2009 European Parliament election in France

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2009 European Parliament election in France
Flag of France.svg
  2004 7 June 2009 2014  

All 72 French seats in the European Parliament
Turnout40.63
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
UMPNCGM Xavier Bertrand 27.8829+12
PS Martine Aubry 16.4814−17
EELV Daniel Cohn-Bendit 16.2814+8
MoDem François Bayrou 8.466New
FGAOM Marie-George Buffet 6.485+2
FN Jean-Marie Le Pen 6.343−4
Libertas Jérôme Rivière 4.801−2
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
French MEPs elected in 2004 FrEuro04.png
French MEPs elected in 2004

European Parliament elections were held in France on Sunday 7 June 2009 to elect the 72 French Members of the European Parliament.

Contents

Due to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria in the European Union in 2007, the number of seats allocated to France was revised from 78 to 72 seats, a loss of 6 seats. France now represents only 9.8% of all European MEPs compared to 12.5% in 2004 and 19.8% in 1979, following the first European election.

The turnout in European elections in France has almost always declined, with the sole exception of an increase in 1994, falling from 60.7% turnout in the 1979 election to 43.1% in the latest election in 2004.

Candidates for parliamentary parties

Top Candidates by Constituency [1]
Region  
UMP-NC-LGM PS MoDem Europe Ecology Left Front (PCF-PG-GU) FN MPF-CPNT PDF
East Joseph Daul Catherine Trautmann Jean-François Kahn Sandrine Bélier Hélène Franco Bruno Gollnisch Christophe Beaudouin
Île-de-France Michel Barnier Harlem Désir Marielle de Sarnez Daniel Cohn-Bendit Patrick Le Hyaric Jean-Michel Dubois Jérôme Rivière
Massif central-Centre Jean-Pierre Audy Henri Weber Jean-Marie Beaupuy Jean-Paul Besset Marie-France Beaufils Patrick Bourson Véronique Goncalvès Jean Verdon
North-West Dominique Riquet Gilles Pargneaux Corinne Lepage Hélène Flautre Jacky Hénin Marine Le Pen Frédéric Nihous Carl Lang
Overseas Marie-Luce Penchard Ericka Bareigts Harry Durimel Alliance of the Overseas Erika Kuttner-Perreau
South-East Françoise Grossetête Vincent Peillon Jean-Luc Bennahmias Michèle Rivasi Marie-Christine Vergiat Jean-Marie Le Pen Patrick Louis
South-West Dominique Baudis Kader Arif Robert Rochefort José Bové Jean-Luc Mélenchon Louis Aliot Eddie Puyjalon Jean-Claude Martinez
West Christophe Béchu Bernadette Vergnaud Sylvie Goulard Yannick Jadot Jacques Généreux Brigitte Neveux Philippe de Villiers

Opinion polls

Opinion polling for the European Parliament election, 2009 (France).png

Results

Nicolas Sarkozy's governing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) won a pleasing result, the first time the presidential party had won since the first European elections in 1979. Compared to the party's disastrous 2004 result, it gained 12 seats and over 11% in the popular vote. However, many have said that the UMP is the only governing party in France, making its position very weak compared to the combined opposition.

Led since the tumultuous Reims Congress by Martine Aubry, the main opposition party, the Socialists, won a very bad result: only 16.48% and suffering a loss of 17 seats. Prominent Socialist MEPs, including defeated leadership candidate Benoît Hamon, lost their seats. The Socialists lost most votes in middle-class urban areas, while holding their ground better in their rural strongholds.

The Europe Ecology was the surprise of these elections, with a remarkable 16.28% and the same number of MEPs as the Socialist Party. The green coalition's result was the best result ever for any French Green party, beating out the previous record set by Antoine Waechter in the 1989 European elections – 10.59%. The gains made by the Greens also came from the centrist MoDem led by François Bayrou. The MoDem won only 8.45%, a surprisingly low result for the centrist party, thought to be France's third party.

The far-right FN suffered loses, being reduced to only 3 MEPs. The conservative nationalist Libertas coalition formed around Philippe de Villiers's Movement for France, but also including the smaller agrarian Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Tradition, suffered losses compared to the two parties' combined 8% showing in 2004. De Villiers was re-elected, becoming the only Libertas.eu MEP elected in the European Union.

On the left of the PS, the new Left Front formed around the French Communist Party and the smaller Left Party surpassed Olivier Besancenot's New Anticapitalist Party. The Left Front and an ally overseas won 6.47% and 5 seats, while Besancenot's NPA won only 4.88% and no seats (despite polling better on aggregate than Libertas, which did win a seat).

PartyVotes%Seats
Won+/–Post-Lisbon +/–
UMPNCGM 4,799,90827.8829+1230+1
Socialist Party 2,838,16016.4814–17140
Europe Ecology 2,803,75916.2814+815+1
Democratic Movement 1,455,8418.466New60
Left FrontAlliance of the Overseas 1,115,0216.485+250
National Front 1,091,6916.343–430
New Anticapitalist Party 840,8334.880New00
Libertas France (MPFCPNT)826,3574.801–210
Independent Ecological Alliance 625,3753.630000
Debout la République 304,5851.770New00
Lutte Ouvrière 205,9751.200000
Party of France–House of Life and Freedoms87,0530.510New00
Anti-Zionist Party36,3740.210New00
Breton Party 32,8050.190New00
Europe–Democracy–Esperanto 28,9450.170000
Earth Otherwise Nothing28,7680.170000
Liberal Alternative 16,9440.100New00
Resistors14,5210.080New00
National Centre of Independents and Peasants 12,7500.070New00
Solidarity–AMEN8,6560.050New00
For a More Fraternal France and Europe6,5290.040New00
Europe – Degrowth5,8590.030New00
For the Basque Country5,7710.030New00
Basque Nationalist Party 4,2010.020New00
Cannabis Without Borders 4,0150.020New00
Alliance Royale 3,9940.020000
Communists3,2080.020New00
People's Union2,7480.020New00
Newropeans 2,3230.010New00
Citizenship European Culture1,7580.010New00
Rally for the Citizen's Initiative1,4010.010New00
Europe of Gibraltar to Jerusalem1,1970.010New00
Humanist Party 9990.010000
Stop2660.000New00
Program against Precariousness and Sexism240.000New00
Total17,218,614100.0072–674+2
Valid votes17,218,61495.70
Invalid/blank votes773,5474.30
Total votes17,992,161100.00
Registered voters/turnout44,282,82340.63
Source: France Politique

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References

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