France 1981 legislative election
What was the result of the 1981 legislative election in France?
Socialist Party won 268 of 474 seats with 36.0% of the vote. 70.9% 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 : Socialist Party won 268 of 474 seats with 36.0% of the vote; 70.9% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 12.4 points on 1978.
- Socialist Party 268 +166 seats 36.0% +13.2 points
- Rally for the Republic 80 −62 seats 20.7% −1.8 points
- French Communist Party 43 −43 seats 16.1% −4.5 points
- Radical Party 0 0 seats 10.6% +8.7 points
- Centre of Social Democrats 0 0 seats 5.3% +0.1 points
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants 10 0 seats 2.6% −0.2 points
- Union for French Democracy / Democratic Movement 59 −65 seats 2.2%
- Radical Party of the Left 14 +14 seats 1.1% −1.1 points
- 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 1978 legislative election, party by party.
- Socialist Party268
- Rally for the Republic80
- Union for French Democracy / Democratic Movement59
- French Communist Party43
- Radical Party of the Left14
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants10
Key numbers
36.0%
Share of the vote won by Socialist Party
Socialist Party won 268 of 474 seats. A majority needs 238.
+166 seats
Seats gained by Socialist Party
The largest gain in seats compared with 1978. Union for French Democracy / Democratic Movement lost 65 seats.
70.9%
Voter turnout
Down 12.4 points on 1978.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist Party | 268 | +166 | 36.0 | +13.2 | 8,947,811 |
| Rally for the Republic | 80 | −62 | 20.7 | −1.8 | 5,141,101 |
| French Communist Party | 43 | −43 | 16.1 | −4.5 | 4,003,025 |
| Radical Party | 0 | 0 | 10.6 | +8.7 | 2,637,981 |
| Centre of Social Democrats | 0 | 0 | 5.3 | +0.1 | 1,319,213 |
| National Centre of Independents and Peasants | 10 | 0 | 2.6 | −0.2 | 643,826 |
| Union for French Democracy / Democratic Movement | 59 | −65 | 2.2 | 547,616 | |
| Radical Party of the Left | 14 | +14 | 1.1 | −1.1 | 269,343 |
| The Greens | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | −0.9 | 265,647 |
± is the change against the France 1978 legislative election, party by party.
Votes by party
- Socialist Party 8,947,811
- Rally for the Republic 5,141,101
- French Communist Party 4,003,025
- Radical Party 2,637,981
- Centre of Social Democrats 1,319,213
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants 643,826
- Union for French Democracy / Democratic Movement 547,616
- Radical Party of the Left 269,343
- The Greens 265,647
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?
70.9% of the 35,536,041 registered voters cast a ballot (25,182,031 ballots), down 12.4 points on 1978. 24,822,945 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout since 1962 in our data.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- Socialist Party36.0% of votes56.5% of seats
- Rally for the Republic20.7% of votes16.9% of seats
- Union for French Democracy / Democratic Movement2.2% of votes12.4% of seats
- French Communist Party16.1% of votes9.1% of seats
- Radical Party of the Left1.1% of votes3.0% of seats
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants2.6% of votes2.1% of seats
- Radical Party10.6% of votes0.0% of seats
- Centre of Social Democrats5.3% of votes0.0% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 19.2 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 4.7 by votes and 2.7 by seats; Socialist Party led Rally for the Republic by 15.3 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of