If everything had followed its course as has been the case for several decades, the next legislative elections should have been held in 2027. We, in fact, went to vote for our deputies on June 12 and 19, 2022 – from least 47.5% of those registered only. But after barely two years in office in the main chamber of Parliament, and following the results of the European elections, the presidential majority has decided to reshuffle the cards. A dangerous game which could well see the French political landscape violently turned upside down. Beyond the potential consequences, it remains interesting to delve into how this election works to, hopefully, help you mobilize those in your respective entourage who may not yet be tempted to make their voice heard.
A little jargon to start, it is a two-round first-past-the-post ballot. Yes, it’s quite barbaric, but in truth there’s nothing very scholarly about it. The National Assembly accommodates a maximum of 577 deputies, one per constituency, the aim being to best and most closely represent all of the national territories. Each zone therefore sees several candidates competing for the nomination. The first round allows the leading personalities to be identified, but can also see a candidate be directly elected if the latter reaches an absolute majority (i.e. more than 50% of the votes cast). If no one is elected in the first round, then the second is held where only those having reached a score of 12.5% of the vote can participate. And this time, it is the one obtaining the relative majority who wins the race and their seat in the Hemicycle. We speak of relative majority to avoid having to organize more ballots, a candidate can therefore be elected deputy even with an extremely low score, which happens when abstention is high.
The deputies cannot then be senators or European deputies, to avoid the accumulation of mandates. Likewise, a deputy cannot be mayor, nor president of a departmental or regional council, much less a minister. When such a scenario occurs, since 2017 at least, the candidate is replaced in his previous position by his deputy. The objective for political groups is to obtain an absolute majority in Parliament (i.e. more than 50% of seats) to ratify their future laws without too many obstacles, but in fact, the groupings are more disparate and force the various actors of the National Assembly to play alliances to promote their projects against the various oppositions. To conclude, as you will have understood, it is the difference between absolute majority and relative majority that matters since only one deputy must be elected per constituency. With this system, each vote has its importance since the results sometimes depend on a few ballots.
See you at the polls on Sunday!
