French legislative election, 1871

French legislative election, 1871

8 February 1871

All 675 seats to the National Assembly   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Albert de Broglie Henri d'Artois[1] Jules Favre Party Orleanist Legitimist Moderate Leader's seat Eure None Rhône Seats won 214 182 112 Seat change new party new party Percentage 31.70% 26.96% 16.59%

Composition of the National Assembly

Prime Minister before election Charles Cousin-Montauban Independent Elected Prime Minister Jules Armand Dufaure Independent

Legislative elections were held in France on 8 February 1871 to elect the first legislature of the French Third Republic, the unicameral National Assembly. The elections were held during an explosive situation in the country, as following the Franco-Prussian War, 43 departments were occupied. As a result, all public meetings were outlawed and Paris was the only city where an election campaign took place.

The electoral law allowed candidates to run in more than one seat at a time. As a result, several candidates were elected in more than one seat, with Adolphe Thiers elected in 86 constituencies. A series of by-elections were subsequently held on 2 July to elect the 114 vacant seats.

This election saw the victory of monarchists (Legitimists, Orleanists) favourable to peace with the German Empire win a large majority.

Results

Affiliation	Party		Seats
Republicans		Radical Republicans	38
		Moderate Republicans	112
Right
		Liberals	72
		Orléanists	214
		Bonapartists	20
		Legitimists	182
Total			675[2]

References

1. The Count of Chambord, he was also the Legitimist claimant to the French throne.
2. The Assembly was to have 768 seats, including 15 for the French Colonial Empire and 30 for Alsace-Lorraine which was later annexed by the German Empire. A number of seats were not filled due to multiple elections.