2012 French legislative election
Legislative elections were held in France on 10 and 17 June 2012 (and on other dates for small numbers of voters outside metropolitan France) to select the members of the 14th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a little over a month after the presidential election run-off held on 6 May.[2][3]
All 577 seats in the National Assembly
289 seats needed for a majority
All 577 single member seats in the assembly, including those representing overseas departments and territories and French residents overseas, were contested using a two-round system.
Background[edit]
Presidential election[edit]
The elections came a month after the presidential election won by François Hollande of the Socialist Party. Since 2002, legislative elections immediately follow the presidential ones. This was designed to limit the possibility of a cohabitation, whereby the President and his or her Prime Minister, backed by a parliamentary majority, would be of opposite parties. The aim was also to give the new president and his government a "double mandate", the election of the President being followed by that of a parliamentary majority enabling him to implement his policies.[4][5] This is what happened in 2002 and 2007.[6] Thus, in 2012, the Socialist Party has asked French citizens to "confirm" the result of the presidential election; Hollande's campaign director Pierre Moscovici argued it would not make sense to have elected a President only for him to be rendered "powerless" by the legislative election: "This President tomorrow must have a majority with which to govern". By contrast, the Union for a Popular Movement, on the right, has repeatedly asked that the left not be given "all the powers" through this election.[7][8][9][10] The legislative elections in France are often described as the "third round" of the presidential election.[6][8][10][11]
Ethnic and gender pluralism[edit]
In order to make possible the election of some candidates of non-European ethnic background (North African, Subsaharan African and West Indian) as well as for female candidates, the Socialist Party had, like in 2007, reserved several constituencies for them, 22 for ethnic minorities and 49% for women.[12][13][14]
At the end of the second round, there were 13 metropolitan deputies with non-European ethnic background, including two government members (Kader Arif, former MEP, and George Pau-Langevin, already deputy since 2007) who will be replaced by their alternate candidates:
Among the 11 deputies who represent French citizens abroad, one is from Réunion, Corinne Narassiguin (PS), another has Chilean roots, Sergio Coronado (EELV) and a third one has Iranian roots, Pouria Amirshahi (PS).
Parties[edit]
Main parties and their aims[edit]
The Socialist Party sought to obtain a parliamentary majority with which to implement its policies. Three possible scenarios could have occurred if the left won overall:
Campaign[edit]
The official campaign began, in metropolitan France, on 21 May. In every constituency, each candidate has a billboard outside every polling station, upon which to display a campaign poster. Campaign material is also distributed by candidates' supporters in the streets and in letterboxes, and many campaign posters are illegally displayed in the streets. Transmitting campaign material to voters by e-mail is, however, prohibited. Nationwide, parties represented in the National Assembly prior to the election (i.e., the Union for a Popular Movement, the Socialist, Radical, Citizen and Miscellaneous Left parliamentary group, the Democratic and Republican Left parliamentary group, and the New Centre) have the right to broadcast campaign clips on television; an hour and a half is provided for the outgoing parliamentary majority, and an hour and a half for the outgoing opposition. Each side distributes this time as it sees fit between its constituent parties. Parties which are not represented in Parliament but which are standing at least 75 candidates are entitled to seven minutes of broadcast each. Any campaigning whatsoever is forbidden on the eve of the election.[45][46]
The leaflets of the candidates for the French nationals abroad (Français établis à l'étranger) seats were published online on the website of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.[47][48]