning. In such cases, the Socialists would support the UMP candidate as part of a "republican front" against the far right. The UMP, by contrast, refrained from saying it would withdraw and support a Socialist candidate in those same circumstances. Instead, 64% of UMP voters said they would favour an alliance between their own party and the extreme right for the legislative election. Leading figures of the UMP rejected the possibility.
Chantal Jouanno Chantal Jouanno (née Paul; born 12 July 1969 in Vernon, Eure, France) is a French politician who served as Minister of Sports in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon from 14 November 2010 and 26 September 2011, succeeding to Rose ...
said she was worried it might be under consideration, leading party leader
Jean-François Copé Jean-François Copé (; born 5 May 1964) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Meaux since 1995 with an interruption from 2002 to 2005. He was Government Spokesman between 2002 and 2007, when assumed other tenures in the government—inclu ...
to assure her publicly "there will never be an alliance with the National Front". Two days before the first round,
Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the coun ...
called upon party members to resist the "temptation" of local alliances with the far right, arguing on "moral", "pragmatic" and "tactical grounds", highlighting ideological and policy incompatibility and the National Front's stated aim to "break" and replace the UMP. The day after the first round, the UMP officially announced its position. The party told its candidates not to withdraw if they had entered the second round in third place behind a Socialist candidate and a candidate of the National Front. In addition, in constituencies where the second round was a runoff between the left and the National Front, the UMP would not support either candidate. Roland Chassain, UMP candidate in the Bouches-du-Rhône's 16th constituency, immediately disobeyed the party line, announcing he was withdrawing from the second round and supporting the National Front candidate. He explained that he considered himself "closer to Marine Le Pen than to the Socialist Party"."A Arles, l'UMP Roland Chassain se retire au profit du FN"
''Le Monde'', 11 June 2012
In the
Gard's 2nd constituency The 2nd constituency of Gard is a French legislative constituency in the Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Nadine Morano Nadine Morano (; born 6 November 1963 in Nancy) is a French politician of the Republicans who has been serving as Member of the European Parliament since 2014. She previously was a member of the National Assembly and a minister. Early life Mor ...
(UMP), government minister from 2008 and 2012, asked National Front voters in her constituency to support her on the grounds of the "shared values" between the right and the far right, while UMP mayor of Nice
Christian Estrosi Christian Paul Gilbert Estrosi (born 1 July 1955) is a French sportsman and politician who has served as Mayor of Nice since 2017, previously holding the office from 2008 to 2016. A former professional motorcyclist, he served as a government min ...
stated that the UMP has "no common values" with the Socialist Party. On 12 June, Morano published an interview in the far right newspaper ''
Minute The minute is a unit of time usually equal to (the first sexagesimal fraction) of an hour, or 60 seconds. In the UTC time standard, a minute on rare occasions has 61 seconds, a consequence of leap seconds (there is a provision to insert a nega ...
'', calling for "as large a gathering as possible of the right". Another UMP candidate, Jean-Paul Garraud, stated that his party and the National Front had "common beliefs", a statement which was criticised by
Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the coun ...
as being "in total contradiction" with the stated position of the UMP.
Martine Aubry Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor of Lille (No ...
, the leader of the Socialist Party, said that her party, by contrast, would support candidates of the right against the far right, as a "Republican principle". In
Vaucluse's 3rd constituency The 3rd constituency of Vaucluse is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Vaucluse departments of France, ''département'' (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, a member of the National Front (France) ...
, she therefore asked Socialist candidate Catherine Arkilovitch, who had entered the second round in third place (21.98%), to withdraw and support second-placed UMP candidate Jean-Michel Ferrand (30.03%), so as to help defeat National Front candidate Marion Marechal-Le Pen (34.63%). Arkilovitch, however, defied her party and refused to withdraw.
Pierre Moscovici Pierre Moscovici (, ; born 16 September 1957) is a French politician who served as the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs from 2014 to 2019. He previously served as Minister of Finance from 2012 to 20 ...
, Socialist Minister of Finance, stated on 12 June that the UMP had lost its way and its values and no longer knew what it stood for, in response to its position on the National Front. Later that same day, Prime Minister
Jean-Marc Ayrault Jean-Marc Ayrault (; born 25 January 1950) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He later was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2017. He previously was Mayor of Nantes from 1989 t ...
accused the UMP of "preparing a strategic alliance with the National Front", adding: "I think it was underway with
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
, but now the UMP really is at a turning point".


Campaign

The official campaign began, in metropolitan France, on 21 May. In every constituency, each candidate has a billboard outside every polling station, upon which to display a campaign poster. Campaign material is also distributed by candidates' supporters in the streets and in letterboxes, and many campaign posters are illegally displayed in the streets. Transmitting campaign material to voters by e-mail is, however, prohibited. Nationwide, parties represented in the National Assembly prior to the election (i.e., the
Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...
, the
Socialist, Radical, Citizen and Miscellaneous Left The Socialists and affiliated group (french: groupe Socialistes et apparentés ) is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly including representatives of the Socialist Party (PS). History The first socialist parliamentary group emerged i ...
parliamentary group, the
Democratic and Republican Left The Democratic and Republican Left group (french: groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine or GDR) is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly including representatives of the French Communist Party (PCF) as well as leftist parties ...
parliamentary group, and the
New Centre The Centrists (french: Les Centristes, LC), formerly known as New Centre (''Nouveau Centre'', NC) and European Social Liberal Party (''Parti Social Libéral Européen'', PSLE), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of t ...
) have the right to broadcast campaign clips on television; an hour and a half is provided for the outgoing parliamentary majority, and an hour and a half for the outgoing opposition. Each side distributes this time as it sees fit between its constituent parties. Parties which are not represented in Parliament but which are standing at least 75 candidates are entitled to seven minutes of broadcast each. Any campaigning whatsoever is forbidden on the eve of the election. The leaflets of the candidates for the French nationals abroad (''Français établis à l'étranger'') seats were published online on the website of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.


Opinion polls


Results


Overall

The election was won by the left, providing the new government with an absolute parliamentary majority. The parties of the presidential majority together have 55.97% of seats; with the Left Front providing them with supply and confidence. Among the 577 members of the Assembly, 234 were new. A record number of women were elected: 155 (26.86%). Turnout was 57.23%, a record low.
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...
's single constituency had the highest turnout of any French electorate during the first round on 10 June, with 78% voter participation. , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ! colspan="4" rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;", Parties and coalitions ! colspan="3", First round ! colspan="3", Second round ! colspan="2", Total , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ! width="75", Votes ! width="30", % ! width="30", Seats ! width="75", Votes ! width="30", % ! width="30", Seats ! width="30", Seats ! width="30", % , - , style="background-color:#FFC6D5;border-bottom-style:hidden" rowspan="4", , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, PS , 7,618,326 , , 29.35 , , 22 , 9,420,889 , , 40.91 , , 258 , 280 , , 48.53 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
Miscellaneous left Miscellaneous left (', ''DVG'') in France refers to left-wing candidates who are not members of any party or a member of party that has no elected seats. They include either small left-wing parties or dissidents expelled from their parties for run ...
, DVG , 881,555 , , 3.40 , , 1 , 709,395 , , 3.08 , , 21 , 22 , , 3.81 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
Europe Ecology – The Greens Europe Ecology – The Greens (french: Europe Écologie Les Verts , EELV ) is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in France. The party is a member of the European Green Party. The party was formed on 13 November 2010 from the merge ...
, EELV , 1,418,264 , , 5.46 , , 1 , 829,036 , , 3.60 , , 16 , 17 , , 2.95 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Socia ...
, PRG , 428,898 , , 1.65 , , 1 , 538,331 , , 2.34 , , 11 , 12 , , 2.08 , - , - style="background-color:#FFC6D5" , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4", Presidential majority (left) , 10,347,043 , , 39.87 , , 25 , 11,497,651 , , 49.93 , , 306 , 331 , , 57.70 , - , style="background-color:#B9DAFF;border-bottom-style:hidden" rowspan="5", , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...
, UMP , 7,037,268 , , 27.12 , , 9 , 8,740,628 , , 37.95 , , 185 , 194 , , 33.62 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
Miscellaneous right Miscellaneous right (', ''DVD'') in France refers to right-wing candidates who are not members of any large party. This can include members of small right-wing parties, dissidents expelled from their party for running against their party's candida ...
, DVD , 910,034 , , 3.51 , , 1 , 417,940 , , 1.81 , , 14 , 15 , , 2.60 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
New Centre The Centrists (french: Les Centristes, LC), formerly known as New Centre (''Nouveau Centre'', NC) and European Social Liberal Party (''Parti Social Libéral Européen'', PSLE), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of t ...
, NC , 569,897 , , 2.20 , , 1 , 568,319 , , 2.47 , , 11 , 12 , , 2.08 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;", Radical Party , PRV , 321,054 , , 1.24 , , 0 , 311,211 , , 1.35 , , 6 , 6 , , 1.04 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;",
Centrist Alliance The Centrist Alliance (french: Alliance centriste) (AC) is a centrist political party in France. It was founded in June 2009 by Jean Arthuis, a former member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) and currently Member of European parliament, whe ...
, AC , 156,026 , , 0.60 , , 0 , 123,132 , , 0.53 , , 2 , 2 , , 0.35 , - style="background-color:#B9DAFF" , colspan="4" style="text-align:left;", Parliamentary right , 8,994,349 , , 34.66 , , 11 , 10,161,218 , , 44.12 , , 218 , 229 , , 39.69 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Left Front , FDG , 1,793,192 , , 6.91 , , 0 , 249,498 , , 1.08 , , 10 , 10 , , 1.73 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", National Front , FN , 3,528,663 , , 13.60 , , 0 , 842,695 , , 3.66 , , 2 , 2 , , 0.35 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Centre for France , MoDem , 458,098 , , 1.77 , , 0 , 113,196 , , 0.49 , , 2 , 2 , , 0.35 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Regionalists and separatists , REG , 145,809 , , 0.56 , , 0 , 135,312 , , 0.59 , , 2 , 2 , , 0.35 , - , style="background-color:#404040;", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2",
Far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
, EXD , 49,499 , , 0.19 , , 0 , 29,738 , , 0.13 , , 1 , 1 , , 0.17 , - , style="background-color:#bb0000;", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Far-left , EXG , 253,386 , , 0.98 , , 0 , – , , – , , – , 0 , , 0.00 , - , style="background-color:#77ff77;", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Ecologists , ECO , 249,068 , , 0.96 , , 0 , – , , – , , – , 0 , , 0.00 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Others , AUT , 133,752 , , 0.52 , , 0 , – , , – , , – , 0 , , 0.00 , - , colspan="12" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", , - style="font-weight:bold;" , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4", Total , 25,952,859 , , 100.00 , , 36 , 23,029,308 , , 100.00 , , 541 , 577 , , 100.00 , - , colspan="12" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4", Valid votes , 25,952,859 , , 98.42 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9" rowspan="5", , 23,029,308 , , 96.15 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan="3" rowspan="5", , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4", Spoilt and null votes , 416,267 , , 1.58 , 923,178 , , 3.85 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4", Votes cast / turnout , 26,369,126 , , 57.22 , 23,952,486 , , 55.40 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4", Abstentions , 19,712,978 , , 42.77 , 19,281,162 , , 44.60 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="4", Registered voters , 46,082,104 , , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;", , 43,233,648 , , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;", , - , colspan="12" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="12", Source
Ministry of the Interior


Overall results by party

The Socialist Party (along with a small number of affiliated miscellaneous left candidates) obtained 300 seats, an absolute majority. Favoured by electoral alliances with the Socialist Party, its close allies, the Radical Party of the Left and the Citizen and Republican Movement, obtained respectively 13 and 2 seats, for a total of 315. This meant that the Socialists could govern without having to rely on the support of other left-wing parties – the Greens, or the Left Front.
''Le Monde'', 18 June 2012
"Estimations du 2nd tour – 17 juin 2012"
''Le Monde''
Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV), part of the government and of the presidential majority, also benefited from an electoral alliance with the Socialists, increasing its number of seats from just 4 to 18. (They immediately lost one, however, as EELV leader
Cécile Duflot Cécile Duflot (; born 1 April 1975) is a French non-governmental organisation (NGO) leader and former politician. She has been a government minister and political party leader. She was Minister of Territorial Equality and Housing (french: Mi ...
had to relinquish her seat in order to stay in government, and her seat went to her Socialist running mate.) This enabled the Greens to form an official parliamentary group. They become the third biggest party in the Assembly. The Left Front, which decided to stand alone after electoral alliance negotiations with the Socialists broke down, lost half its seats (from 19 down to 10), despite a substantial increase in the number of votes its received. It no longer has enough seats (15) to be recognised as a parliamentary group on its own, but formed a group (the
Democratic and Republican Left The Democratic and Republican Left group (french: groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine or GDR) is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly including representatives of the French Communist Party (PCF) as well as leftist parties ...
) with five miscellaneous left representatives from French overseas departments and territories:
Huguette Bello Huguette Bello (born 24 August 1950) is a French politician from Réunion. A former member of the Reunionese Communist Party (PCR), she split with the Communists in 2012 and formed her own party, For Réunion (French: ''Pour la Réunion'', P ...
(representing her own "For Réunion" movement; she is a dissident who left the
Communist Party of Réunion The Communist Party of Réunion (french: Parti Communiste Réunionnais, PCR) is a communist political party in the French overseas department of Réunion (in the Indian Ocean). History PCR was founded in 1959, as the French Communist Party (PCF) ...
shortly before the election),
Alfred Marie-Jeanne Alfred Marie-Jeanne (; born November 15, 1936 in Rivière-Pilote, Martinique) is a French politician, a leader in the Martinican Independence Movement (MIM) since 1978. He served as mayor of the commune of Rivière-Pilote from 1971 to 2000 and s ...
and Jean Philippe Nilor (
Martinican Independence Movement The Martinican Independence Movement or MIM (french: Mouvement Indépendantiste Martiniquais; Martinican Creole: ''Mouvman endépandantis matinitjé'' or ''Mouvman endépandantis matiniké'') is a left-wing political party in the overseas departme ...
),
Gabriel Serville Gabriel Serville (born 27 September 1959) is a French-Guianese politician who was elected to the French National Assembly on 16 June 2012 representing French Guiana's 1st constituency.Guianese Socialist Party The Guianese Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste guyanais, PSG) is a political party in the French '' overseas région'' of French Guiana, in South America. History It was founded in 1956 by Justin Catayée, beforehand the founder of the ...
), and
Bruno Nestor Azérot Bruno Nestor Azerot (born 22 July 1961 in La Trinité, Martinique) is a French politician served as a member of the French National Assembly from 20 June 2012 to 23 April 2018, representing Martinique's 2nd constituency The 2nd constituency of M ...
(independent left, from
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
). The Union for a Popular Movement (and affiliated miscellaneous right candidates), now the main opposition party, lost 112 seats, and several of its prominent members were defeated. In particular, 20 of the 41 members of the "Popular Right" (hard right) faction of the party standing for re-election lost their seats – most notably, Eric Raoult and
Maryse Joissains-Masini Maryse Joissains-Masini (born 15 August 1942), also known as Maryse Charton, was the mayor of Aix-en-Provence from 2001 to 2021. She was also a member of the National Assembly of France. in which she represented the Bouches-du-Rhône department, ...
. Immediately after the defeat, leading members of the party called for a rethink of its positioning and a reassertion of its values.
Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the coun ...
stated that the UMP should stand clear on its incompatibility with the National Front;
François Baroin François Claude Pierre René Baroin (born 21 June 1965) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Finance Minister from 2011 to 2012, following a stint as Budget Minister in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon. A member of ...
and
Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...
expressed the same view, adding that the UMP's strong "drift to the right" and increasing proximity with the ideas of the far right had been a mistake. Party leader
Jean-François Copé Jean-François Copé (; born 5 May 1964) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Meaux since 1995 with an interruption from 2002 to 2005. He was Government Spokesman between 2002 and 2007, when assumed other tenures in the government—inclu ...
, however, replied that he disagreed with these views. The Democratic Movement (MoDem) lost its leader,
François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections. ...
, beaten in his own constituency by his Socialist challenger. The party's membership in the Assembly fell from 3 to 2:
Jean Lassalle Jean Lassalle (; oc, Joan de Lassala; born 3 May 1955) is a French politician who represented the 4th constituency of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2022. A former member of the Democratic Movement ...
(re-elected in the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlanti ...
) and
Thierry Robert Thierry Jean Bernard Robert (; born 1 April 1977) is a French politician who was elected to the French National Assembly on 2012 French legislative election, 17 June 2012 representing the Department of Réunion. He has been the mayor of Saint-L ...
(who gained a seat from the UMP in
La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
)."Bayrou quitte une Assemblée où le centre perd en influence"
''Le Point'', 17 June 2012
(In
Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...
, incumbent MoDem MP
Abdoulatifou Aly Abdoulatifou Aly (12 April 1960 – 26 June 2020) was a Malagascar-born French Mahoran politician, a long-term representative of the island of Mayotte at the National Assembly of France, and a member of the executive bureau of the Democrat ...
was eliminated with a crushingly low score in the first round.) Bayrou's defeat was seen as a potentially crippling blow not just for his own career, but for the party which he had founded, and for the centre in French politics more generally. All the more so as the two centre-right parties, the New Centre and the Radical Party, both lost seats, despite an electoral alliance with the UMP. The New Centre's representation in the Assembly fell from 25 members to 14, meaning that it would no longer be recognised as a parliamentary group in itself. The Radical Party obtained just 9 seats. The far right obtained representatives in the Assembly for the first time since the 1997 election. Party leaders
Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its pre ...
and
Louis Aliot Louis Aliot (; born 4 September 1969) is a French politician, a lawyer by profession, and the vice president of the National Rally (previously named National Front) since 16 January 2011. A member of the FN Executive Office, Executive Committee a ...
were defeated, as was party spokesman
Florian Philippot Florian Philippot (born 24 October 1981) is a French politician. He served as Vice President of the National Front (France), National Front from 2012 to 2017 before quitting the party to found The Patriots (France), The Patriots in September 201 ...
, but Le Pen's 22-year-old niece
Marion Maréchal-Le Pen Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...
was elected in
Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...
, benefiting from a split opposition due to Socialist candidate Catherine Arkilovitch's refusal, in defiance of party instructions, to withdraw in support of the better-placed UMP candidate. Marine Le Pen's lawyer
Gilbert Collard Gilbert Georges Jean Camille René Collard (; born 3 February 1948) is a French writer, barrister and politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. A member of the National Rally (RN) until 2022, he was a member of t ...
, who is not a member of the National Front but was endorsed by it, was also elected, giving the party two seats (for the first time in twenty-four years). In addition, a former member of the National Front and Movement for France, and now independent far right politician,
Jacques Bompard Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
, was elected in a constituency neighbouring Maréchal-Le Pen's, in the
Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019. In overseas departments and territories, several local parties gained or maintained representation. The
Guianese Socialist Party The Guianese Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste guyanais, PSG) is a political party in the French '' overseas région'' of French Guiana, in South America. History It was founded in 1956 by Justin Catayée, beforehand the founder of the ...
won a seat, returning to the Assembly for the first time since 1993. Its MP,
Gabriel Serville Gabriel Serville (born 27 September 1959) is a French-Guianese politician who was elected to the French National Assembly on 16 June 2012 representing French Guiana's 1st constituency.Martinican Independence Movement The Martinican Independence Movement or MIM (french: Mouvement Indépendantiste Martiniquais; Martinican Creole: ''Mouvman endépandantis matinitjé'' or ''Mouvman endépandantis matiniké'') is a left-wing political party in the overseas departme ...
obtained two seats (up one from the previous election). Boinali Said, leader of the miscellaneous left "Movement against the high cost of living", won one of the two available seats in
Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...
. In
New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, both seats were won by the centre-right, anti-independence
Caledonia Together Caledonia Together (french: Calédonie ensemble) is a political party in New Caledonia. The party was established on 14 October 2008 as a split from Future Together led by Philippe Gomès. The party is centrist and opposed to independence. Futu ...
party, which gained them from the UMP. In
French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
, the conservative, pro-autonomy but anti-independence Tahoeraʻa Huiraatira won all three seats. The far left parties, as well as the Pirate Party and the small environmentalist parties, failed to reach the second round in any constituency.


Gains and losses

Based on notional party affiliation on dissolution after redistricting, regardless of party affiliation on previous election. Based on notional distribution of seats before dissolution and after the 2010 redistricting, 149 seats switched party (26% of the National Assembly, more than in any of the three previous elections). 8 seats switched from the left to the right, 9 from the extreme-left to the left, 119 from the right to the left, 3 from the right to the extreme-right, 3 from the right to the extreme-left, 2 from Modem to the left, 1 from the right to Modem. Four seats switched party within the left (two from PS to PRG, one from PRG to PS, one from PS to EELV) as a result of coalition agreements.


Notable individual results


Government ministers

It is not compulsory in France for a government minister to obtain an electoral mandate, but ministers usually do seek the legitimacy it implies. As no person may simultaneously be a member of the executive and the legislature, any government minister elected to Parliament must immediately resign from their newly obtained seat in the Assembly, in order to remain a minister. Their running mate then takes their seat, and holds it until and unless they cease to be a minister, whereupon they revert to being a member of the Assembly. Prior to the 2012 election, new Prime Minister
Jean-Marc Ayrault Jean-Marc Ayrault (; born 25 January 1950) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He later was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2017. He previously was Mayor of Nantes from 1989 t ...
ruled that any minister who stood in the election and was beaten would have to resign from government. Two ministers,
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (; ar, link=no, نجاة فالو بلقاسم; Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⵊⴰⵜ ⴱⵍⵇⴰⵙⵎ; born 4 October 1977) is a former Moroccan- French jurist and politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who was the first Fr ...
and
Christiane Taubira Christiane Marie Taubira (; born 2 February 1952) is a French politician who served as Minister of Justice of France in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean-Marc Ayrault and Manuel Valls under President François Hollande from 2012 until 201 ...
, opted to withdraw their candidacies in their respective constituencies. Twenty-five ministers (including Ayrault) did decide to stand, while the remaining eight had never expressed an intention to do so. All government ministers standing as candidates were elected or re-elected, and were thus able to remain in government. Specifically, they fared as follows:"Le résultat des principaux candidats aux législatives"
''Le Monde'', 11 June 2012


Others

Other notable national political figures fared as follows: Elected or re-elected: Beaten:


Notable races

These constituencies attracted particular media interest, due to the presence of a notable candidate facing for example unexpected difficulties, or on the contrary an unexpectedly easy race, or due to the prospect of a significant and meaningful change in fortune for a party. ''
Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...
'' published a list of "twenty-five constituencies to watch out for", with commentaries.
France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-M ...
identified eleven "constituencies to watch out for".


Pas-de-Calais 11th

For the first time, two major candidates from the presidential election stood in the same constituency for the legislative election.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022. He led the ''La France Insoumise'' group in the Nation ...
( Left Front) and
Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its pre ...
( National Front) are both standing in the
Pas-de-Calais's 11th constituency The 11th constituency of the Pas-de-Calais is a French legislative constituency in the Pas-de-Calais ''département''. It elects one '' député'' to the National Assembly. It has been represented by Marine Le Pen since 2017. Description F ...
, centred on the town of
Hénin-Beaumont Hénin-Beaumont (; pcd, Hinnin-Biaumont) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Hénin-Beaumont used to be a coalmining town and is now a light industrial town situated some east of Lens ...
. The incumbent MP,
Odette Duriez Odette Duriez (born 7 May 1948 in Merville, Nord) is a French politician who is a former member of the National Assembly of France. She represents the Pas-de-Calais department, and is a member of the Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name ...
of the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, is not standing for re-election; the Socialist candidate is Philippe Kemel. The Le Pen-Mélenchon duel attracted international media attention, including for what it revealed of attitudes and expectations in an area of northern France hit hard by deindustrialisation and unemployment. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' noted that, in that regard, "Mélenchon blames what he sees as pernicious free-market capitalism and bankers; Le Pen points the finger at immigrants and Europe". On the first round, Le Pen won a plurality of the vote. The left-wing vote was split, with the Socialist candidate
Philippe Kemel Philippe Kemel (born 28 June 1948) is a French politician who is the mayor of Carvin and a former member of the National Assembly of France. He is a member of the Socialist Party. Early life Kemel was born in Emmerin, Nord. Kemel completed h ...
receiving more votes than Mélenchon. All three candidates qualified for the run-off, but Mélenchon withdrew and supported Kemel for the second round. Kemel narrowly won the seat (retaining it for the Socialist Party) with 50.1% of the vote, defeating Marine Le Pen.


Pyrénées-Atlantiques 2nd

Attention was also drawn to the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques's 2nd constituency The 2nd constituency of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ( French: ''deuxième circonscription des Pyrénées-Atlantiques'') is a French legislative constituency in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''département''. Like the other 576 French constituencies ...
, where presidential candidate
François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections. ...
of the centrist
Democratic Movement A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate ...
was hoping to retain his seat. Bayrou had held the seat continuously since 1988, but the press raised the possibility that he might this time be beaten. Until 2002, the mainstream right had not stood a candidate against him, and in 2007 the candidate of the
Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...
had withdrawn in his favour in the second round. Following Bayrou's personal endorsement of
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
for the second round of the 2012 presidential election, however, the UMP maintained a candidate against him. He also had to contend with a
Socialist 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 e ...
opponent, despite there having been talk in the Socialist Party of not standing a candidate in his constituency, as a gesture of acknowledgment for his endorsement of Hollande. Bayrou was defeated, with the seat going to Socialist candidate
Nathalie Chabanne Nathalie is a female given name. It is a variant of the name Natalie/ Natalia which is found in many languages, and is especially common in French and English speaking countries. Notable people with the name include: * Nathalie, Italian singer * ...
.


Charente-Maritime 1st

In
Charente-Maritime's 1st constituency The 1st constituency of Charente-Maritime ( French: ''Première circonscription de la Charente-Maritime'') is one of five electoral districts in the department of the same name, each of which returns one deputy to the French National Assembly ...
, no candidate of the right, centre or far right reached the second round. The second round was between
Ségolène Royal Marie-Ségolène Royal (; born 22 September 1953) is a French politician who was the Socialist Party candidate for the Presidency of France in the 2007 election. Royal was president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council from 2004 to 2014 ...
, the Socialist Party's candidate to the
2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...
(who obtained 32.03% in the first round) and a dissident Socialist, Olivier Falorni (28.91%). Falorni won the seat, defeating Royal by a comfortable margin.


Paris 4th

In well-off Paris's 4th constituency, the opposite situation arose: the two candidates qualified for the second round were both from the right:
Bernard Debré Bernard Debré (30 September 194413 September 2020) was a French urologist at Hôpital Cochin and a member (deputy) of the National Assembly of France. He was one of the representatives of the city of Paris, and was a member of the Union for ...
for the UMP (45.07% in the first round), and Brigitte Kuster, a UMP dissident (23.01%). Immediately after the first round, however, Kuster withdrew. There was a second round nonetheless, but with only one candidate, who needed simply to receive one vote in order to be elected. This configuration also happened in several constituencies on the left (see subsection "The two-round electoral system", below).


Hauts-de-Seine 9th

The
Hauts-de-Seine's 9th constituency The 9th constituency of the Hauts-de-Seine is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Hauts-de-Seine departments of France, ''département''. Description Hauts-de-Seine's 9th constituency is entirely composed of the tow ...
, traditionally a very
safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...
for the right, raised unexpected difficulties for UMP candidate and former Minister of the Interior
Claude Guéant Claude Guéant (born 17 January 1945) is a French civil servant. The former chief of staff to Nicolas Sarkozy, he served as Minister of the Interior from 27 February 2011 until 15 May 2012. He is a member of the conservative Union for a Popular M ...
. A dissident member of the UMP, Thierry Solere, contested his legitimacy, stood against him, and reached the second round, precipitating a three-way runoff between two candidates of the right and one of the left. Solere narrowly won the seat, obtaining votes from the left given Gueant's unpopularity on that side. The total share of the vote for left-wing candidates was 28%, in the first round, plus 4% for the Modem candidate.


Meurthe-et-Moselle 5th

This constituency drew attention due to the behaviour and situation of UMP candidate
Nadine Morano Nadine Morano (; born 6 November 1963 in Nancy) is a French politician of the Republicans who has been serving as Member of the European Parliament since 2014. She previously was a member of the National Assembly and a minister. Early life Mor ...
, who had been Minister for Professional Training in
François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
's government from 2010 to 2012. She finished second in the first round (34.33%) behind Socialist candidate Dominique Potier (39.29%) and, in the hopes of obtaining more votes in the second, appealed explicitly to the voters of the eliminated National Front, on the grounds of "common values" in what she called a "duel between the right and the left". She defined her common values with far right voters as including "control over immigration, refusing to give foreigners the right to vote" and "the protection of our borders". After she had published an appeal in a far right newspaper, Prime Minister
Jean-Marc Ayrault Jean-Marc Ayrault (; born 25 January 1950) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He later was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2017. He previously was Mayor of Nantes from 1989 t ...
and the leader of the Greens and Minister for Housing
Cécile Duflot Cécile Duflot (; born 1 April 1975) is a French non-governmental organisation (NGO) leader and former politician. She has been a government minister and political party leader. She was Minister of Territorial Equality and Housing (french: Mi ...
both described her behaviour as symptomatic of a worrying shift of part of the right towards the extreme right; Ayrault accused her of renouncing her party's values to try and save her seat. Her situation made headlines again when humorist Gérald Dahan phoned her, pretending to be National Front vice-president
Louis Aliot Louis Aliot (; born 4 September 1969) is a French politician, a lawyer by profession, and the vice president of the National Rally (previously named National Front) since 16 January 2011. A member of the FN Executive Office, Executive Committee a ...
, and recorded her expressing her sympathy and closeness to the National Front. François Fillon publicly rebuked her for not having immediately hung up, saying "we don't talk to the leaders of the National Front. We must reject all forms of extremism". Morano hit back, telling him she was a "free politician". Morano, the incumbent, lost her seat to Socialist candidate Dominique Potier by a 10% margin.


Bouches-du-Rhône 5th

Marie-Arlette Carlotti, junior Minister for the Disabled, stood in this constituency against the UMP incumbent
Renaud Muselier Renaud Muselier (born 6 May 1959) is a French physician and politician who has served as President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur since 2017. A former member of The Republicans (LR), he previously was a Member of the Euro ...
, who had held the seat since 1993. On paper, media reported that, of all the twenty-six ministers standing in the legislative elections, she seemed the least likely to win her constituency. Had she lost, she would have had to resign from the government. She was elected with 51.8%, a result which was also described as having a significant impact on local politics in
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. As minister, she would not be able to sit in Parliament; as long as she stays in the government, her seat goes to her running mate, Avi Assouly, locally famous as a former radio football presenter.


Essonne 8th

In addition to Marine Le Pen, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and François Bayrou, three candidates from the presidential election were standing in this legislative election.
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (; born 7 March 1961), sometimes referred to by his initials NDA, is a French politician serving since 2008 as President of minor party Debout la France. He is its only member of the National Assembly, elected for Essonne' ...
(
Arise the Republic Debout la France (, ; DLF) is a French political party founded by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan in 1999 under the name Debout la République (''Republic Arise'', DLR) as the "genuine Gaullist" branch of the Rally for the Republic (RPR). It was relaunched ...
) finished first in the first round in
Essonne's 8th constituency The 8th constituency of Essonne is a French legislative constituency in the Essonne department. Its member of the National Assembly has been Nicolas Dupont-Aignan since 1997. Description The 8th constituency of Essonne is in the north east of t ...
, with 42.82% of the vote, heading into a runoff with Socialist candidate Aude Bristot (30.2%), and eliminating UMP candidate Laurent Béteille (9.52%). In the
Gironde's 5th constituency The 5th constituency of the Gironde ( French: ''Cinquième circonscription de la Gironde'') is a French legislative constituency in Gironde ''département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) i ...
,
Philippe Poutou Philippe Poutou (; born 14 March 1967) is a French far-left politician, former trade unionist and car factory worker. He was the New Anticapitalist Party's candidate in the presidential elections of 2012, 2017 and 2022, in which he respectively r ...
(
New Anticapitalist Party The New Anticapitalist Party (french: Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste , abbreviated NPA) is a far-left political party in France founded in February 2009. The party launched with 9,200 members and was intended to unify the fractured movements o ...
) finished eighth and was thus eliminated in the first round, receiving just 2.12% of the vote. In
Seine-Saint-Denis's 6th constituency The 6th constituency of Seine-Saint-Denis is a French legislative constituency in Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ( ...
,
Nathalie Arthaud Nathalie Yvonne Thérèse Arthaud (; born 23 February 1970) is a French secondary school (lycée) economics teacher and politician. Since 2008, she has served as the spokesperson for the Lutte Ouvrière (Workers' Struggle), a communist party, and ...
( Workers' Struggle) finished sixth with 2.47%, far behind the Socialist incumbent and former Minister for Social Affairs
Élisabeth Guigou Élisabeth Guigou (; born Élisabeth Vallier; 6 August 1946) is a French politician of the Socialist Party who served as a member of the National Assembly from 2002 until 2017, representing Seine-Saint-Denis' 9th constituency. Early life and ...
(46.12%) and the director of ''
l'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...
'',
Patrick Le Hyaric Patrick Le Hyaric (born 4 February 1957 in Orléans, Loiret) is a French journalist, politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP), elected in the 2009 European election for the Île-de-France constituency. He is the director of the ne ...
, standing for the Left Front (17.33%)."Résultats du 1er tour – 10 juin 2012 dans la 6ème circonscription de Seine-Saint-Denis"
''Le Monde''


Notes and references


External links

*

*
Breakdown of full results, Liberation
*
Opinion poll tracker with data
{{French elections 2012 elections in France
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...