The President of the French Republic was elected on an indirect basis during the Third Republic and Fourth Republic, as well as at the start of the Fifth Republic.
During the Third Republic and Fourth Republic, the officeholder was elected by a combined vote of the Chamber of Deputies (National Assembly in Fourth Republic) and the Senate (Council in Fourth Republic). At the start of the Fifth Republic in 1958, the first presidential election was held using an electoral college consisting of members of the French Parliament, general councils, as well as overseas assemblies, mayors, deputy mayors and city council members. Since then, the presidency has been directly elected with two round system.
Third Republic
1873 election
The 1873 election took place on 24 May following the resignation of incumbent President Adolphe Thiers. At the time of the vote, the Legitimists and Orleanists monarchists held a large majority in Parliament over the Republicans and Bonapartists as a result of the 1871 legislative elections.
1879 election
1885 election
1887 election
1894 election
1895 election
1899 election
1906 election
1913 election
January 1920 election
September 1920 election
1924 election
1931 election
1932 election
1939 election
Fourth Republic
1947 election
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Vincent Auriol | SFIO | 452 | 51.19% |
| | Auguste Champetier de Ribes | MRP | 242 | 27.41% |
| | Jules Gasser | Radical | 122 | 13.82% |
| | Michel Clemenceau | PRL | 60 | 6.80% |
1953 election
The elections in December 1953 required thirteen rounds of voting before a candidate reached a majority of the vote. The election was eventually won by René Coty of the National Centre of Independents and Peasants (CNIP), who had only entered in the eleventh round.
| Candidate | Party | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth | Eleventh | Twelfth | Thirteenth |
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Marcel-Edmond Naegelen | SFIO | 160 | 17.24 | 299 | 32.57 | 313 | 33.95 | 344 | 37.47 | 312 | 33.88 | 306 | 33.81 | 303 | 33.33 | 381 | 41.91 | 365 | 40.15 | 358 | 41.29 | 372 | 42.27 | 333 | 37.76 | 329 | 37.77 |
| Joseph Laniel | CNIP | 155 | 16.70 | 276 | 30.07 | 358 | 38.83 | 408 | 44.44 | 374 | 40.61 | 397 | 43.87 | 407 | 44.47 | 430 | 47.30 | 413 | 45.43 | 392 | 45.21 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Georges Bidault | MRP | 131 | 14.12 | 143 | 15.58 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Yvon Delbos | Radical | 129 | 13.90 | 180 | 19.60 | 225 | 24.40 | 42 | 4.58 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Paul-Jacques Kalb | RPF | 114 | 12.28 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Marcel Cachin | PCF | 113 | 12.18 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jacques Fourcade | CNIP | 62 | 6.68 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jean Medecin | RI | 54 | 5.52 | – | – | – | – | 45 | 4.90 | 197 | 22.31 | 171 | 18.90 | 156 | 17.16 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| André Cornu | Radical | – | – | – | – | – | – | 35 | 3.81 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Antoine Pinay | CNIP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 25 | 2.75 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Louis Jacquinot | CNIP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 1.54 | – | – | – | – | 338 | 38.4 | 26 | 2.95 | 21 | 2.41 |
| Pierre Montel | CNIP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 103 | 11.33 | 84 | 9.69 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| René Coty | CNIP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 71 | 8.07 | 431 | 48.87 | 477 | 54.76 |
| Others | 10 | 1.08 | 20 | 2.18 | 26 | 2.82 | 44 | 4.79 | 38 | 4.13 | 31 | 3.43 | 43 | 4.73 | 53 | 5.83 | 28 | 3.08 | 33 | 3.81 | 99 | 11.25 | 92 | 10.43 | 44 | 5.05 |
Fifth Republic
1958 election
The 1958 election was the first of the French Fifth Republic and took place on 21 December. It was the only French presidential election by the electoral college (gathering the members of the French Parliament, the Conseils Généraux, the overseas assemblies, and tens of thousands of mayors, deputy mayors and city council members). To win, a candidate was required to receive 50% of the vote. This system was used only for this election, and was changed in the 1962 referendum in time for the 1965 presidential election.
Summary of the 21 December 1958 French presidential election result | Candidates | Parties | 1st round |
| Votes | % |
| | Charles de Gaulle | Union for the New Republic | UNR | 62,394 | 78.51% |
| | Georges Marrane | French Communist Party | PCF | 10,355 | 12.99% |
| | Albert Châtelet | Union of the Democratic Forces | UFD | 6,721 | 8.43% |
| |
| Total | 79,470 | 100% |
| |
| Valid votes | 79,470 | 97.76% |
| Spoilt and null votes | 1,820 | 2.24% |
| Turnout | 81,290 | 99.42% |
| Abstentions | 474 | 0.58% |
| Registered voters | 81,764 | |
| |
| Table of results ordered by number of votes received in first round. Official results by Constitutional Council of France. Source: List of candidates · First round result |
References