1936 French legislative election

1936 French legislative election

← 1932 26 April 1936 (first round)
3 May 1936 (second round)
1945 →

All 612 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
307 seats needed for a majority
Registered11,768,491
Turnout84.45%
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Léon Blum Édouard Daladier Louis Marin
Party SFIO PRRRS Republican Union
Alliance Popular Front Popular Front National Front
Leader's seat Narbonne Orange Meurthe-et-Moselle
Last election 129 seats 157 seats 76 seats
Seats won 149 111 128
Seat change Increase 20 Decrease 46 Increase 52
Popular vote 1,955,306 1,422,611 1,666,004
Percentage 19.86% 14.45% 16.92%
Swing Decrease 0.65pp Decrease 4.73pp Increase 4.04pp

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Pierre-Étienne Flandin Maurice Thorez
Party Republican Left PCF
Alliance National Front Popular Front
Leader's seat Yonne Seine
Last election 72 seats 12 seats
Seats won 95 72
Seat change Increase 23 Increase 60
Popular vote 2,536,294 1,502,404
Percentage 25.76% 15.26%
Swing Increase 12.19pp Increase 6.94pp

Government before election

Albert Sarraut II

Elected Government

Léon Blum I
SFIO (Popular Front)

Political poster (1936) claiming that the Popular Front was under Soviet control.

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]

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.

  1. ^ "French elections a task for voters", The New York Times. 20 April 1936. Page 7.

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