5 things to know about legislative elections in France

undefined 28 juin 2024 undefined 18h00

The Editor

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The first round of legislative elections is taking place this weekend, but many people are unsure of what to do. To help you out, here are a few things to know before you go to vote!

On this Sunday, June 30th, all of France is called to vote in the first round of the legislative elections! The second round will take place on Sunday, July 7th. These elections come in a very particular context, as they are anticipated legislative elections, with Emmanuel Macron having decided to dissolve the National Assembly on June 9th. Two years ago, during the last legislative elections, neither the President nor any other party had managed to obtain an absolute majority. This time, polls place Jordan Bardella's National Rally in a leading position in terms of intentions of vote, ahead of the.at the top of the polls. It is crucial that everyone exercises their right to vote to actively participate in defending republican values and blocking extremes. To better understand their stakes, here are ten things to know about legislative elections in France.


1. They are used to elect deputies

Before going into details, let's start with the basics. Legislative elections are used to elect deputies, who are parliamentarians that will sit in the National Assembly. The role of a deputy is to participate in legislative work, which involves drafting and voting on French laws, as well as overseeing the work of the government.Government.

The National Assembly is not the only one to vote for laws, it shares this power with the Senate, whose 348 members are elected indirectly by universal suffrage for six years. Together, they form the Parliament.


2. Candidates are elected by district

Unlike depIn presidential elections, where only one candidate is presented by a party, legislative elections take place by constituencies. Typically, each party selects a candidate per constituency. France is divided into 577 constituencies, each represented by a deputy, which is why 577 deputies sit in the National Assembly.

The voting system for legislative elections is a two-round majority voting system. In other words, if no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first round, a second round is held between the top candidates. All French citizens over 18 years old can vote.


3. Deputies are elected for five years

The length of deputies' terms has varied throughout history. Currently, deputies are elected for five years. However, during the Third Republic, for example, the term was four years.

However, their term can be shortened, for example in case of dissolution of the National Assembly, as is currently the case. This is not the first time that a President has called for the dissolution of the National Assembly under the Fifth Republic: Charles de Gaulle did it twice, in 1962 and 1968, François Mitterrand also, in 1981 and 1988, and Jacques Chirac once in 1997.


4. Women have been able to be deputies since 1945

The first legislative elections open to women took place on October 21, 1945 in France, at the end of World War II. They led to the election of 33 women out of the 586 deputies elected. Among them were notable figures such as Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, a resistance fighter and communist, Marie-Madeleine Dienesch, a Gaullist, and Rachel Lempereur, a socialist.

Today, the proportion of women in the National Assembly has greatly increased, even if gender equality is far from being achieved. During the 2017 elections, a record was set with 38.8% of elected female deputies. In 2022, this number has decreased to 37.3%, marking the first decrease in gender equality since 1988. 5. Voter turnout for legislative elections has been decreasing for nearly 30 years. Despite the importance of this election, voter turnout for legislative elections is often lower than presidential elections. Under the Fifth Republic, it reached its peak in 1978 with 82.8% turnout in the first round. Since 1993, the turnout rate has continued to decline, reaching 47.5% in the first round in 2017, the lowest turnout rate in the history of the Fifth Republic.Hello there! Welcome to our website where you can find all the information you need. Feel free to explore and discover what we have to offer. Have a great day!

Today more than ever, participating in the legislative elections is essential to prevent the extreme right from coming to power. So, this weekend, we grab our ID and voter card (if we have one), or we give our proxy to a trusted person, and we go vote to make our citizen voice heard!