2019 French general election

  

2019 French general election

April 21–22, 2019
All 577 seats of the Chamber of Deputies (C) 120 elective seats of the Senate (S)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Oscar de Saint-Just Jean-Christophe Métais Mathieu Gramain Party French Action Christian Democratic Party Democratic Movement Leader since 2014 2019 2012 Last election 75 (C) 12 (S) 234 (C) 37 (S) 55 (C) 16 (S) Seats won 226 (C) 44 (S) 99 (C) 23 (S) 89 (C) 20 (S) Seat change ▲151 (C) ▲32 (S) ▼135 (C) ▼14 (S) ▲34 (C) ▲4 (S) Percentage 39.17% 17.18% 15.34%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Armand Collignon Jacques Leroux André Damien Party The Greens Socialist Party French Communist Party Leader since 2018 2019 2008 Last election 25 (C) 3 (S) 137 (C) 30 (S) 18 (C) 3 (S) Seats won 60 (C) 11 (S) 51 (C) 12 (S) 38 (C) 4 (S) Seat change ▲35 ▲8 (S) ▼86 (C) ▼18 (S) ▲20 (C) ▲1 (S) Percentage 10.48% 8.91% 6.59%
Prime Minister before election François de Montbrial PCD Elected Prime Minister Oscar de Saint-Just AF

The 2019 French general election took place on April 21, 2019, for all 577 seats of the Chamber of Deputies and 120 of the 360 elective seats of the Senate of France. The election has been described as the biggest upset in postwar French history due to several major victories and losses, with the most notable being the Christian Democratic Party (PCD) losing its place as both the largest party right of center and the largest party in both chambers of the National Assembly. French Action (AF) took its place as as the largest party in the National Assembly and formed a new coalition government with the Christian Democrats, this time as the leading member of the coalition. It was the worst general election result in the history of the PCD. The AF-PCD coalition selected Oscar de Saint-Just as Prime Minister of France and he was formally appointed by King Jean IV on April 24, after the TBD National Assembly of France began its session on the 23rd.

Among other developments, the leftist parties underwent similar changes. Most notably the French Socialist Party (PS), which for much of the postwar period had been the largest party in France on the left, saw a collapse in its support and lost its previous position as the third largest party in the National Assembly. The Democratic Movement (MoDem) became the largest liberal-centrist and center-left party in the National Assembly, making significant games, and The Greens (LV) had their best result, surpassing PS to become the fourth biggest party after MoDem. The smaller parties only experienced minor changes, as The Republicans (LR) were not able to make any gains at the expense of the PCD's decline, and came in last among the parties that won seats in the National Assembly, while the French Communist Party (PCF) had a small increase in seats. Overall, the 2019 election saw the collapse of the traditional establishment parties on both sides of the spectrum. On the right, despite their disagreements with French Action, the Christian Democrats reached a coalition agreement with them quickly, in exchange for some concessions. A number of MPs from the Christian Democratic Party protested the agreement, but their numbers were not significant enough to affect the outcome. The Democratic Movement became the leading opposition party in the Assembly.

The election campaign was dominated by the issues of immigration and labor reforms that were introduced by Prime Minister François de Montbrial in 2016. To a lesser extent, social issues were also a theme of the campaign, specifically those that became prominent in Anglo-America in the 2010s and gained some support among French society, while provoking a reaction on the French right against "Anglo-American liberalism," as AF leader Oscar de Saint-Just described them. French Action gained popularity through social media, taking a hard stance against immigration and being conservative on social issues, supporting the monarchy and the Catholic Church in France, while criticizing Montbrial for his "neoliberal" labor reforms. The Democratic Movement and the French Socialist Party campaigned mainly on economics and socially liberally views, emphasizing the Christian Democratic Party's attempts to end the 35-hour work week and failure to introduce more taxes on the highest earners, as well as the far right influence on the party from AF. The Greens were socially liberal also, but devoted more of their messaging to climate change and the labor reforms. The Republicans attempted to portray their party as a moderate alternative to PCD or AF.

French Action and the Christian Democratic Party got their best results in the northeast and the southeast of France, while the Democratic Movement and The Greens did well in the west, in large cities, and in overseas territories. A record number of MPs lost reelection, just over 200. The youngest MP elected during this cycle was Jean Delevoye of AF, aged 22.

Electoral system

All 577 Deputies in the lower house of the National Assembly are elected in single-member constituencies. To win outright a candidate needs an absolute majority of the votes, otherwise there will be a runoff a week later, on April 28. Candidates for the Chamber of Deputies must run in a single-member district, with the vast majority of districts being in metropolitan France (539), while 27 represent overseas territories, and 11 represent French citizens living abroad on different continents.

Senate seats include 360 elective seats and 10 seats that are appointed by the King, the latter consisting of bishops of the Catholic Church in France. Senators are elected in a different way from Deputies, on the basis of each province and inhabited overseas territory, with each province or territory electing three senators. All 360 senators are divided into three classes of 120 (classes I, II, and III), with an alternating class being elected in each general election.

Voting took place early in French Polynesia and in French diplomatic missions in the Western Hemisphere, on April 19, then on April 20 voting took place in overseas departments and territories in the Western Hemisphere (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin. On April 21, voting took place in metropolitan France and the French overseas departments and territories of Mayotte, New Caledonia, Réunion, and Wallis and Futuna, as well as at French diplomatic missions in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Participating parties

Party			Party leader	Ideology	Political position
	French Action	AF	Oscar de Saint-Just	French nationalism	Right-wing
	The Republicans	LR	René Anchetti	Liberal conservatism	Center-right
	Christian Democratic Party	PCD	Jean-Christophe Métais	Christian democracy	Center-right
	Democratic Movement	MoDem	Mathieu Gramain	Social liberalism	Centrist
	The Greens	LV	Armand Collignon	Green politics	Center-left
	Socialist Party	PS	Jacques Leroux	Democratic socialism	Left-wing
	French Communist Party	PCF	André Damien	Communism	Left-wing

Results

Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies election, 2019

Parliamentary group			Seats	Change
	French Action	AF	226	▲151
	The Republicans	LR	14	▼19
	Christian Democratic Party	PCD	99	▼135
	Democratic Movement	MoDem	89	▲34
	The Greens	LV	60	▲35
	Socialist Party	PS	51	▼86
	French Communist Party	PCF	38	▲20

Senate

Senate election, 2019

Senate group			Seats	Change
	French Action	AF	44	▲32
	The Republicans	LR	6	▼11
	Christian Democratic Party	PCD	23	▼14
	Democratic Movement	MoDem	20	▲4
	The Greens	LV	11	▲8
	Socialist Party	PS	12	▼18
	French Communist Party	PCF	4	▲1

Aftermath and reactions

When the election results became public, French Action MPs and leaders began negotiating with the Christian Democratic Party to form a new coalition government, this time with AF as the leading member. In exchange for some concessions on foreign and defense policy, AF and PCD announced their new coalition on April 24, and nominated Oscar de Saint-Just to serve as Prime Minister after the PCD's François de Montbrial stepped down. The coalition agreement threatened to create a split among the Christian Democrats, as the more moderate members condemned the AF and its "far right views," and threatened to defect to The Republicans. Marc Ferrand became recognized as the leader of the moderate PCD members. Despite the internal conflict, the coalition was inaugurated smoothly, and King Jean IV appointed Saint-Just as Prime Minister on April 24.

On the left, Jacques Leroux resigned as the leader of the French Socialist Party, citing the disastrous election outcome, the worst general election result in the French Socialists' history. Many PS voters thought that the party had not done enough to oppose the PCD's labor reforms since 2016, and instead voted for MoDem or The Greens. Meanwhile, the new Saint-Just government was confirmed on April 25, becoming the council of ministers.