French legislative Elections of 2007

The French legislative elections of 2007 were held on two ballots Sundays 10 and June 17th 2007 (XIII {{E}} legislature). The deposit of the candidatures, open the May 14th, was closed the May 18th with 18:00 (the May 11th in French Polynésie). The official electoral campaign had opened the May 21st.

Context

This graph represents the scores obtained by various political trainings with the first turn of the presidential election. The carryforward of the voices at the time of the legislative elections was particularly commented on by the analysts. Nevertheless, the election of the president is not the best election to judge forces of the parties.

The elections aimed at renewing the 577 representatives sitting at the National Assembly. It was about the election of XIIIe legislature of the Fifth Republic.

They were held five weeks after the presidential election, Sundays June 10th and 17th 2007 (for the metropolis).

A strong abstention had characterized the legislative of 2002, the poll proceeding only five weeks after the presidential one. The UMP (Union for a popular movement), supporting the new government named by Jacques Chirac, lately re-elected, had then gained with a vast majority.

Obtaining by the UMP of a majority of the seats marked a rupture with alternations of the past. It was for the first time since 1978 that the outgoing majority was renewed. It should be noticed that since the beginning of Ve République up to 1981, the Line had systematically followed one another itself without any alternation during 23 years, UDF initiating the change to come from 1978 to 1981. The Left exerted the power during 15 years, in three periods of each one 5 years: 1981 - 1986, 1988 - 1993 and 1997 - 2002.

Mode of election

The representatives were elected for a 5 years legislature to the Vote for all direct.

At the time of the first ballot, the voters voted for one of the candidates of their electoral constituency on June 10th, 2007, it was elected as of the first turn.

Cutting in district used was cutting says cutting Pasqua, of the name of its author. The Constitutional council had asked, on July 7th, 2005, to revise cutting according to the demographic trends, as the Constitution envisages it, which will not have been finally made before the elections.

In the districts where no candidate could simultaneously collect the absolute majority of the voices and 25% of the registered voters, a second round was organized on June 17th, 2007.

According to another survey carried out by BVA-orange near 957 people the 21 and May 22nd, UMP profited from a “Fillon effect” since it obtained 42% of the voting intentions is 379-431 seats. The democratic movement obtained 0-3 seats, ecologists 0-3 seats, the PS 121-159 seats and the PC 4-10 seats. Thus, UMP still climbed in the surveys with the detriment of the democratic Movement and the National front. In addition, the PS and its allies remained stable.

Involved political parties

There was: 7540 candidates for the 577 French districts. And more than one dozen of political parties introduced candidates.

The parties presenting of the different candidates in the same district (8th of the Haute-Garonne) were from left to right:

  • started from center and center right

  • right parties having already controlled (right)

  • left regionalistic

    • Left the Nation occitane

  • left various non-aligned

UMP and various right-hand side

The UMP, and the ex- UDF rejoined by the presidential majority of the New center presidential majority, were to thus carry the victory. It was a question for the presidential party of obtaining a presidential majority to conclude the program of Nicolas Sarkozy. In this alliance also appeared the Forum of the social republicans (1 to 2 deputies), and the Radical party valoisien.

The new Prime Minister, named the May 17th, Francois Fillon, was charged to conduct this campaign, the more so as it was since 2006 responsible for the coordination of the legislative project of the UMP, with for slogan “Together for the Presidential majority”.

It launched the countryside as of on May 19th, 2007, the shortly after the fence of the deposits of candidatures, in its stronghold of the the Sarthe where it was itself candidate. Its objective was to obtain a legitimacy with its government and itself by the vote for all: “My legitimacy depends initially on the president of the Republic which named me but it also depends on the vote for all. I must defend the government project directly. The Prime Minister must initially be an elected official of the people. ”

The UMP had officially invested 546 candidates, to which were added:

  • three candidates of the CNI which was freely associated with the UMP (Christian Vanneste, 10th of the Northern ; 1e of the Somme) and Gilles Bourdouleix, 5th of the Maine-et-Loire).
  • 18 outgoing deputies of the UDF who had joined under the banner of the Parti social European liberal (New Center) by the presidential majority and who in exchange are supported by the UMP
  • 2 deputies of MPF (the two outgoing ones of 4th and 5th of the Vendée, within the framework of the electoral agreements made between the MPF and UMP in the area Pays-de-la-Loire)
  • 2 candidates nonoutgoing of the UDF (rejoined in the New Center (PSLE)) and by the presidential majority (in the 11th district of the Hauts-de-Seine and in the 4th district of Eure-et-Loir)
  • Jean-Christophe Lagarde in 5th of Seine-Saint-Denis which had been seen not opposed of candidate of the presidential majority
  • and finally Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, which had left the UMP and directed the party souverainist and gaullist Debout the Republic, in the 8th district of the the Essonne.

On the 546 invested by UMP, one counted:

  • 160 women (either 30%, UMP justified the fact that it did not respect the parity by proposing the fact that the party had many outgoing, it is however an increase compared to the 19% women who had been introduced by the right-wing grouping in 2002);
  • including 43 outgoing (of which current the ministers Valerie Pécresse and Christine Boutin);
  • and 2 ministers who set out again with the conquest of their district that they had of leaving due to incompatibilities envisaged by the constitution (Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin and Michele Alliot-Marie).

To that was added an outgoing deputy MPF of the Vendée (Veronique Besse) and one of CNI in the 1e district of the Somme (Dominique Fachon).

Socialist party and various left

The Socialist party made countryside with for watchword not leaving the “full powerss” to Nicolas Sarkozy, with for slogan “the left which acts, the left which protects”, and hoped for a rather important score with legislative in order to solving the shown internal crisis of the finger by many socialist leaders.

Thus, as of the evening of the defeat of Ségolène Royal vis-a-vis Nicolas Sarkozy, the campaign conducted by this one was criticized by certain “heavy trucks” of which Dominique Strauss-Kahn which in particular pointed finger the direction of the PS and the First secretary François Holland. Moreover, several points of the presidential pact of Ségolène Royal were abandoned in the legislative project, as the “contracts first chances” which were planned for the young people without qualification or the project to set up “jurys citizens” expensive at the candidate but very criticized on the left.

The majority of the socialist directors called with a deep reform of the party, but were in dissension on the nature of this reform: some called, like Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to accept the market economy and thus to transform the Socialist party into a social democrat party, others on the contrary wished an on the left given repositioning (Laurent Fabius, Jean-Luc Mélenchon).

Lastly, Ségolène Royal wished that a congress be organized immediately after the legislative ones for already designating the candidate or the socialist candidate for the presidential one of 2012.

Vis-a-vis these divisions, François Holland however had been reaffirmed like the chief of the socialist countryside for the legislative ones, and had had to face the “opening” wanted by Nicolas Sarkozy in her government (of the Socialists, of which popular the Bernard Kouchner, joining the government Francois Fillon, following the example Eric Besson and Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Nicolas Sarkozy being also maintained with other socialist former ministers such as Claude Allègre).

The First socialist secretary had then strongly criticized what it described as “individual laying off” and “operations of seduction” on behalf of the right-hand side, and recalled in same time as any Socialist who would join the Fillon government “would be in a right government, a majority from the right and friends of right-hand side”.

When finally the nomination with the government of Bernard Kouchner was made official on May 18th, 2007, François Holland had immediately affirmed that this one was not “any more member of the PS”.

No one could not know however if this “opening” on the left were going to profit with the right-hand side or on the contrary to serve the left. The Socialists had also been particularly critical as of the shortly after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy for the holidays taken by this one on the private yacht of Vincent Bolloré with broad of Malta.

On the plan of the electoral agreements on the left, the PS had signed agreements with PRG and MRC as of the end of the year 2006 when these two formations decided not to present of candidate against Ségolène Royal.

The Republican movement and citizen had thus obtained the socialist investiture for 10 districts, the choice by the socialist candidates of substitutes for this party in 6 districts as well as the right to introduce candidates against the Socialist invested in an about sixty districts, with an agreement of desistance for the left-wing candidate best placed at the second turn.

PRG as for him had received the support of the PS in 32 districts (35 initially envisaged), including those of the 9 outgoing ones. But the PS had failed to find such an agreement with the Verts after the presidential one, the national council refusing on May 13rd, 2007 the offer of the PS to hold 14 districts to them, including those of the three outgoing ones, against an agreement of systematic desistance to the second turn.

The PS had decided however not to introduce candidates in the districts of the outgoing Greens, and had offered in more to the party ecologist the 1e district of Loire-Atlantique. No agreement could have been found either with the Communists.

Platform PS-PRG-MRC had introduced 543 candidates (including 501 Socialists or connected), with 293 men and 250 women (either 47% women, the PS-PRG-MRC thus did not have atteind the laid down objective of the 49% of female representation in the candidatures).

According to the surveys, if the PS appeared divided, it was to increase its group with the National Assembly (for 142 outgoing, it could have passed from 151 to 200 deputies according to projection DNA, the more so as during presidential the Ségolène Royal had arrived at the head in 205 districts out of 577 (overseas including) of which 65 were held by the line at the time of the outgoing legislature).

Democratic UDF/Mouvement of Francois Bayrou

The new whole democratic Movement, founded by UDF and CAP21 in May 2007, sought to be made a place in the French political scene.

Admittedly, the rallying of 18 of the deputies of the UDF to the New Center, on the 29 outgoing ones, the decision of the UMP to invest candidates in 6 of the 7 districts held by the centrists remained faithful to Francois Bayrou and the government “of opening” of Nicolas Sarkozy which links personalities from the right but also some of the center and left were obstacles which it was to face.

However, the democratic Mouvement had obtained the adhesion of a clear majority of the militants of the UDF as well as party ecologist of Corinne Lepage Cape 21 and of some personalities come from the Verts (of which the former spokesperson of the party Jean-Luc Benhamias). The partisans of Francois Bayrou intended to profit from the repercussions of the good score of the center candidate at the first turn, score multiplied by 3 between 2002 and 2007.

The Modem had counted since its creation more: 75000 pre-accession, translating a movement of restoration of great extent of the French political life. Many are the new members who had never adhered before to a political movement. The idea was to create a movement which makes neither an unconditional support, nor a systematic opposition in the majority with the capacity. In short, the MoDem elected official will vote, not according to considerations partisanes, but in his heart and conscience, according to the general interest.

There were 535 labelled candidates UDF - MoDem, in particular in many districts where the outgoing one was UMP. There was:

The departure of the deputies in the past UDF rejoined by the presidential majority had led in addition to the emergence of a new generation of candidates, on whom the Modem intended to press his development.

The democratic Mouvement had taken again the slogan of the presidential campaign of Francois Bayrou, “France of all our forces”.

Communist party

Principal stake, and solicitor, of the Communists was to obtain at least 20 deputies to be able to preserve a group at the Parliament. They had as a slogan for this poll: “Vis-a-vis the very hard hard Right…! Nothing to yield, for a left with the height of your requirements” the Communists had 21 outgoing, of which 14 were represented. On the whole, PCF had invested 518 candidatures.

However, the very weak score of Marie-George Buffet to presidential (1,93  % of the voices to the 1st turn) and the failure of the call of the Communists to present unique candidacies of the left as much as possible that it is with the Socialists (no agreement could have been established until now) or with the collectives anti-liberals and other formations of the “left of the left”, only one third of the candidates invested by the party being also supported by antilibéraux collectives against ten candidates of these collectives supported in return by the Communists.

The survey and projection BVA of May 18th thus credited PCF with 3  % with the 1st turn. However, of desistances were to take place between the two turns, each left establishment calling so that one supports the left-wing candidate best placed when this one was likely to beat the right-wing candidate, with the result that projection provided that the party obtains finally enters 14 and 21 deputies at the conclusion of the elections.

Greens

the greens refused on May 13rd, 2007 the proposal for agreements of the Socialists for the legislative ones, estimating the offer of the PS (14 districts reserved to the ecologists) too weak. However, the three outgoing ones (Yves Cochet and Martine Billard with Paris and No5el Mamère in the Gironde) as well as a fourth candidate, François de Rugy, with Nantes, did not have a candidate PS vis-a-vis them.

However the weak score of Dominique Voynet to presidential (1,57  %, is a consequent fall compared to the 5,25  % of No5el Mamère in 2002) was somewhat to handicap the movement, the more so as certain personalities (but minority) had joined the democratic Mouvement of Francois Bayrou (3 of the 535 centrists are thus old Greens).

However a survey Ipsos of the May 16th let forecast 4  % of voting intention, is a level slightly lower than the results of 2002 (4,5%). 530 candidates were invested. The slogan of the Greens for the legislative ones was: “The world changes. With the Greens, let us change the world”.

National front

The legislative elections marked in a direction a turning for the National front.

Most probably candidate for the last time at presidential, the leader of the movement Jean-Marie Le Pen had decided not to aspire to of legislative mandate. It is number 2 of the party, Bruno Gollnisch, which had been indicated to direct the countryside. However, Jean-Marie Le Pen remained very present, the candidates invested by the FN having been presented jointly by him and Gollnisch, while his/her daughter Marine Le Pen, who had been selected to conduct the campaign in North, was to also play a part of importance once again.

The acknowledged goal of the FN was to obtain at least a deputy with the National Assembly and to do better than the 10,44  % obtained by the leader of extreme right-hand side to the first tower of presidential, appealing with a “victorious return match” and “to take again the voices” that “flights to them” Nicolas Sarkozy would have. They pointed finger in particular the nomination in the government of personalities from the left, in particular of Bernard Kouchner.

However, in all the surveys and forecasts, the FN turned around 5% of voting intentions (3,5 in the worst from the case and 8 in best) and no seat was allotted to him by no survey institute. The FN had introduced candidates in practically all the districts, those of overseas being where it was the least present.

Communist revolutionary league and Workers' struggle

Olivier Besancenot and LCR wanted to benefit from their relative good score to presidential (4,08  %) and had thus decided to introduce 460 candidates (against 440 in 2002). However, Olivier Besancenot was not itself candidate. Their slogan was: “Our lives are worth more than their profits”.

Arlette Laguiller had obtained with presidential from 2007 its worse score in this type of elections (1,33%, against 5,72% in 2002). It was about the last countryside of Arlette Laguiller while the LCR profited within the electorate from extreme left trostkist from the young image from his spokesperson Olivier Besancenot.

It should be noted that at the time of the legislative ones of 2002, whereas Arlette Laguiller had obtained more than 5% with the presidential one, LO had obtained with the 1st turn 1,18%. The party trotskist however had decided to present “more than 560 candidates and candidates” at the same time “in Metropolitan France, in Guadeloupe, in Martinique and Reunion”.

Alternative left

The Gauche antilibérale presented a labellized candidature “Left alternative 2007” which was present for the legislative ones. Gathering candidates resulting from all the horizons of the left antilibérale, it was a first step towards the existence of a “open space” resulting from the antilibéraux collectives .

Other parties

Other parties which were present, in particular those which were also represented with the presidential election like the Mouvement for France of Philippe de Villiers (500 announced candidates for parity men - women), the party Chasse, fishing, nature and traditions of Jean Saint-Jose, and the Parti the workers.

New movements presented more than 50 candidates, which opens right to public finance: the Clover - the New Ecologists, France in action, the humanistic Left, the Movement Independent Ecologist, Génération rare Ecology etc… But were those which crossed the threshold of the 50 candidate (E) S with 1% or more of the votes cast which opened the access to public finance henceforth. In this last category, in particular Clover them Nouveaux Ecologists appear and the Movement Independent Ecologist.

One can also quote candidatures a little everywhere of liberal Alternative, National republican movement, of ex-UMP of Debout the Republic! or of the Left Rachid Nekkaz. Solidarity and Progrès introduced 6 candidates.

Lastly, there were more specific candidatures, such as the movement France Bonapartist as well as regionalistic the or separatist ones as in the three districts of the Yrénées-Atlantiques which correspond to the Basque Country (4th, 5th and 6th districts), the Partit Occitan which made from the agreements with the Verts, the Corsican nationalists or Breton, the freedom fighters inhabitant of Martinique, Polynesians or New Caledonians (generally close to the PS) or the partisans “identity line” of extreme right-hand side like Alsace initially, and even the communist Pôle of Rebirth in France.

Overseas

In French Polynesia where the first turn took place saturdays June 2nd, the Union for the democracy (independence) had qualified for the first time its two candidates for the second turn of Saturday June 16th, of which Oscar Temaru, but both had delay on the official candidates of the Tahoeraa will huiraatira constant by the UMP and were finally beaten.

In Martinique, the freedom fighter of the MIM Alfred Marie-Jeanne was largely re-elected. The separatist Serge Letchimy of PPM has, also largely voted by plebiscite him in the district centers.

Diversity of the candidates

Following the many debates on the Discrimination S and the representation of all the population, the majority of the parties had begun to make efforts for tending towards the parity to have a better representation of the “visible minorities”.

According to Louis-Georges Chock, the NOTCH had counted two black candidates for UMP (0,36%), three for the PS (0,59%) which presented nevertheless “a score of Arabs”, five for the Greens (0,9%), six for UDF (1,12%), beside 18 “Arab candidates”, and three for the PRG (4,54%), which introduced only 66 candidates, while being based on the appearance of the photographs of countryside. That is to say a total of 19 candidates (0,5%). “These candidates of diversity are most of the time in districts difficult to gain” affirmed Mr. Tin.

Only two candidates “of diversity”, both PS, were elected in metropolis: Henri Jibrayel, wire of an immigrant Lebanon board, in Marseilles, and George Pau-Langevin, native from Guadeloupe, in Paris, but 10 others obtained between 40 and 49% with the second turn, 6 PS, 2 UMP, 1 PRG and 1 PCF. Seven others still, 6 UMP and 1 MRC, arrived to the second turn but obtained there only less than 40%, which reflects especially the nature of the districts where were introduced these candidates, opposed to the outgoing ones of the other political camp for their near total.

National results

Official results on the official site of the ministry for the Interior

Results by party

Results by department

Composition of the National Assembly

List of the related ones:

Source: page dedicated to the groups on the site of the National Assembly

Analyzes results

The UMP and its allies gained approximately 60% of the seats. The line obtains, by taking account of the two turns, the majority of the votes on the whole of the national territory.

Relative disappointment of the UMP: if it obtained the absolute majority, it moves back of many seats in spite of excellent scores with the first turn. The “blue wave” forecast wrongly by the media did not take place. Some defeats symbolic systems are to be announced, like that of Alain Juppe, beaten in her district of Bordeaux, constrained to leave its post of minister.

On the other hand, the Socialist party obtained more deputies that envisaged by the survey institutes, and many its personalities managed to be elected in spite of a first delicate turn. Its parliamentary group is even increased.

If the Communist party had not reached only the number of deputies to set up a group, the rallying of some other left elected officials - mainly of the “dissenting” Communists - can make it possible to make the supplement.

The Verts succeeded in passing from 3 deputies to 4, which attenuated the bad result of the presidential ones.

Victim of the majority way of voting, the democratic Mouvement obtained only 3 seats in metropolis, which is not proportional to its total audience.

The deputy of Mayotte, Abdoulatifou Aly, was candidate of the “Force of the alternation” of the Mouvement departementalist mahorais, label " divers" by the ministry for the Interior and constant to the second turn by the Modem. The candidate officially supported by the UDF-Modem with the first turn in Mayotte was Daroussi Zainadini, candidate of the majority current of the MDM, near of Adrien Giraud (Senator mahorais MoDem).

The New Center, extremely of agreements of desistance with the UMP, managed to make elect between 20 and 22 deputies (including 17 pennies label PSLE “presidential majority”), which confers an autonomous parliamentary group to him. This result seemed to ratify the scission of the UDF.

The National front failed once again to be represented. The poor general score of the party seemed to confirm the decline started with the presidential one. Present at the second turn in only one district (Marine Le Pen in Hénin-Beaumont), it obtained however an important score there: 41,5%.

107 women were elected or re-elected, that is to say 18,54% of the full number of deputies:

  • 46 elected of right-hand side (45 for UMP, 1 for the MPF);
  • 61 elected of left (including 49 PS, 4 PC, 5 PRG, 1 Green, 2 DVG).

Only two candidates “of diversity”, both PS, were elected in metropolis: Henri Jibrayel, wire of an immigrant Lebanon board, in Marseilles, and George Pau-Langevin, native from Guadeloupe, in Paris, but 10 others obtained between 40 and 49% with the second turn, 6 PS, 2 UMP, 1 PRG and 1 PCF.

Seven others still, 6 UMP and 1 MRC, arrived to the second turn but obtained there only less than 40%, which reflects especially the nature of the districts where were introduced these candidates, opposed to the outgoing ones of the other political camp for their near total.

By comparison, in 2002 only two candidates of this type had arrived until the second turn, Mounia Viprey-Bounajma and Souhila Nador, both PS and franciliennes.

Jean-François Cope succeeds Bernard Accoyer - elected official chair of the assembly - as chairing UMP group on June 20th.

Surveys

May

June

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • legislative Elections of June 2007 (French National Assembly)
  • Question of the legality of legislative of 2007 - Decision of the Constitutional council
  • Gate of the electoral cartography, including/understanding a cartographic electoral panel of all the candidates to legislative the 2007
  • Parisian deputies. Charts appeared in 20 minutes, June 19th, 2007, p.2
  • List of the whole of the candidates LeMonde.fr
  • List of the supported candidates by the Modem and UDF (page of the official site of the UDF)
  • List of the candidates of the Socialist party (coming from the official site of the PS)
  • List of the Green candidates
  • List of the candidates introduced by [[the National front (left French)|National front]] (Excel file of the official site of FN)
  • Gate of the legislative elections 2007 of UMP (candidates and programs)
  • List of the candidates being presented under the label [[Left social European liberal|PSLE]] (starting from the list published on LeMonde.fr)
  • List of the candidates introduced by Upright the Republic (official site of DLR)
  • List of the candidates introduced by Solidarity and Progress (official site of Solidarity and Progrès)
    • electoral
  • Posters and leaflets, Tractothèque
  • Which would be our assembly with other ways of voting?

References

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