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
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