1968 French legislative election

Early legislative elections were held in France on 23 and 30 June 1968,[1] to elect the fourth National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. They were held in the aftermath of the events based on the general strike of May 1968. On 30 May 1968, in a radio speech, President Charles de Gaulle, who had been out of the public eye for three days (he was in Baden-Baden, Germany), announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, and a new legislative election, by way of restoring order.

1968 French legislative election

23 June 1968 (first round) 30 June 1968 (second round)
All 487 seats in the National Assembly 244 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	79.95% (first round) 77.82% (second round)
Party Leader % Seats +/– UDR–RI Georges Pompidou 43.65 359 +119 PCF Waldeck Rochet 20.02 34 -39 FGDS François Mitterrand 16.53 57 -61 PDM Jacques Duhamel 10.34 28 -14 DVD – 4.14 9 0 Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Georges Pompidou UDR Maurice Couve de Murville UDR

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While the workers returned to their jobs, Prime Minister Georges Pompidou campaigned for the "defence of the Republic" in the face of the "communist threat" and called for the "silent majority" to make themselves heard. The Left was divided. The Communists reproached the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (FGDS) leader François Mitterrand for not having consulted it before he announced his candidacy in the next presidential election, and for the formation of a provisional government led by Pierre Mendès-France. The Far-Left and the Unified Socialist Party protested against the passivity of the left-wing parties. The Gaullist Union for the Defence of the Republic became the first party in the French Republic's history to obtain an absolute parliamentary majority. The FGDS disintegrated.

However, the relation between the two heads of the executive power had deteriorated during the crisis. One month later, Georges Pompidou resigned and was replaced by Maurice Couve de Murville.