French presidential election, 1969
Encyclopedia
The 1969 French presidential election took place on 1 June and 15 June 1969. It occurred due to the resignation of President Charles de Gaulle
on 28 April 1969. Indeed, De Gaulle had decided to consult the voters by referendum about regionalisation and the reform of the Senate
, and he had announced he would resign if it resulted in a "no" vote. In 27 April, 53,5% of the voters had voted "no".
In the presidential race, the Gaullist Party (Union of Democrats for the Republic, UDR) was represented by former Prime Minister Georges Pompidou
. He was very popular in the conservative electorate in due to the economic growth when he led the cabinet (from 1962 to 1968) and his role in the settlement of the May 68 crisis and the winning the June 1968 legislative campaign
. In his presidential campaign, he obtained the support of the Independent Republicans
and their leader Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
, who had voted "no" in the referendum.
The French Communist Party
(PCF) proposed to the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO, Socialist Party) to present a candidate with a common program, but the SFIO refused. The Left was severely divided in this election. The PCF candidate was Jacques Duclos
, one of the historical leaders of the party. The mayor of Marseille
, Gaston Defferre
, was the SFIO candidate and campaigned with Pierre Mendès France, would have become Prime Minister had Defferre been elected to the Presidency. This candidacy was the first – and so far, only – dual "ticket" in a French Presidential election. But Defferre's campaign was weakened by the decision of centrist interim President Alain Poher
to run. As Chairman of the Senate
, Poher had led the "no" campaign in the referendum. The success of the "no" campaign gave him the legitimacy to run for the Presidency and he rallied a large swathe of centre-right and centre-left voters.
Michel Rocard
and Alain Krivine
stood as candidates expressing the ideas of the May 68 movements, though the Trotskyist Krivine took a far more radical stance.
The second round saw Pompidou facing Poher. None of the left-wing candidates reached the second round, in spite of the good campaign and result of Duclos, who scored the best ever result for a Communist in a presidential election. The Socialists supported reluctantly the centerist Chairman of the Senate
. The Communists refused to choose and used a slogan which was equivalent to the phrase "It's six of one and half a dozen of the other" (c'est bonnet blanc et blanc bonnet).
Georges Pompidou was elected President of France with a comfortable majority.
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
on 28 April 1969. Indeed, De Gaulle had decided to consult the voters by referendum about regionalisation and the reform of the Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
, and he had announced he would resign if it resulted in a "no" vote. In 27 April, 53,5% of the voters had voted "no".
In the presidential race, the Gaullist Party (Union of Democrats for the Republic, UDR) was represented by former Prime Minister Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
. He was very popular in the conservative electorate in due to the economic growth when he led the cabinet (from 1962 to 1968) and his role in the settlement of the May 68 crisis and the winning the June 1968 legislative campaign
French legislative election, 1968
- National Assembly by Parliamentary Group:...
. In his presidential campaign, he obtained the support of the Independent Republicans
Independent Republicans
The Independent Republicans were a French liberal-conservative political group founded in 1962, which became a political party in 1966 . The leader was Valéry Giscard d'Estaing....
and their leader Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
, who had voted "no" in the referendum.
The French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
(PCF) proposed to the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO, Socialist Party) to present a candidate with a common program, but the SFIO refused. The Left was severely divided in this election. The PCF candidate was Jacques Duclos
Jacques Duclos
Jacques Duclos was a French Communist politician who played a key role in French politics from 1926, when he entered the French National Assembly after defeating Paul Reynaud, until 1969, when he won a substantial portion of the vote in the presidential elections.During World War I, Duclos fought...
, one of the historical leaders of the party. The mayor of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Gaston Defferre
Gaston Defferre
Gaston Defferre was a French socialist politician.-Biography:Lawyer and member of the French Section of the Workers' International political party, he was a member of the Brutus Network, a Resistance Socialist group during World War II...
, was the SFIO candidate and campaigned with Pierre Mendès France, would have become Prime Minister had Defferre been elected to the Presidency. This candidacy was the first – and so far, only – dual "ticket" in a French Presidential election. But Defferre's campaign was weakened by the decision of centrist interim President Alain Poher
Alain Poher
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher was a French centrist politician, affiliated first with the Popular Republican Movement and later with the Democratic Centre. He served as a Senator for Val-de-Marne from 1946 to 1995. He was President of the Senate from 3 October 1968 to 1 October 1992 and, in that...
to run. As Chairman of the Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
, Poher had led the "no" campaign in the referendum. The success of the "no" campaign gave him the legitimacy to run for the Presidency and he rallied a large swathe of centre-right and centre-left voters.
Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party . He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion , a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords regarding the status...
and Alain Krivine
Alain Krivine
Alain Krivine is a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France. He is a member of the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire , which is the French section of the reunified Fourth International. He was a member of the LCR's political bureau until March 2006, when he resigned from that committee...
stood as candidates expressing the ideas of the May 68 movements, though the Trotskyist Krivine took a far more radical stance.
First round
| Candidate | Party | Vote | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georges Pompidou Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:... |
Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR) | 10,051,816 | 44.45% | |
| Alain Poher Alain Poher Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher was a French centrist politician, affiliated first with the Popular Republican Movement and later with the Democratic Centre. He served as a Senator for Val-de-Marne from 1946 to 1995. He was President of the Senate from 3 October 1968 to 1 October 1992 and, in that... |
Progress and Modern Democracy Progress and Modern Democracy Progress and Modern Democracy was a French centrist political group of the National Assembly elected in 1968 after the May 1968 crisis. It was composed of the Christian democrat deputies belonging to the Democratic Centre and the conservatives of the National Center of Independents and Peasants.... (PDM) |
5,268,561 | 23.31% | |
| Jacques Duclos Jacques Duclos Jacques Duclos was a French Communist politician who played a key role in French politics from 1926, when he entered the French National Assembly after defeating Paul Reynaud, until 1969, when he won a substantial portion of the vote in the presidential elections.During World War I, Duclos fought... |
French Communist Party French Communist Party The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French... (PCF) |
4,808,285 | 21.27% | |
| Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre was a French socialist politician.-Biography:Lawyer and member of the French Section of the Workers' International political party, he was a member of the Brutus Network, a Resistance Socialist group during World War II... |
French Section of the Workers International (SFIO) | 1,133,222 | 5.01% | |
| Michel Rocard Michel Rocard Michel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party . He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion , a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords regarding the status... |
Unified Socialist Party Unified Socialist Party (France) The Unified Socialist Party was a socialist political party in France, founded on April 3, 1960. It was originally led by Édouard Depreux , and by Michel Rocard .- History :... (PSU) |
816,471 | 3.61% | |
| Louis Ducatel Louis Ducatel Louis Ducatel was a French politician and businessman from the Pas-de-Calais. He is best known for his candidacy in the French presidential election, 1969, where he obtained 1.26% of the vote.... |
Independent | 286,447 | 1.26% | |
| Alain Krivine Alain Krivine Alain Krivine is a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France. He is a member of the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire , which is the French section of the reunified Fourth International. He was a member of the LCR's political bureau until March 2006, when he resigned from that committee... |
Revolutionary Communist League Revolutionary Communist League (France) See Revolutionary Communist League for the other Ligue communiste révolutionnaire.The Revolutionary Communist League was a French democratic revolutionary socialist political party. It was the French section of the Fourth International... (LCR) |
239,106 | 1.05% | |
| Total | 22,603,908 | 100% | ||
The second round saw Pompidou facing Poher. None of the left-wing candidates reached the second round, in spite of the good campaign and result of Duclos, who scored the best ever result for a Communist in a presidential election. The Socialists supported reluctantly the centerist Chairman of the Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
. The Communists refused to choose and used a slogan which was equivalent to the phrase "It's six of one and half a dozen of the other" (c'est bonnet blanc et blanc bonnet).
Second round
| Candidate | Party | Vote | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georges Pompidou Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:... |
Union for the Defense of the Republic Gaullist Party In France, the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claimed to transcend the left/right rift... (UDR) |
11,064,371 | 58.21% | |
| Alain Poher Alain Poher Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher was a French centrist politician, affiliated first with the Popular Republican Movement and later with the Democratic Centre. He served as a Senator for Val-de-Marne from 1946 to 1995. He was President of the Senate from 3 October 1968 to 1 October 1992 and, in that... |
Progress and Modern Democracy Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement was a French Christian democratic party of the Fourth Republic... (PDM) |
7,943,118 | 41.78% | |
| Total | 19,007,489 | 100% | ||
Georges Pompidou was elected President of France with a comfortable majority.