Legislative elections in France (French: élections législatives en France), or general elections (French: élections générales) per the Constitution's wording, determine who becomes Members of Parliament, each with the right to sit in the National Assembly, which is the lower house of the French Parliament.^[1]

Legislative elections under the Fifth Republic

Constituencies

The total number of constituencies has varied since 1958 but since the 1986 electoral reform re-establishing the two-round system for legislative elections, the total number of constituencies is 577. The last electoral boundaries readjustment dates back to 2010.

Out of the 577 existing constituencies, there are:

• 539 constituencies in metropolitan France;
• 27 constituencies in the Overseas;
• 11 constituencies for French people living abroad.

Moreover, the French Constitution sets the maximum number of MPs to 577.

Timing

MPs are elected for a five-year-term.

Following the reduction of the presidential term's length from 7 to 5 years after the 2000 referendum, a 2001 organic law has set the expiration of the outgoing National Assembly's powers on the third Tuesday of June of the fifth year following the last general election. The government sets the election dates by decree.

Legislative elections need to be held during the 60-day period preceding the expiration of the outgoing Assembly's powers. Therefore, legislative elections are usually held in June, some weeks after the presidential election. Until the electoral calendar reform of 2001, legislative elections, apart from early elections, were usually held in March.

Besides, per the French Constitution (article 12), the President has the power to dissolve the National Assembly after consulting with the Prime minister and the heads of the lower and upper houses of Parliament. The Constitution does not set limits on that power apart from prohibiting another dissolution from occurring less than a year after the last one. General elections have to be held necessarily from 20 to 40 days after the Assembly has been formally dissolved.

As of 2023, the last snap legislative election dates back to 1997 when President Jacques Chirac dissolved the National Assembly a year early.

Electoral system

Along with the establishment of the Fifth Republic, the two-round system (TRS) was established as the country's voting system for legislative/general elections in 1958.

MPs are elected in single-member constituencies. A candidate who receives an absolute majority of valid votes and a vote total greater than 25% of the registered electorate is elected in the first round. If no candidate reaches this threshold, a runoff election is held between the top two candidates plus any other candidate who received a vote total greater than 12.5% of registered voters. The candidate who receives the most votes in the second round is elected.^[2]

Since then, every legislative election, apart from the 1986 list-PR election, used TRS.

List of general elections in French history

Kingdom of France & First Republic

Bourbon Restoration & July Monarchy

1848 Provisional Government & Second Republic

Second Empire

Third Republic

Provisional Government of the French Republic & Fourth Republic

Fifth Republic