French legislative election, 1936

French legislative election, 1936

26 April and 3 May 1936

All 610 seats to the Chamber of Deputies 306 seats were needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Léon Blum Édouard Daladier Louis Marin Party SFIO PRRRS FR and RIAS Leader's seat Narbonne Rhône Meurthe-et-Moselle Last election 132 seats 160 seats 59 seats Seats won 149 110 100 Seat change 17 50 41 Popular vote 1,955,306 1,422,611 1,475,793 Percentage 19.86% 14.45% 15.2% Swing 0.65% 4.73% 2.89%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Pierre-Étienne Flandin (AD) Maurice Thorez Party AD-RI PCF Leader's seat Yonne Seine Last election 121 seats 10 seats Seats won 82 72 Seat change 39 62 Popular vote 2,089,166 1,502,404 Percentage 21.33% 15.26% Swing 1.89% 6.94%

Government before election Albert Sarraut II PRRRS (Republican coalition) Elected Government Léon Blum I SFIO (Popular Front)

French legislative elections to elect the 16th legislature of the French Third Republic were held on 26 April and 3 May 1936. This was the last legislature of the Third Republic and the last election before World War II. The number of candidates set a record, with 4,807 people vying for 618 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. In the Seine Department alone, there were 1,402 candidates.^[1]

The Popular Front, composed of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), the Radical-Socialists, the French Section of the Communist International (SFIC), and miscellaneous leftists, won power from the Léon Blum became President of the Council. Broad Republican coalitions had governed since the 6 February 1934 crisis: Government Gaston Doumergue II (Union Nationale, 272 days), Government Flandin I (204 days), Government Bouisson (3 days) and Government Laval IV (229 days).

For the first time, the Radical-Socialists were eclipsed on the left by the SFIO, while still keeping a considerable role in French politics.

Regional results

• The SFIC, predecessor of the Communist Party, doubled its score from 11 SFIC and 9 Union Ouvrière deputies in 1932 to 72 in 1936. The party made gains in industrialized suburbs and working-class areas of major cities. They also progressed in rural central and southwestern France (e.g., Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne)
• The Radicals lost votes to the SFIO and SFIC, but also to the right.
• The SFIO declined slightly. In working-class suburbs, the party declined, but it gained votes in Brittany, to the dismay of the right.
• Only 174 seats were elected in the first round, 424 were decided in a run-off. The right fared better in the second round.

Results

Popular Vote^[2]

 Summary of the popular vote in the 26 April and 3 May 1936 Chamber of Deputies election results

Alliance		Votes	%	Party		Abbr.	Votes	%
	Popular Front	5,628,321	57.17		French Section of the Workers' International (Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière)	SFIO	1,955,306	19.86
					French Communist Party (Parti communiste français)	PCF	1,502,404	15.26
					Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party (Parti républicain, radical et radical-socialiste)	PRRRS	1,422,611	14.45
					Miscellaneous Left (Divers gauche)	DVG	748,600	7.60
	Right and Centre	4,202,298	42.68
					Democratic Alliance (Alliance démocratique), Independent Radicals (Radicaux indépendents), Popular Democrats (Démocrates populaires)	AD-RI-PDP	2,536,294	25.76
					Republican Federation (Fédération républicaine), Independents, Conservatives	FR	1,666,004	16.92
	Other parties					Div	16,047	0.16
Total							9,846,666	100
Abstention: 17.75%

Popular vote
AD-RI-PDP			25.76%
SFIO			19.86%
FR			16.92%
PCF			15.26%
PRRRS			14.45%
DVG			7.60%
Others			0.16%

Parliamentary Groups^[3]

Affiliation	Party		Seats
Left
		French Communist Party (PCF)	72
		Party of Proletarian Unity (PUP)	6
		French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)	149
		Socialist Republican Union (USR)	29
Centre-Left
		Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party (PRRRS)	110
		Radical-Socialist Party Camille Pelletan (PRS-CP)	3
		Frontist Party	2
		Party of the Young Republic (PJR)	4
		Independent Left	11
Centre-Right
		Democratic and Independent Radical Left	39
		Alliance of Left Republicans and Independent Radicals	43
		Independents of Popular Action	16
		Popular Democrats	13
Right
		Independent Republicans of Social Action and Agrarian Group	40
		Republican Federation and Independents of the National and Republican Union	60
		Republican Independents	13
Total			610

% vote for the Front Populaire in 1936

References

1. "French elections a task for voters", The New York Times. 20 April 1936. Page 7.
2. Results on France-politique.fr
3. Parliamentary Groups on France-politique.fr