2002 French legislative election

The French legislative elections took place on 9 June and 16 June 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, in a context of political crisis.

2002 French legislative election

9 June and 16 June 2002

All 577 seats to the French National Assembly
289 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout64.4% (4.5 pp) (1st round)
60.3% (4.1 pp) (2nd round)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Jean-Pierre Raffarin François Hollande François Bayrou
Party UMP PS UDF
Leader's seat Vienne
(Senate)
Corrèze-1st Pyrénées-Atlantiques-2nd
Last election new party 255 seats 112 seats
Seats won 357 140 29
Seat change 357 115 83
Popular vote 8,408,023 (1st round)
10,026,669 (2nd round)
6,086,599 (1st round)
7,482,169 (2nd round)
1,226,462 (1st round)
832,785 (2nd round)
Percentage 33.30% (1st round)
47.26% (2nd round)
24.11% (1st round)
35.26% (2nd round)
4.86% (1st round)
3.92% (2nd round)

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Marie-George Buffet Dominique Voynet Jean-Marie Le Pen
Party PCF LV FN
Leader's seat Seine-Saint-Denis-4th none
Last election 35 seats 7 seats 1 seat
Seats won 21 3 0
Seat change 14 4 1
Popular vote 1,216,178 (1st round)
690,807 (2nd round)
1,138,222 (1st round)
677,933 (2nd round)
2,862,960 (1st round)
393,205 (2nd round)
Percentage 4.82% (1st round)
3.26% (2nd round)
4.51% (1st round)
3.19% (2nd round)
11.34% (1st round)
1.85% (2nd round)

Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.

Prime Minister before election

Jean-Pierre Raffarin
UMP

Elected Prime Minister

Jean-Pierre Raffarin
UMP

The Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced his political retirement after his elimination at the first round of the 2002 French presidential election. President Jacques Chirac was easily reelected, all the Republican parties having called to block far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. Chirac's conservative supporters created the Union for the Presidential Majority (Union pour la majorité présidentielle or UMP) to prepare for the legislative elections.

The first round of the presidential election was a shock for the two main coalitions. The candidates of the parliamentary right obtained 32% of votes, and the candidates of the "Plural Left" only 27%. In the first polls, for the legislative elections, they were equal.

The UMP campaigned against "cohabitation", which is blamed for causing confusion profitable to the far-right and far-left. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a relatively low-profile politician who said he would listen to "France at the bottom", was chosen as the party's candidate for Prime Minister.

Without a real leader, and staggered by the results of 21 April, the left was in difficulty. The Socialist chairman François Hollande tried to revive the "Plural Left" under the name of "United Left"; but the effort was undermined by the fact that it didn't have a sufficiently concrete programme. Furthermore, the left-wing parties could not motivate their voters against an unrecognized and apparently uncontroversial politician like Raffarin. In addition part of the left-wing electorate did not want a new "cohabitation". Finally, the polls indicated a growing advantage for the Presidential Majority.

The right won the elections and the UMP obtained a large parliamentary majority of 394 seats. For the third time under the Fifth Republic, a party acquired an absolute majority (the "blue surge"). Five months later, it became the Union for a Popular Movement.

On the left, the Socialist Party achieved a better result than at the winning 1997 elections, but its allies were crushed. The far-left returned towards its usual level. In far-right, the National Front lost the half of its 5 May voters.

Opinion polls

2002 French National Assembly

Results

 Summary of the 9 and 16 June 2002 French National Assembly elections results
Parties and coalitions First round Second round Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Seats %
Union for a Popular Movement UMP 8,408,023 33.30 48 10,026,669 47.26 309 357 61.87
Union for French Democracy UDF 1,226,462 4.86 6 832,785 3.92 23 29 5.03
Miscellaneous Right DVD 921,973 3.65 3 274,374 1.29 5 8 1.39
Liberal Democracy DL 104,767 0.41 1 1 2 0.35
Rally for France RPF 94,222 0.37 0 61,605 0.29 2 2 0.35
Movement for France MPF 202,831 0.80 1 1 1 0.17
Presidential majority (right) 10,958,278 43.39 59 11,195,433 52.76 340 399 69.15
Socialist Party PS 6,086,599 24.11 1 7,482,169 35.26 139 140 24.26
French Communist Party PCF 1,216,178 4.82 0 690,807 3.26 21 21 3.64
Radical Party of the Left PRG 388,891 1.54 0 455,360 2.15 7 7 1.21
Miscellaneous Left DVG 275,533 1.09 0 268,715 1.27 6 6 1.04
The Greens VEC 1,138,222 4.51 0 677,933 3.19 3 3 0.52
Parliamentary left 9,105,423 36.07 1 9,574,984 45.13 177 178 30.85
Miscellaneous DIV 194,946 0.77 0 13,036 0.06 1 1 0.17
National Front FN 2,862,960 11.34 0 393,205 1.85 0 0 0.00
Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Traditions CPNT 422,448 1.67 0 0 0 0.00
Revolutionary Communist League LCR 320,467 1.27 0 0 0 0.00
Workers' Struggle LO 301,984 1.20 0 0 0 0.00
Republican Pole PR 299,897 1.19 0 12,679 0.06 0 0 0.00
Ecologists ECO 295,899 1.17 0 0 0 0.00
National Republican Movement MNR 276,376 1.09 0 0 0 0.00
Far-left EXG 81,558 0.32 0 0 0 0.00
Regionalists and separatists REG 66,240 0.26 0 28,689 0.14 0 0 0.00
Far-right EXD 59,549 0.24 0 0 0 0.00
Total 25,246,045 100.00 60 21,221,026 100.00 517 577 100.00
Abstention: 35.58% (1st round), 39.68% (2nd round)
Popular vote (first round)
UMP
33.30%
PS
24.11%
FN
11.34%
UDF
4.86%
PCF
4.82%
The Greens
4.51%
DVD
3.65%
CPTNT
1.67%
PRG
1.54%
LCR
1.27%
LO
1.20%
PR
1.19%
Other Ecologists
1.17%
MNR
1.09%
DVG
1.09%
Others
3.19%
Popular vote (second round)
UMP
47.26%
PS
35.26%
UDF
3.92%
PCF
3.26%
The Greens
3.19%
PRG
2.15%
FN
1.85%
DVD
1.29%
DVG
1.27%
Others
0.55%
Seats won
UMP
61.87%
PS
24.26%
UDF
5.03%
PCF
3.64%
DVD
1.39%
PRG
1.21%
DVG
1.04%
The Greens
0.52%
Others
1.04%

12th Assembly by Parliamentary Group

Group Members
  UMP Group 364
  Socialist Group 149
  UDF Group 30
  Communist Group 22
  Non-Inscrits 12
Total: 577
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