1898 French legislative election

← 1893 8 and 22 May 1898 1902 →
All 585 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 293 seats needed for a majority
Registered	10,779,123
Turnout	75.2%
First party Second party   Leader Jules Méline Henri Brisson Party Progressives Independent Radicals Seats won 254 104 Popular vote 3,262,725 1,293,507   Third party Fourth party   Leader Jean Jaurès (lost election) Adrien Albert Marie de Mun Party Socialists Monarchists Seats won 57 44 Popular vote 729,140 887,759
Prime Minister before election Jules Méline Democratic Union Elected Prime Minister Henri Brisson Radical Left

Legislative elections were held in France on 8 and 22 May 1898. The government of Jules Méline, who had been prime minister since April 1896, had relied on the support of Conservatives, contrary to the convention of republican concentration, according to which no government should rely on the support of monarchists and Bonapartists in the Chamber of Deputies if it could not rely on a republican majority.

The elections were dominated by the Dreyfus affair, and saw several notable supporters of Dreyfus (Joseph Reinach, Jean Jaurès, Jules Guesde) lose their seats. Twenty-two professed anti-Semites were also elected (six of whom were elected after campaigning under the "anti-juif" or "anti-Jew" label),^[1] including Édouard Drumont.^[2]

Whilst the incumbent governing alliance led by Méline won more seats than any other faction, this victory was short-lived. Due to a combination of factors, such as the ongoing Dreyfus Affair, deputies within Méline's faction relying on support from Radical voters to secure their seats, and the overall strengthening of extremists across the political landscape, Méline could not rely on his own faction to support him. When the Chamber of Deputies reconvened on 22 June 1898, these fears were realized, after sufficient Monarchist and Progressist members of Méline's faction broke ranks and voted to support the Radicals instead.^[3]

Ultimately, the election saw the defeat of Méline and his supporters: the Radical victory in the Chamber of Deputies allowed Henri Brisson to form a republican government.^[2]

Results