1998 French regional elections

1998 French regional elections
← 1992 15 March 1998 2004 →
26 Regional Presidencies
  First party Second party Third party
 
Philippe Seguin 2005 (cropped).jpg
François Hollande - 2017 (27869823159) (cropped 2).jpg
Jean-marie le pen cropped.jpg
Leader Philippe Seguin François Hollande Jean-Marie Le Pen
Party RPR PS FN
Regions 15 10 0
Change Decrease6 Increase6 Steady
Votes 7,804,931 8,005,830 3,271,525
Percentage 35.63% 36.55% 14.94%
Presidents elected by region
  •   Rally for the Republic
  •   Union for French Democracy
  •   Socialist Party
  •   Martinican Independence Movement
  •   Communist Party of Réunion
  •   Miscellaneous left

Regional elections were held in France on 15 March 1998. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 26 regions, which, though they don't have legislative autonomy, manage sizeable budgets.

The parliamentary right, led by the conservative Gaullist Rally for the Republic and the centre-right Union for French Democracy won the presidency of 15 of the 26 regions, the rest were won by the French Socialist Party and its allies (Communists, Greens, Radicals). The far-right National Front obtained good results, increasing its number of seats. The far-left and Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Tradition also won seats on various regional councils.

These election were the last ones conducted using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of five percent of valid votes being applied regionally,[1] later replaced by a two-round mixed-member majoritarian system for the 2004 elections.[2]

  1. ^ "Chapitre II : Mode de scrutin (Article L338) - Légifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Chapitre II : Mode de scrutin (Articles L338 à L338-1) - Légifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 30 August 2023.