Legislative elections were held in France on 9 and 16 June 2002,[1] to elect the 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, in a context of political crisis.

2002 French legislative election

← 1997 9 June 2002 (first round)
16 June 2002 (second round)
2007 →

All 577 seats in the French National Assembly
289 seats needed for a majority
Turnout64.42% (Decrease 3.50pp) (first round)
60.32% (Decrease 10.75pp) (second round)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Jean-Pierre Raffarin par Guillaume Kretz.jpg
Hollande francois.png
200109 Jean-Marie Le Pen 191.jpg
Leader Jean-Pierre Raffarin François Hollande Jean-Marie Le Pen
Party UMP PS FN
Leader's seat Vienne
(Senate)
Corrèze-1st none
Last election New 255 seats 1 seat
Seats won 357 140 0
Seat change Increase357 Decrease115 Decrease 1
First round 8,408,023 6,086,599 2,862,960
% and swing 33.30% 24.11% (Increase 0.58%) 11.34% (Decrease 3.6%)
Second round 10,026,669 7,482,169 393,205
% and swing 47.26% 35.26% (Decrease 2.79%) 1.85% (Decrease 3.75%)

Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.

Prime Minister before election

Jean-Pierre Raffarin
UMP

Elected Prime Minister

Jean-Pierre Raffarin
UMP

The Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced his political retirement after his elimination at the first round of the 2002 presidential elections. President Jacques Chirac was easily reelected, all the Republican parties having called to block far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. Chirac's conservative supporters created the Union for the Presidential Majority (Union pour la majorité présidentielle or UMP) to prepare for the legislative elections.

The first round of the presidential election was a shock for the two main coalitions. The candidates of the parliamentary right obtained 32% of votes, and the candidates of the "Plural Left" only 27%. In the first polls, for the legislative elections, they were equal.

The UMP campaigned against "cohabitation", which is blamed for causing confusion profitable to the far-right and far-left. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a relatively low-profile politician who said he would listen to "France at the bottom", was chosen as the party's candidate for Prime Minister.

Without a real leader, and staggered by the results of 21 April, the left was in difficulty. The Socialist chairman François Hollande tried to revive the "Plural Left" under the name of "United Left"; but the effort was undermined by the fact that it did not have a sufficiently concrete programme. Furthermore, the left-wing parties could not motivate their voters against an unrecognized and apparently uncontroversial politician like Raffarin. In addition part of the left-wing electorate did not want a new "cohabitation". Finally, the polls indicated a growing advantage for the Presidential Majority.

The right won the elections and the UMP obtained a large parliamentary majority of 394 seats. For the third time under the Fifth Republic, a party acquired an absolute majority (the "blue surge"). Five months later, it became the Union for a Popular Movement.

On the left, the Socialist Party achieved a better result than at the winning 1997 elections, but its allies were crushed. The far-left returned towards its usual level. In far-right, the National Front lost half of its 5 May voters.

Opinion polls

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Results

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PartyFirst roundSecond roundTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Union for a Popular Movement8,408,02333.304810,029,66947.26309357
Socialist Party6,086,59924.1117,482,16935.26139140
National Front2,862,96011.340393,2051.8500
Union for French Democracy1,226,4624.866832,7853.922329
French Communist Party1,216,1784.820690,8073.262121
The Greens1,138,2224.510677,9333.1933
Miscellaneous right921,9733.653274,3741.2958
Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Traditions422,4481.6700
Radical Party of the Left388,8911.540455,3602.1577
Revolutionary Communist League320,4671.2700
Lutte Ouvrière301,9841.2000
Republican Pole299,8971.19012,6790.0600
Ecologists295,8991.1700
National Republican Movement276,3761.0900
Miscellaneous left275,5531.090268,7151.2766
Movement for France202,8310.80111
Miscellaneous194,9460.77013,0360.0611
Liberal Democracy104,7670.41112
Rally for France94,2220.37061,6050.2922
Far-left81,5580.3200
Regionalists and separatists66,2400.26028,6890.1400
Far-right59,5490.2400
Total25,246,045100.006021,221,026100.00518577
Valid votes25,246,04595.6721,221,02695.65
Invalid/blank votes1,143,8304.33965,1394.35
Total votes26,389,875100.0022,186,165100.00
Registered voters/turnout40,968,48464.4236,783,74660.32
Source: National Assembly

Parliamentary groups in the National Assembly

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Group Members
  UMP Group 364
  Socialist Group 149
  UDF Group 30
  Communist Group 22
  Non-Inscrits 12
Total 577

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Elections held in 2002". Inter-Parliamentary Union.