Legislative elections were held in France on 26 April and 3 May 1936, the last elections before World War II. The number of candidates set a record, with 4,807 running for election to the Chamber of Deputies. In the Seine Department alone, there were 1,402 candidates.[1]
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All 612 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 307 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 11,768,491 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 84.45% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Popular Front, composed of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), the Radical-Socialists, the French Section of the Communist International (SFIC), and miscellaneous leftists, won power from the broad Republican coalitions that had governed since the 6 February 1934 crisis. Léon Blum became president of the council.
Results
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The SFIC, predecessor of the Communist Party, more than tripled its seats total from 11 SFIC and 9 Union Ouvrière deputies in 1932 to 72 in 1936. The party made gains in industrialized suburbs and working-class areas of major cities. They also progressed in rural central and southwestern France (e.g., Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne) The Radicals lost votes to the SFIO and SFIC, but also to the right. The SFIO declined slightly. In working-class suburbs, the party declined, but it gained votes in Brittany, to the dismay of the right. Only 174 seats were elected in the first round, 424 were decided in a run-off. The right fared better in the second round.
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popular Front | French Section of the Workers' International | 1,955,306 | 19.86 | 149 | ||
| French Communist Party | 1,502,404 | 15.26 | 72 | |||
| Radical Socialist Party | 1,422,611 | 14.45 | 111 | |||
| Socialist Republican Union | 748,600 | 7.60 | 29 | |||
| Miscellaneous left | 28 | |||||
| Total | 5,628,921 | 57.16 | 389 | |||
| National Front | Republican Left | 2,536,294 | 25.76 | 95 | ||
| Republican Union | 1,666,004 | 16.92 | 128 | |||
| Total | 4,202,298 | 42.67 | 223 | |||
| Others | 16,047 | 0.16 | 0 | |||
| Total | 9,847,266 | 100.00 | 612 | |||
| Valid votes | 9,847,266 | 99.09 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 90,692 | 0.91 | ||||
| Total votes | 9,937,958 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 11,768,491 | 84.45 | ||||
| Source: Mackie & Rose,[2] Nohlen & Stöver,[3] Quid | ||||||
References
edit- ^ "French elections a task for voters", The New York Times. 20 April 1936. Page 7.
- ^ Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1982) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, pp128–130
- ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p692 ISBN 9783832956097