| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Parlement / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Sénat / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 10 June 2007
17 June 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
The 2007 elections to the National Assembly followed the election as President of the Republic of Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP, the ruling centre-right party, see note 1). In May, Mr. Sarkozy defeated Ms. Ségolène Royal of the main opposition Socialist Party (PS) in a run-off election, and pledged to take the country into a new era, both economically and socially. The UMP held 359 seats in the outgoing legislature, while the PS had 149.
The June parliamentary elections saw once again a duel between the UMP and the PS. President Sarkozy insisted that he needed a majority in the National Assembly to carry out his presidential programme. Pre-election polls predicted a major victory for the UMP.
The PS argued that the country stood to benefit from a diversity of opinion. It was therefore important for the socialist group to be well-represented in the National Assembly. The centrist Union for French Democracy (UDF), whose leader, Mr. François Bayrou had taken 18.5% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, split in two before the parliamentary elections. Most of the incumbent UDF members offered their support to Mr. Sarkozy in the second round of presidential elections. In late May, they launched a new party, the 'New Centre' party, led by Defence Minister, Mr. Hervé Morin. UDF members loyal to Mr. Bayrou formed the Union for French Democracy-Democratic Movement (MODEM), which refused any electoral alliances with either side of the political divide.
In all 7,639 candidates contested 577 seats in the National Assembly.
On 10 June, 60.42 per cent of registered voters turned out at the first round of the polls, the lowest figure since 1958. 110 candidates were elected in the first round, compared to 58 in the 2002 elections. The UMP and its allies took 98 of those 110 seats, securing 39.54 per cent of the valid votes while the PS obtained 24.73 per cent of the votes. Twelve women were elected.
Fiscal issues took centre stage during the period between the first and second rounds. Prime Minister François Fillon came in for scathing criticism from the PS over the government's supposed plans to introduce a "social VAT" (value-added tax).
On 17 June, the second round of elections for the remaining 467 seats involved candidates who had obtained over 12.5 per cent of the registered vote in the first round. Nearly 60 per cent of registered voters turned out at the polls.
The UMP fared less well than opinion polls had predicted. The Energy and Environment Minister and former prime minister, Alain Juppé (UMP) was narrowly defeated and subsequently resigned as minister.
The final results nevertheless confirmed a clear victory for the UMP, giving it a total of 313 of the 577 seats. The PS took 186 seats. The New Centre party (see note 2) won 20 seats, whereas the MODEM took only three. In all, 107 women were elected.
On 26 June, the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and elected Mr. Bernard Accoyer (UMP) as its new Speaker.
Note 1:
Prior to the 2002 presidential elections, supporters of the then President Jacques Chirac founded an electoral alliance, the Union on the Move (Union en mouvement). It was renamed the Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP) for the 2002 parliamentary elections and subsequently changed its name again to the Union for a Popular Movement following the elections.
Note 2:
According to the official results published by the Ministry of the Interior, the 20 candidates elected from the New Centre party as well as two other candidates appear under the Presidential Majority (MAJ) banner. The latter two, in fact, belong to the New Centre parliamentary group. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 10 June 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
43'896'043
26'521'824 (60.42%)
495'358
26'026'466 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Round no 2 | 17 June 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
35'223'911
21'130'346 (59.99%)
723'561
20'406'785 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) |
|
10'289'732 |
|
|
39.54 |
|
|
| Presidential Majority (MAJ) |
|
616'440 |
|
|
2.37 |
|
|
| Other parties of the right |
|
641'842 |
|
|
2.47 |
|
|
| Movement for France (MPF) |
|
312'581 |
|
|
1.20 |
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
|
6'436'521 |
|
|
24.73 |
|
|
| Left Radical |
|
343'565 |
|
|
1.32 |
|
|
| Union for French Democracy-Democratic Movement (MODEM)
|
|
1'981'107 |
|
|
7.61 |
|
|
| Regionalist |
|
133'473 |
|
|
0.51 |
|
|
| Others |
|
3'108'734 |
|
|
11.94 |
|
|
| Communist Party (PC) |
|
1'115'663 |
|
|
4.29 |
|
|
| Other left wing parties |
|
513'407 |
|
|
1.97 |
|
|
| Greens |
|
845'977 |
|
|
3.25 |
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) |
|
9'461'087 |
|
|
46.36 |
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
|
8'624'472 |
|
|
42.26 |
|
|
| Communist Party (PC) |
|
464'739 |
|
|
2.28 |
|
|
| Other left wing parties |
|
503'556 |
|
|
2.47 |
|
|
| Presidential Majority (MAJ) |
|
433'057 |
|
|
2.12 |
|
|
| Left Radical |
|
333'194 |
|
|
1.63 |
|
|
| Other parties of the right |
|
238'588 |
|
|
1.17 |
|
|
| Greens |
|
90'975 |
|
|
0.45 |
|
|
| Union for French Democracy-Democratic Movement (MODEM)
|
|
100'115 |
|
|
0.49 |
|
|
| Regionalist |
|
106'484 |
|
|
0.52 |
|
|
| Others |
|
33'068 |
|
|
0.16 |
|
|
| Movement for France (MPF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Grand Total |
|
|
|
| Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) |
98
|
|
|
|
|
| Presidential Majority (MAJ) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Other parties of the right |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement for France (MPF) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Left Radical |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Union for French Democracy-Democratic Movement (MODEM)
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Regionalist |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Others |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Communist Party (PC) |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Other left wing parties |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Greens |
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Grand Total |
|
|
|
| Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) |
215
|
313 |
|
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
185
|
186 |
|
|
|
| Communist Party (PC) |
15
|
15 |
|
|
|
| Other left wing parties |
15
|
15 |
|
|
|
| Presidential Majority (MAJ) |
14
|
22 |
|
|
|
| Left Radical |
7
|
7 |
|
|
|
| Other parties of the right |
7
|
9 |
|
|
|
| Greens |
4
|
4 |
|
|
|
| Union for French Democracy-Democratic Movement (MODEM)
|
3
|
3 |
|
|
|
| Regionalist |
1
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Others |
1
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Movement for France (MPF) |
0
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
470
107
18.54%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
|
2
29
139
256
141
10
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Business/trade/industry employees, including executives |
102 |
| Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers) |
89 |
| Educators |
82 |
| Medical professions (doctors, dentists, nurses) |
72 |
| Others |
59 |
| Legal professions |
45 |
| Entrepreneurs |
27 |
| Retired |
22 |
| Engineers/PC experts |
22 |
| Unknown |
20 |
| Liberal professions (including artists, authors) and sports professionals |
17 |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
16 |
| Bankers (including invest bankers)/accountants |
3 |
| Architects |
1 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- Ministry of the Interior (13.06.2007, 19.06.2007, 01.01.2008, 22.02.2008, 01.01.2010)
- http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/
- http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
