French legislative elections of 1919

Context

At the end of the First World War, France is bloodless and the war and the Spanish influenza made devastations whose width is not obvious to quantify (some think that the Spanish influenza killed 20 million people on Earth, others 50 million): 2.900.000 inhabitants of less, 2.800.000 wounded men, 630.000 widows and 750.000 orphans. 20.000 factories and of many mines were destroyed, half of the highway network is unusable, the railway network is disorganized and of many bridges were destroyed. A war loan of 32 billion gold franc must be refunded.

The adoption of the mode of Scrutin proportional plurinominal in the Département in July 1919 supplants the majority Scrutin with two turns in the Arrondissement, into force since 1889, in a concern of putting an end to the constitution politicking strongholds and of allowing the formation of clear political majorities the House of Commons. The representation proportional is however attenuated by an article allowing a list having gathered at least 50% of the votes cast to gain the totality of the seats to being able in the Circonscription.

Countryside

The constitution of the lists was consequently to take account of three factors: on the one hand, the tendency of the opinion to think that the Sacred union must be prolonged in peace in order to solve the new problems of France of the post-war period; in addition, the refusal of SFIO, then in crisis, to discuss the question of the Bolchevisme, which however has, seems it, attracted many new members during the war. To preserve their unit, the Socialists decide in April 1919 not to conclude any agreement for the legislative elections from the end of the year. This decision isolates from fact the radicals, constrained of giving up a new alliance on the left, and allows the setting in swing of an aggressive campaign of the right-hand side and center directed against the SFIO, shown to guarantee the Bolchevism; finally, the persistence of divisions partisanes within the line. The Monarchiste S of the French Action are insulated, but the Nationaliste S, clearly Antiparlementariste S, the Catholique S, hostile with the Laïcité and the “Progressiste S” (which are in fact the most moderated republicans pre-war period) often operate a bringing together with the moderate republicans of the center-right, gathered in several small organizations members of the democratic Alliance, but reject any possibility of agreement of some kind that it is with the radicals. The latter are found consequently taken out of vices between a SFIO which hesitates between the toughening and the status quo, and a line more than ever anti-gauchistes.

Following complexes negotiations, 324 lists are constituted. The Socialists choose homogeneous lists, while the radicals divide between allied with the center-right and isolated lists. The lists of the National Block gather, in the majority of the cases, the members of democratic Alliance, the progressists, the nationalists and the catholics. The involved forces are heteroclite and the confused countryside; the candidates of the National Block agree all the same generally to center their claims on the most strict application of the treated war, the end of the Dirigisme and the fight without conditions against the Bolchevism. Alexandre Millerand, finally, manages to gather around him a very broad coalition in its bastion of the second sector of the the Seine by preaching a reinforcement of the presidential capacities.

Results

The results are, except for those of the SFIO, which progresses, managing this time to introduce candidates in all the districts, rather confused. Radicals, particularly when they are insulated, tend to move back, and the victory of the National Block is without ambiguity: it is a blue vagueness which breaks on the Lower House, since then called “ blue Chambre horizon ”, because of the very great number of war veterans who will sit there (44% of the total of the deputies). This victory will remain largest of the right-hand side and the center-right until the legislative of 1968. One counts more than 60% of new elected officials in this news Législature.

References

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