1936 French legislative election

Legislative elections were held in France on 26 April and 3 May 1936, the last elections before World War II. The number of candidates set a record, with 4,807 running for election to the Chamber of Deputies. In the Seine Department alone, there were 1,402 candidates.[1]

1936 French legislative election

← 1932 26 April 1936 (first round)
3 May 1936 (second round)
1945 →

All 612 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
307 seats needed for a majority
Registered11,768,491
Turnout84.45%
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Léon Blum Édouard Daladier Louis Marin
Party SFIO PRRRS Republican Union
Alliance Popular Front Popular Front National Front
Last election 129 seats 157 seats 76 seats
Seats won 149 111 128
Seat change Increase 20 Decrease 46 Increase 52
Popular vote 1,955,306 1,422,611 1,666,004
Percentage 19.86% 14.45% 16.92%
Swing Decrease 0.65pp Decrease 4.73pp Increase 4.04pp

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Pierre-Étienne Flandin Maurice Thorez
Party Republican Left PCF
Alliance National Front Popular Front
Last election 72 seats 12 seats
Seats won 95 72
Seat change Increase 23 Increase 60
Popular vote 2,536,294 1,502,404
Percentage 25.76% 15.26%
Swing Increase 12.19pp Increase 6.94pp

Government before election

Albert Sarraut II

Elected Government

Léon Blum I
SFIO (Popular Front)

Political poster (1936) claiming that the Popular Front was under Soviet control.

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 broad Republican coalitions that had governed since the 6 February 1934 crisis. Léon Blum became president of the council.

Results

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Vote strength for the Popular Front

The SFIC, predecessor of the Communist Party, more than tripled its seats total 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.

72
149
29
111
28
95
128
Party or allianceVotes%Seats
Popular FrontFrench Section of the Workers' International1,955,30619.86149
French Communist Party1,502,40415.2672
Radical Socialist Party1,422,61114.45111
Socialist Republican Union748,6007.6029
Miscellaneous left28
Total5,628,92157.16389
National FrontRepublican Left2,536,29425.7695
Republican Union1,666,00416.92128
Total4,202,29842.67223
Others16,0470.160
Total9,847,266100.00612
Valid votes9,847,26699.09
Invalid/blank votes90,6920.91
Total votes9,937,958100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,768,49184.45
Source: Mackie & Rose,[2] Nohlen & Stöver,[3] Quid

References

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  1. ^ "French elections a task for voters", The New York Times. 20 April 1936. Page 7.
  2. ^ Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1982) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, pp128–130
  3. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p692 ISBN 9783832956097
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