Regional elections in were held in France on 21 and 28 March 2004. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 26
regions which, although they do not have legislative powers, manage sizeable budgets. The results were a triumph for the parties of the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
, led by the
French Socialist Party
The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views.
The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...
(PS) in alliance with minor parties including the
French Communist Party (PCF), the
Left Radical Party (PRG) and
The Greens (''Les Verts''). The left has usually fared moderately well in regional elections, but this was their best result since the regional system was introduced.
The left won control of twenty of the twenty-two regions of
metropolitan France, defeating the parties of the mainstream right, the
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and the
Union for French Democracy (UDF), and the extreme right
National Front (FN). The results were seen as a major setback for the then President
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
and Prime Minister
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 ...
.
National results
Results by region
The first round was held on 21 March. Since no candidate gained a majority in any region, a second round was held on 28 March, in which only candidates who polled more than 10% in the first round were eligible to run (except in Corsica, where the threshold is 5%). The UMP seat numbers are compared to those of the RPR and RPR dissidents together in 1998, the UDF seat numbers are compared to those of the UDF and UDF dissidents together in 1998.
Alsace
''See
Alsace Regional Council
The Regional Council of Alsace (, ) was the regional council of the French region of Alsace from 1982 to 2015. As a result of reforms, the administrative region of Alsace merged with two other regions to form Grand Est, effective 1 January 20 ...
''
Regional Council
Conservative
Alsace is one of only two regions retained by the right.
Aquitaine
Regional Council
Aquitaine is a traditional stronghold of the left.
Auvergne
Regional Council
The former President of France,
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, was seeking a fourth term as President of
Auvergne.
Brittany
Regional Council
Normally conservative
Brittany is captured by the left.
Burgundy
Regional Council
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
returned to its usual left-wing loyalty. It is suspected that the incumbent Jean-Pierre Soisson was punished for his coalition with the
National Front.
Centre
Regional Council
The left retains control of this region. Sapin replaces the retiring incumbent Alain Rafesthain.
Champagne-Ardenne
Regional Council
The left captures usually conservative Champagne-Ardenne.
Corsica
Regional Council
Conservative Corsica is the right's only success apart from
Alsace.
Franche-Comté
Regional Council
The left retakes Franche-Comté.
Île-de-France
Regional Council
The left retains control of Île-de-France, the region surrounding Paris and gets a comfortable majority. Huchon previously could not rely on a majority.
Languedoc-Roussillon
Regional Council
The left re-establishes its usual dominance of Languedoc-Roussillon.
Limousin
Regional Council
The left retains control of Limousin (région), Limousin, with Denanot succeeding the retiring incumbent Robert Savy.
Lorraine
Regional Council
The left captures Lorraine (région), Lorraine.
Midi-Pyrénées
Regional Council
The left retains its traditional dominance of Midi-Pyrénées.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Regional Council
Nord-Pas-de-Calais is also a stronghold of the left.
Lower Normandy
Regional Council
The left had never before won control of Lower Normandy.
Upper Normandy
Regional Council
The left retained its traditional hold on Upper Normandy.
Pays de la Loire
Regional Council
The right loses the normally conservative Pays de la Loire region. Fillon was the candidate of the right in succession to the retiring Jean-Luc Harousseau.
Picardy
Regional Council
The left captured the Picardy (region), Picardy region, following the retirement of the incumbent, Charles Baur.
Poitou-Charentes
Regional Council
Poitou-Charentes, a region where right and left are traditionally equal, falls to the left. It is the home region of Prime Minister
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 ...
.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Regional Council
The left retains control of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who intended to run in this region, was disqualified because he did not fulfill the legal conditions: he neither lived there, nor was registered as a taxpayer there.
Rhône-Alpes
Regional Council
The left captures the usually conservative Rhône-Alpes region.
See also
*Conseil régional
External links
Election-Politique Regional Elections since 1986 (in french)
{{French local elections
Elections in French regions, 2004
2004 elections in France, French Regional Elections