Regional elections in were held in France on 21 and 28 March 2004. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 26
regions which, although they do not have legislative powers, manage sizeable budgets. The results were a triumph for the parties of the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
, led by the
French Socialist Party
The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views.
The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...
(PS) in alliance with minor parties including the
French Communist Party (PCF), the
Left Radical Party (PRG) and
The Greens (''Les Verts''). The left has usually fared moderately well in regional elections, but this was their best result since the regional system was introduced.
The left won control of twenty of the twenty-two regions of
metropolitan France, defeating the parties of the mainstream right, the
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and the
Union for French Democracy (UDF), and the extreme right
National Front (FN). The results were seen as a major setback for the then President
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
and Prime Minister
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005.
He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...
.
National results
Results by region
The first round was held on 21 March. Since no candidate gained a majority in any region, a second round was held on 28 March, in which only candidates who polled more than 10% in the first round were eligible to run (except in Corsica, where the threshold is 5%). The UMP seat numbers are compared to those of the RPR and RPR dissidents together in 1998, the UDF seat numbers are compared to those of the UDF and UDF dissidents together in 1998.
Alsace
''See
Alsace Regional Council
The Regional Council of Alsace (, ) was the regional council of the French region of Alsace from 1982 to 2015. As a result of reforms, the administrative region of Alsace merged with two other regions to form Grand Est, effective 1 January 20 ...
''
Regional Council
Conservative
Alsace is one of only two regions retained by the right.
Aquitaine
Regional Council
Aquitaine is a traditional stronghold of the left.
Auvergne
Regional Council
The former President of France,
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, was seeking a fourth term as President of
Auvergne.
Brittany
Regional Council
Normally conservative
Brittany is captured by the left.
Burgundy
Regional Council
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
returned to its usual left-wing loyalty. It is suspected that the incumbent
Jean-Pierre Soisson
Jean-Pierre Soisson (born 9 November 1934) is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement. He was a deputy in the National Assembly of France for the first district of Yonne for several terms between 1968 and 2012; mayor of Auxerre ...
was punished for his coalition with the
National Front.
Centre
Regional Council
The left retains control of this region. Sapin replaces the retiring incumbent
Alain Rafesthain Alain may refer to:
People
* Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Alain (surname)
* "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein
* Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...
.
Champagne-Ardenne
Regional Council
The left captures usually conservative
Champagne-Ardenne.
Corsica
Regional Council
Conservative
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
is the right's only success apart from
Alsace.
Franche-Comté
Regional Council
The left retakes
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
.
Île-de-France
Regional Council
The left retains control of
Île-de-France, the region surrounding Paris and gets a comfortable majority. Huchon previously could not rely on a majority.
Languedoc-Roussillon
Regional Council
The left re-establishes its usual dominance of
Languedoc-Roussillon.
Limousin
Regional Council
The left retains control of
Limousin, with Denanot succeeding the retiring incumbent
Robert Savy
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
.
Lorraine
Regional Council
The left captures
Lorraine.
Midi-Pyrénées
Regional Council
The left retains its traditional dominance of
Midi-Pyrénées.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Regional Council
Nord-Pas-de-Calais is also a stronghold of the left.
Lower Normandy
Regional Council
The left had never before won control of
Lower Normandy.
Upper Normandy
Regional Council
The left retained its traditional hold on
Upper Normandy.
Pays de la Loire
Regional Council
The right loses the normally conservative
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" ().
...
region. Fillon was the candidate of the right in succession to the retiring
Jean-Luc Harousseau
Jean-Luc may refer to:
In politics:
* Jean-Luc Bennahmias (born 1954), a French politician and Member of the European Parliament
* Jean-Luc Dehaene (1940–2014), a Flemish politician
* Jean-Luc Laurent (born 1957), a French politician
* Jean-Luc ...
.
Picardy
Regional Council
The left captured the
Picardy region, following the retirement of the incumbent,
Charles Baur.
Poitou-Charentes
Regional Council
Poitou-Charentes, a region where right and left are traditionally equal, falls to the left. It is the home region of Prime Minister
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005.
He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...
.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Regional Council
The left retains control of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who intended to run in this region, was disqualified because he did not fulfill the legal conditions: he neither lived there, nor was registered as a taxpayer there.
Rhône-Alpes
Regional Council
The left captures the usually conservative
Rhône-Alpes region.
See also
*
Conseil régional
A regional council (french: conseil régional) is the elected assembly of a region of France.
History
Regional councils were created by law on 5 July 1972. Originally they were simply consultative bodies consisting of the region's parliamentary ...
External links
Election-Politique Regional Elections since 1986 (in french)
{{French local elections
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
French Regional Elections