French Presidential elections under the Third Republic
Encyclopedia
French Presidential elections under the Third Republic
involved the election of the President of France by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The President was thus elected by indirect
universal suffrage
.
Since the Third Republic was a parliamentary system
, the President had much fewer powers than under the current Fifth Republic
, where the president is elected under universal suffrage
. Besides, since the May 16, 1877 crisis, the President was prevented, by custom, to use his right of dissolution of parliament
. Thus, no president used it after Mac-Mahon dissolving of 1877.
Presidential elections in the V Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
involved the election of the President of France by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The President was thus elected by indirect
Indirect election
Indirect election is a process in which voters in an election don't actually choose between candidates for an office but rather elect persons who will then make the choice. It is one of the oldest form of elections and is still used today for many upper houses and presidents...
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
.
Since the Third Republic was a parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
, the President had much fewer powers than under the current Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
, where the president is elected under universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
. Besides, since the May 16, 1877 crisis, the President was prevented, by custom, to use his right of dissolution of parliament
Dissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
. Thus, no president used it after Mac-Mahon dissolving of 1877.
1875 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrice de Mac-Mahon | Legitimists Legitimists Legitimists are royalists in France who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession of the descendants of the elder branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject the claim of the July Monarchy of 1830–1848, whose kings were members of the junior... |
99.74% | |
| Jules Grévy Jules Grévy François Paul Jules Grévy was a President of the French Third Republic and one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is seen as the first real republican President of... |
Left Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
0.16% | |
1879 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jules Grévy Jules Grévy François Paul Jules Grévy was a President of the French Third Republic and one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is seen as the first real republican President of... |
Left Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
78.96% | |
| Alfred Chanzy | Military Military A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g... |
13.88% | |
| Leon Gambetta Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta was a French statesman prominent after the Franco-Prussian War.-Youth and education:He is said to have inherited his vigour and eloquence from his father, a Genovese grocer who had married a Frenchwoman named Massabie. At the age of fifteen, Gambetta lost the sight of his right eye... |
Left Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
0.70% | |
| Paul de Ladmirault Paul de Ladmirault Paul de Ladmirault was a French general active in the French conquest of Algeria and during the wars of the Second French Empire.- Life :... |
Military Military A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g... |
0.14% | |
| Henri d'Orléans Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale -Bibliophile:He was a noted collector of old manuscripts and books. His library remains at Chantilly.-Death:By his will of the June 3, 1884, however, he had bequeathed to the Institute of France his Chantilly estate, including the Château de Chantilly, with all the art-collection he had collected... |
Orleanist Orléanist The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in... |
0.14% | |
| Gaston Alexandre Auguste, Marquis de Galliffet | Military Military A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g... |
0.14% | |
1885 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jules Grévy Jules Grévy François Paul Jules Grévy was a President of the French Third Republic and one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is seen as the first real republican President of... |
Left Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
54.06% | |
| Henri Brisson Henri Brisson Eugène Henri Brisson was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1885-1886 and again in 1898.-Biography:He was born at Bourges , and followed his father’s profession of advocate. Having made his mark in opposition during the last days of the empire, he was appointed... |
Centrist | 8.01% | |
| Charles de Freycinet Charles de Freycinet Charles Louis de Saulces de Freycinet was a French statesman and Prime Minister during the Third Republic; he belonged to the Opportunist Republicans faction. He was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences, and in 1890, the fourteen member to occupy seat the Académie française.-Early years:He... |
Left Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
1.65% | |
| Others | 3.18% | ||
1887 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marie François Sadi Carnot Marie François Sadi Carnot Marie François Sadi Carnot was a French statesman and the fourth president of the Third French Republic. He served as the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894.-Early life:... |
Left Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
72.56% | |
| Félix Gustave Saussier | Military Military A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g... |
24.85% | |
| Others | 2.59% | ||
1894 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Casimir-Perier Jean Casimir-Perier Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Perier was a French politician, fifth president of the French Third Republic.-Biography:He was born in Paris, the son of Auguste Casimir-Perier and the grandson of Casimir Pierre Perier, premier of Louis Philippe... |
Moderate Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
53.00% | |
| Henri Brisson Henri Brisson Eugène Henri Brisson was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1885-1886 and again in 1898.-Biography:He was born at Bourges , and followed his father’s profession of advocate. Having made his mark in opposition during the last days of the empire, he was appointed... |
Radical Political radicalism The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways... |
22.91% | |
| Charles Dupuy Charles Dupuy Charles Alexandre Dupuy was a French statesman, three times prime minister.-Biography:He was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, where his father was a minor official. After a period as a professor of philosophy in the provinces, he was appointed a school inspector, thus obtaining a... |
Right Right-wing politics In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is... |
11.40% | |
| General Fevrier | Military Military A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g... |
6.23% | |
| François Arago François Arago François Jean Dominique Arago , known simply as François Arago , was a French mathematician, physicist, astronomer and politician.-Early life and work:... |
Republican French Second Republic The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité... |
3.17% | |
| Others | 2.59% | ||
1895 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | Round 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Félix Faure Félix Faure Félix François Faure was President of France from 1895 until his death.-Biography:Félix François Faure was born in Paris, the son of a small furniture maker... |
Opportunist Republicans Opportunist Republicans The Opportunist Republicans , also known as the Moderates , were a faction of French Republicans who believed, after the proclamation of the Third Republic in 1870, that the regime could only be consolidated by successive phases... |
30.77% | 62.92% | |
| Henri Brisson Henri Brisson Eugène Henri Brisson was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1885-1886 and again in 1898.-Biography:He was born at Bourges , and followed his father’s profession of advocate. Having made his mark in opposition during the last days of the empire, he was appointed... |
Centrist | 42.62% | 41.70% | |
| Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau | Liberal Liberalism Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,... |
23.20% | ||
| Others | 2.65% | 0.17% | ||
1899 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emile Loubet Émile Loubet Émile François Loubet was a French politician and the 8th President of France.-Early life:He was born the son of a peasant proprietor and mayor of Marsanne . Admitted to the Parisian bar in 1862, he took his doctorate in law the next year... |
Left Left-wing politics In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society... |
58.62% | |
| Jules Meline Jules Méline Félix Jules Méline was a French statesman, prime minister from 1896 to 1898.-Biography:Méline was born at Remiremont. Having taken up law as his profession, he was chosen a deputy in 1872, and in 1879 he was for a short time under-secretary to the minister of the interior... |
Left Left-wing politics In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society... |
33.86% | |
| Jacques Marie Eugène Godefroy Cavaignac Jacques Marie Eugène Godefroy Cavaignac Jacques Marie Eugène Godefroy Cavaignac , known as Godefroy Cavaignac, French politician, was born in Paris. He was the son of Louis Eugène Cavaignac... |
Centrist | 2.79% | |
| Others | 3.28% | ||
1906 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armand Fallières Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières was a French politician, president of the French republic from 1906 to 1913.He was born at Mézin in the département of Lot-et-Garonne, France, where his father was clerk of the peace... |
Left Left-wing politics In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society... |
52.89% | |
| Paul Doumer Paul Doumer Joseph Athanase Paul Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination.-Biography:... |
Radical Party | 43.70% | |
| Others | 3.30% | ||
1913 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Poincaré Raymond Poincaré Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability... |
Republican Democratic Party Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Republican Alliance was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta, such as Raymond Poincaré who would be president of the Council in the 1920s... |
60.38% | |
| Jules Pam | Radical Party | 37.00% | |
| Others | 2.13% | ||
1920 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Deschanel Paul Deschanel Paul Eugène Louis Deschanel was a French statesman. He served as President of France from 18 February 1920 to 21 September 1920.-Biography:... |
Republican Democratic Party Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Republican Alliance was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta, such as Raymond Poincaré who would be president of the Council in the 1920s... |
82.66% | |
| Charles Jonnart Charles Jonnart Charles Célestin Auguste Jonnart was a French politician.Born into a bourgeois family in Fléchin, Pas-de-Calais, Charles Jonnart was educated at Saint-Omer, then in Paris. Interested in the Algeria that he had visited as a young man, he was appointed in 1881 by Léon Gambetta to the office of... |
Republican Democratic Party Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Republican Alliance was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta, such as Raymond Poincaré who would be president of the Council in the 1920s... |
7.21% | |
| Georges Clemenceau Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the... |
Radical Party | 5.97% | |
| Others | 1.51% | ||
1920 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandre Millerand Alexandre Millerand Alexandre Millerand was a French socialist politician. He was President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924 and Prime Minister of France 20 January to 23 September 1920... |
National Republican League | 77.91% | |
| Gustave Delory | Socialist (SFIO) | 7.74% | |
| Others | 2.47% | ||
1924 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaston Doumergue Gaston Doumergue Pierre-Paul-Henri-Gaston Doumergue was a French politician of the Third Republic.Doumergue came from a Protestant family. Beginning as a Radical, he turned more towards the political right in his old age. He served as Prime Minister from 9 December 1913 to 2 June 1914... |
Radical Party | 59.88% | |
| Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé was a French mathematician and politician. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925.-Early life:Painlevé was born in Paris.... |
Republican-Socialist Party | 35.93% | |
| Zéphyrin Camélinat Zéphyrin Camélinat Zéphyrin CamélinatBorn: Mailly-la-Ville, Yonne, 1840.Died: Paris, 1932.Zéphyrin Camélinat was a French politician, writer, communard, socialist and communist.... |
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... |
2.44% | |
| Others | 0.87% | ||
1931 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | Round 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Doumer Paul Doumer Joseph Athanase Paul Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination.-Biography:... |
Radical Party | 49.06% | 56.44% | |
| Pierre Marraud Pierre Marraud Pierre Marraud was a French politician born in Port-Sainte-Marie, Lot-et-Garonne, 8 January 1861, died in Paris 13.*Préfet in 1900, Councillor of State, commissaire du gouvernement at the end of the First World War until becoming prefect of in 1918.*Senator for Lot-et-Garonne from 1920 to... |
Left Left-wing politics In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society... |
37.40% | ||
| Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé was a French mathematician and politician. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925.-Early life:Painlevé was born in Paris.... |
Republican-Socialist Party | 1.46% | ||
| Aristide Briand Aristide Briand Aristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :... |
Socialist (SFIO) | 44.51% | 1.34% | |
| Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin was a French politician.In 1891, Cachin joined Jules Guesde French Workers' Party . In 1905, he joined the new French Section of the Workers' International and won election to the Chamber of Deputies representing the Seine in 1914... |
Communist 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... |
1.11% | 1.23% | |
| Jean Hennessy Jean Hennessy Jean Patrick Hennessy was a French politician.Hennessy was born at Cherves-Richemont in the Charente département, son of Maurice Hennessy and his wife Jeanne, née Foussat. His very wealthy family, of Irish origin, were the proprietors of the Hennessy cognac business, now part of LVMH... |
Republican Federation Republican Federation The Republican Federation was the largest conservative party during the French Third Republic, gathering together the liberal Orleanists rallied to the Republic. Founded in November 1903, it rivalized with the more secular and centrist Alliance démocratique... |
1.66% | ||
| Others | 3.22% | 1.01% | ||
1932 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Lebrun Albert Lebrun Albert François Lebrun was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the center-right Democratic Republican Alliance .-Biography:... |
Democratic Alliance Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Republican Alliance was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta, such as Raymond Poincaré who would be president of the Council in the 1920s... |
76.63% | |
| Paul Faure | SFIO | 13.80% | |
| Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé was a French mathematician and politician. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925.-Early life:Painlevé was born in Paris.... |
Republican-Socialist Party | 1.45% | |
| Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin was a French politician.In 1891, Cachin joined Jules Guesde French Workers' Party . In 1905, he joined the new French Section of the Workers' International and won election to the Chamber of Deputies representing the Seine in 1914... |
Communist 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... |
0.97% | |
| Others | 1.21% | ||
1939 Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Round 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Lebrun Albert Lebrun Albert François Lebrun was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the center-right Democratic Republican Alliance .-Biography:... |
Democratic Alliance Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Republican Alliance was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta, such as Raymond Poincaré who would be president of the Council in the 1920s... |
55.60% | |
| Albert Bedouce | Socialist (SFIO) | 16.59% | |
| Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin was a French politician.In 1891, Cachin joined Jules Guesde French Workers' Party . In 1905, he joined the new French Section of the Workers' International and won election to the Chamber of Deputies representing the Seine in 1914... |
Communist 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... |
8.13% | |
| Édouard Herriot Édouard Herriot Édouard Marie Herriot was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister and for many years as President of the Chamber of Deputies.... |
Radical Party | 5.82% | |
| Justin Godart Justin Godart Justin Godart was a French politician who served as the Minister for Health from June 3, 1932 to December 18, 1932.- Biography :... |
Democratic Left | 5.49% | |
| Fernand Bouisson Fernand Bouisson Fernand Bouisson was a French politician of the Third Republic, who served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1927 to 1936 and briefly as Prime Minister in 1935.-Bouisson's Ministry, 1–7 June 1935:... |
Republican-Socialist Party | 1.76% | |
| François Piétri François Piétri François Piétri was a minister in several governments in the later years of the French Third Republic and was French ambassador to Spain from 1940 to 1944 under the Vichy regime.... |
Republican Federation Republican Federation The Republican Federation was the largest conservative party during the French Third Republic, gathering together the liberal Orleanists rallied to the Republic. Founded in November 1903, it rivalized with the more secular and centrist Alliance démocratique... |
1.76% | |
| Others | 4.84% | ||
See also
Presidential elections in the IV Republic- French presidential election, 1947French presidential election, 1947Indirect presidential elections were held in France on 16 January 1947. All members of the Parliament of France voted to elect the first President of the Fourth Republic....
- French presidential election, 1953French presidential election, 1953Indirect presidential elections were held in France in December, 1953. All members of the Parliament of France voted to elect the second President of the Fourth Republic.The independent René Coty won after thirteen rounds of voting....
Presidential elections in the V Republic
- French presidential election, 1958French presidential election, 1958The French presidential election of 1958, the first of the French Fifth Republic, took place on December 21, 1958. This was the only French presidential election by the electoral college .-First round:To win, a candidate...