French presidential election, 1958

French presidential election, 1958

1848 ← 21 December 1958 → 1965

Candidate Charles de Gaulle Georges Marrane Party UNR Communist Party Electoral vote 62,394 10,355 Percentage 78.51% 13.03%

President before election René Coty Elected President Charles de Gaulle UNR

The French presidential election of 1958, the first of the French Fifth Republic, took place on December 21, 1958. This 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 needed to have 50% of the votes cast in his favour. This system was used only for this election, and was changed in the 1962 referendum in time for the 1965 presidential election.

First round

There were 81,761 registered electors eligible to vote in 1958. Charles de Gaulle won a commanding victory with 62,394, representing 77% of the vote. Complete totals were:

Candidate		Party	Votes	Percent
	Charles de Gaulle	Union for the New Republic (UNR)	62,394	77%
	Georges Marrane	French Communist Party (PCF)	10,354	13%
	Albert Châtelet	Union of the Democratic Forces (UFD)	6,722	9%
Total			79,470	100%