The
French legislative elections took place on March 16 1986 to elect the 8th
National AssemblyThe National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
of the
Fifth RepublicThere have been several Fifth Republics in the course of history, including:* French Fifth Republic * Fifth Republic of the Philippines * Fifth Republic of South Korea...
. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electoral system used was that of
Party-list proportional representationParty-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections returning multiple candidates...
.
Since the 1981 election of
François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995, elected as representative of the Socialist Party . First elected during the May 1981 presidential election, he became the first socialist President of the Fifth Republic and the first left-wing head of...
, the Presidential Majority was divided. In March 1983, Prime Minister
Pierre MauroyPierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1984 and also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille....
renounced the left's radical
Common Programme which had been agreed in the 1970s.
The
French legislative elections took place on March 16 1986 to elect the 8th
National AssemblyThe National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
of the
Fifth RepublicThere have been several Fifth Republics in the course of history, including:* French Fifth Republic * Fifth Republic of the Philippines * Fifth Republic of South Korea...
. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electoral system used was that of
Party-list proportional representationParty-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections returning multiple candidates...
.
Since the 1981 election of
François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995, elected as representative of the Socialist Party . First elected during the May 1981 presidential election, he became the first socialist President of the Fifth Republic and the first left-wing head of...
, the Presidential Majority was divided. In March 1983, Prime Minister
Pierre MauroyPierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1984 and also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille....
renounced the left's radical
Common Programme which had been agreed in the 1970s. Wages and prices were frozen. This change of economic policy was justified by the will to stay in the
European Monetary System- Stage I :European Monetary System was an arrangement established in 1979 under the Jenkins European Commission where most nations of the European Economic Community linked their currencies to prevent large fluctuations relative to one another....
. One year later, the Communist ministers refused to remain in
Laurent FabiusLaurent Fabius is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. He was 37 years old when he was appointed and is, so far, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.-Early Life:...
's cabinet.
In opposition, the two main right-wing parties tried to forget their past quarrels. They were able to win the mid-term elections (1982 departmental elections, 1983 municipal elections, 1984 European Parliament election) and succeeded in forcing the government to abandon its policy of limiting the financing of the private schools in 1984. The
Rally for the RepublicThe Rally for the Republic , was a French right-wing political party. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic , it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullism...
(RPR), led by
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
, abandoned the traditional dirigiste and
EuroscepticEuroSceptic is the 2nd album of British singer Jack Lucien. It shall be released on the 2nd November 2009. .-Track listing:# Saturday [4:10]# Je Suis Un Superstar [4:09]# My Intervention [4:02]...
Gaullist doctrines about the economy and European integration. It was then able to sign an electoral platform with the
Union for French DemocracyThe Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
(UDF). It proposed notably to sell the companies nationalized by President Mitterrand and
Pierre MauroyPierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1984 and also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille....
.
However, France had also witnessed the electoral rise of the
National FrontThe name National Front is used by a number of political parties and coalitions.* Albania — National Front * Belarus — Belarusian National Front* Belgium — Front National * Botswana — Botswana National Front...
(FN). Its leader,
Jean-Marie Le PenJean-Marie Le Pen is a French conservative and nationalist politician who is founder and president of the Front National party...
, made nationalist and xenophobic remarks. He appealed to a part of the conservative electorate, notably some RPR voters. The right-wing opposition was divided about the question of an alliance with the FN. In 1985, President Mitterrand's decision to re-establish the
Party-list proportional representationParty-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections returning multiple candidates...
at the legislative election caused a political outrage. The RPR/UDF opposition accused him to want strengthen the FN in order to weaken the Republican Right, which was favourite according to the polls. Indeed, the proportional representation was the only electoral system which permitted the election of FN deputies.
While the polls indicated a win of RPR/UDF coalition, the former UDF Prime minister
Raymond BarreRaymond Octave Joseph Barre was a French centre-right politician and economist. He served as Prime Minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing from 1976 until 1981. As a candidate for the presidency in 1988, he came in third and was eliminated in the first round...
argued that the next parliamentary majority should refuse to govern if President Mitterrand did not resign. Advised by
Edouard BalladurÉdouard Balladur is a French right-wing politician. He served as Prime Minister during the second "cohabitation", under François Mitterrand, from 29 March 1993 to 10 May 1995...
, Jacques Chirac noted, however, that
impeachmentImpeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to consider whether or not to forcibly remove a government official from office. The impeachment itself brings the charges against the official...
does not exist in the French Constitution. Instead, the next majority would "cohabit" with Mitterrand. The right-wing cabinet would enforce its domestic policy programme and Mitterrand kept control of foreign and military affairs.
Finally, the RPR/UDF coalition obtained only a two seat majority. The
Socialist PartyThe Socialist Party is the largest left-wing political party in France. It replaced the French Section of the Workers' International in 1969....
saved more seats than the polls indicated. The FN could form a parliamentary group with its 35 elects. The decline of the
French Communist PartyThe French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, it is the forth french party and remains the largest party in France advocating communist views, and retains a large membership The...
continued. Mitterrand nominated Chirac as Prime Minister. The first "
cohabitationCohabitation in government occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as France's system, when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier that will be acceptable to the...
" of the Fifth Republic started. The new cabinet abolished the proportional representation for the next legislative elections. The "cohabitation" ended with the
1988 presidential electionPresidential elections were held in France on 24 April and 8 May 1988.In 1981, the Socialist Party leader, François Mitterrand, was elected President of France and the Left won the legislative election. However, in 1986, the Right regained a parliamentary majority. President Mitterrand was forced...
.
Results
8th Assembly by Parliamentary Group
| Group |
Members |
Caucusing |
Total |
| |
SocialistThe Socialist Party is the largest left-wing political party in France. It replaced the French Section of the Workers' International in 1969....
Group |
196 |
16 |
212 |
| |
RPRThe Rally for the Republic , was a French right-wing political party. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic , it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullism...
Group |
147 |
8 |
155 |
| |
UDFThe Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
Group |
114 |
17 |
131 |
| |
Communist The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, it is the forth french party and remains the largest party in France advocating communist views, and retains a large membership The...
Group |
32 |
3 |
35 |
| |
FN Group |
32 |
3 |
35 |
| |
Non-Inscrits |
9 |
0 |
9 |
|
Total: |
557 |
20 |
577 |