Legislative elections were held in France on 10 November 1946 to elect the first National Assembly of the Fourth Republic. The electoral system used was proportional representation. After the rejection of a first constitutional draft ( 5 May 1946 referendum), a new provisional National Assembly was elected to elaborate a second text. The Christian democrat leader

Georges Bidault Georges-Augustin Bidault (; 5 October 189927 January 1983) was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions. He joined the ...

( Popular Republican Movement, MRP) led a government which included socialists (

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

, SFIO) and Communists ( French Communist Party, PCF). This Three-parties alliance proposed the establishment of a parliamentary system. Advocating a presidential government, General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

campaigned for a "No" vote. He warned against the "regime of the parties" which was, according to him, responsible for the 1940 collapse. His followers founded the Gaullist Union. The Rally of the Republican Lefts (an electoral alliance dominated by the Radical Party) and the classical Right also campaigned for a "No", because they were opposed to a constitutional change and to the economic policy of the three-parties alliance. Despite this, the second constitutional draft was approved by 13 October 1946 referendum. The French voters were called to elect the first Assembly of the Fourth Republic. The Three-parties alliance won with a comfortable majority. The PCF regained its position as the largest party to the detriment of the Christian democrats. It obtained the best electoral result in its history. The MRP and the SFIO vote decreased slightly. Consequently, the PCF leader Maurice Thorez demanded to lead the government but his allies refused. Finally, the SFIO former Prime Minister

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

took the head of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. Furthermore, another socialist, Vincent Auriol, was elected President of France. The SFIO benefited from its position in the middle of the governmental alliance. However, the alliance split in due to the 1947 strikes and the beginning of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. The Communist

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

were dismissed by socialist Prime Minister Paul Ramadier. The SFIO, the MRP, the

Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

and the classical right allied to form the Third Force coalition, against the Communists on the one hand and the

Gaullists Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withd ...

on the other.

Results

, - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" colspan=2 , Parties and coalitions ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Abbr. ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Seats , - , style="background-color:#FF0000", , style="text-align:left;" , French Communist Party (''Parti communiste français'') , style="text-align:right;" , PCF , style="text-align:right;" , 5,430,593 , style="text-align:right;" , 28.26 , style="text-align:right;" , 182 , - , style="background-color:#00CCCC", , style="text-align:left;" , Popular Republican Movement (''Mouvement républicain populaire'') , style="text-align:right;" , MRP , style="text-align:right;" , 4,988,609 , style="text-align:right;" , 25.96 , style="text-align:right;" , 173 , - , style="background-color:#E75480", , style="text-align:left;" ,

French Section of the Workers International The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

(''Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière'') , style="text-align:right;" , SFIO , style="text-align:right;" , 3,433,901 , style="text-align:right;" , 17.87 , style="text-align:right;" , 102 , - , , style="text-align:left;" , Total "Three-parties alliance" , , style="text-align:right;" , 13,853,103 , style="text-align:right;" , 72.09 , style="text-align:right;" , 457 , - , style="background-color:#1E90FF", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Republican Party of Liberty The Republican Party of Liberty (french: Parti républicain de la liberté, PRL) was a centre-right to right-wing French political party founded after the Liberation of France on 22 December 1945 by Joseph Laniel, André Mutter, Édouard Fré ...

(''Parti républicain de la liberté'') , style="text-align:right;" , PRL , style="text-align:right;" , 2,487,313 , style="text-align:right;" , 12.94 , style="text-align:right;" , 72 , - , style="background-color:#FFBF00", , style="text-align:left;" , Rally of the Republican Lefts (''Rassemblement des gauches républicaines'') , style="text-align:right;" , RGR , style="text-align:right;" , 2,136,152 , style="text-align:right;" , 11.12 , style="text-align:right;" , 69 , - , style="background-color:#0000C8", , style="text-align:left;" , Gaullist Union (''Union gaulliste'') , style="text-align:right;" , UG , style="text-align:right;" , 585,430 , style="text-align:right;" , 3.05 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , - , , style="text-align:left;" , Miscellaneous , , style="text-align:right;" , 154,377 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.80 , style="text-align:right;" , 29 , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Total , , style="text-align:right;" , 19,216,375 , style="text-align:right;" , 100 , style="text-align:right;" , 627 , - , colspan=6 style="text-align:left;" , Abstention: 21.95%

Results

See also