France 1973 legislative election
What was the result of the 1973 legislative election in France?
Gaullist Party won 178 of 473 seats with 26.0% of the vote. 81.3% of registered voters cast a ballot.
France- Held:
- Final result
- ParlGov, read 5 October 2026
Which party won the most seats?
Final results from ParlGov, read : Gaullist Party won 178 of 473 seats with 26.0% of the vote; 81.3% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 1.5 points on 1968.
- Gaullist Party 178 −104 seats 26.0% −12.0 points
- French Communist Party 73 +40 seats 21.4% +1.4 points
- Socialist Party 89 +32 seats 19.1% +2.6 points
- Reformist Movement 30 13.3%
- Independent Republicans / Liberal Democracy 54 −10 seats 7.2% −1.2 points
- Centre Democracy and Progress 21 3.8%
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants 15 +7 seats 3.4% +1.5 points
- Unified Socialist Party 2 +2 seats 2.0% −1.9 points
- Radical Party of the Left 11 1.7%
- Seats won
- Change on the previous election at the right
- Share of the vote
- Share at the previous election
- Change in points at the right
Changes are against the France 1968 legislative election, party by party.
- Gaullist Party178
- Socialist Party89
- French Communist Party73
- Independent Republicans / Liberal Democracy54
- Reformist Movement30
- Centre Democracy and Progress21
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants15
- Radical Party of the Left11
- Unified Socialist Party2
Key numbers
26.0%
Share of the vote won by Gaullist Party
Gaullist Party won 178 of 473 seats. A majority needs 237.
+40 seats
Seats gained by French Communist Party
The largest gain in seats compared with 1968. Gaullist Party lost 104 seats.
81.3%
Voter turnout
Up 1.5 points on 1968.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaullist Party | 178 | −104 | 26.0 | −12.0 | 6,167,417 |
| French Communist Party | 73 | +40 | 21.4 | +1.4 | 5,085,356 |
| Socialist Party | 89 | +32 | 19.1 | +2.6 | 4,537,348 |
| Reformist Movement | 30 | 13.3 | 3,149,118 | ||
| Independent Republicans / Liberal Democracy | 54 | −10 | 7.2 | −1.2 | 1,700,806 |
| Centre Democracy and Progress | 21 | 3.8 | 914,397 | ||
| National Centre of Independents and Peasants | 15 | +7 | 3.4 | +1.5 | 810,076 |
| Unified Socialist Party | 2 | +2 | 2.0 | −1.9 | 463,537 |
| Radical Party of the Left | 11 | 1.7 | 408,734 | ||
| Lutte Ouvrière | 0 | 0.8 | 194,685 |
± is the change against the France 1968 legislative election, party by party.
Votes by party
- Gaullist Party 6,167,417
- French Communist Party 5,085,356
- Socialist Party 4,537,348
- Reformist Movement 3,149,118
- Independent Republicans / Liberal Democracy 1,700,806
- Centre Democracy and Progress 914,397
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants 810,076
- Unified Socialist Party 463,537
- Radical Party of the Left 408,734
- Lutte Ouvrière 194,685
ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.
For France ParlGov gives the first round's votes and the seats after the second round.
How many people voted?
81.3% of the 29,883,738 registered voters cast a ballot (24,299,210 ballots), up 1.5 points on 1968. 23,752,321 of them were valid votes. The highest turnout since 1956 in our data.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- Gaullist Party26.0% of votes37.6% of seats
- Socialist Party19.1% of votes18.8% of seats
- French Communist Party21.4% of votes15.4% of seats
- Independent Republicans / Liberal Democracy7.2% of votes11.4% of seats
- Reformist Movement13.3% of votes6.3% of seats
- Centre Democracy and Progress3.8% of votes4.4% of seats
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants3.4% of votes3.2% of seats
- Radical Party of the Left1.7% of votes2.3% of seats
- Unified Socialist Party2.0% of votes0.4% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 11.0 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 5.7 by votes and 4.5 by seats; Gaullist Party led French Communist Party by 4.6 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of