1871 French legislative election

Legislative elections were held in France on 8 February 1871 to elect the first legislature of the Third French Republic, the unicameral National Assembly. The elections were held during a situation of crisis in the country, as following the Franco-Prussian War, 43 departments were occupied by Prussian forces. As a result, all public meetings were outlawed and Paris was the only city where an election campaign took place.

1871 French legislative election

← 1869 8 February 1871 (1871-02-08) 1876 →

All 758 seats in the National Assembly
320 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Jules Grévy Henri d'Orléans Henri of Artois
Party Republicans Orléanists Legitimists
Seats won 249 223 182

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Party Liberals Bonapartists
Seats won 78 23

Prime Minister before election

Louis-Jules Trochu
Independent

Elected Prime Minister

Jules Dufaure
Independent

The electoral law allowed candidates to run in more than one seat at a time. As a result, several candidates were elected in more than one seat, with Adolphe Thiers elected in 86 constituencies. By-elections were subsequently held on 2 July to elect representatives for the 114 vacant seats.

This election saw the victory of monarchists (Legitimists and Orleanists), favourable to peace with the German Empire, with a large majority.

Results

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PartySeats
WonBy-electionTotal
Republicans15099249
Orléanists2149223
Legitimists1823185
Liberals78078
Bonapartists20323
Total644114758
Source: Rois et Presidents, Payot

See also

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References

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