Socialist Party (France) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Socialist Party Parti socialiste
Abbreviation	PS
First Secretary	Olivier Faure
President in the National Assembly	Boris Vallaud
President in the Senate	Patrick Kanner
Founders	François Mitterrand Alain Savary
Founded	4 May 1969; 56 years ago (1969-05-04)
Merger of	See list SFIO CIR UCRG UGCS
Headquarters	99 rue Molière, 94200 Ivry-sur-Seine
Newspaper	Le Populaire (1969–1970)
Youth wing	Young Socialist Movement
LGBT wing	Homosexualités et Socialisme
Membership (2023)	45,000
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	New Popular Front (2024–present) New Ecological and Social People's Union (2022–2024)
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance Socialist International
European Parliament group	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Colours	Pink
Anthem	"Changer la vie" (1977–2010) "Changing Life" "Il faut tourner la page" (2010–) "We must turn the page"
National Assembly	32 / 577
Senate	66 / 348
European Parliament	3 / 79
Presidency of Regional Councils	5 / 17
Presidency of Departmental Councils	22 / 95
Political parties

The Socialist Party (in French: Parti socialiste, or PS) is a major political group in France. It is known for its centre-left and social-democratic ideas. This means they believe in a fair society where the government helps people and makes sure everyone has opportunities. The party also supports working closely with other countries in Europe.

For many years, the PS was the biggest party on the "French Left". It was one of the two main political parties in France, often competing with the Union for a Popular Movement. The Socialist Party was formed in 1969, taking over from an older party called the French Section of the Workers' International. Today, its leader is Olivier Faure. The PS is part of bigger groups like the Party of European Socialists and the Progressive Alliance.

The Socialist Party first came to power in 1981. Their candidate, François Mitterrand, was elected president of France. With Mitterrand as president, the party also won a majority of seats in the French Parliament from 1981 to 1986, and again from 1988 to 1993.

Later, in 1995, another PS leader, Lionel Jospin, tried to become president but lost. However, he became prime minister in 1997. He held this job until 2002, when he lost the presidential election again.

In 2012, François Hollande, who used to be the party's leader, was elected president. The party also won a majority in the Parliament that year. During his time as president, Hollande faced challenges like high unemployment and terrorist attacks. In 2016, he decided not to run for re-election.

In the 2017 presidential election, the Socialist Party's candidate, Benoît Hamon, finished fifth. The party then lost many of its seats in the Parliament. However, the PS has had important members who worked on the international stage. These include Jacques Delors, who led the European Commission, and Pascal Lamy, who led the World Trade Organization.

The number of members in the Socialist Party has changed over the years. It went down for a while but has recently started to increase again, reaching about 45,000 members in 2023.

How the Socialist Party Started

Early Socialist Groups in France

After a big event called the Paris Commune in 1871, socialist groups in France became much weaker. Many of their leaders were killed or sent away. The first socialist party in France, the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (FTSF), was created in 1879. This group believed in making changes slowly.

Over time, other groups broke away from the FTSF. For example, the French Workers' Party (POF) was formed in 1882. In 1905, many of these different socialist groups came together to form one big party called the French Section of the Workers International (SFIO). A very important leader of this new party was Jean Jaurès.

The SFIO faced challenges from other political groups. In 1920, a large part of the party left to form the French Communist Party. The remaining members, led by Léon Blum, continued as the SFIO.

The Popular Front and After

In 1934, the SFIO joined with other left-wing parties to create the Popular Front. This group won the 1936 elections, and Léon Blum became France's first SFIO Prime Minister. This was a big moment for the party. However, his government faced economic problems and disagreements, and it eventually collapsed.

After World War II, the SFIO worked with the powerful French Communist Party and other groups to rebuild France. They helped create the French welfare state, which provides social support for citizens. But as the Cold War began, this alliance broke apart.

The SFIO's popularity declined in the 1960s. In 1965, they supported François Mitterrand, a politician who was against the current president, Charles de Gaulle. Mitterrand did well in the election and became a key leader for the non-Communist left.

Forming the Modern Socialist Party

In 1969, the SFIO was replaced by the new Socialist Party (PS). Different left-wing groups joined together to form this new party. Alain Savary was chosen as the first leader.

Two years later, in 1971, François Mitterrand joined the party. He quickly became its leader, promising to work with the Communists to win elections. In 1972, the PS signed a "Common Programme" with the Communist Party. This alliance helped the Socialist Party gain more votes in the 1973 election. Mitterrand almost won the presidential election in 1974.

By the late 1970s, the Socialist Party became the main left-wing party in France. In 1981, Mitterrand was chosen as the PS candidate for president.

Socialist Party in Power

Mitterrand's Presidency (1981–1995)

In 1981, François Mitterrand won the presidential election, becoming the first socialist president of France's Fifth Republic. The Socialist Party also won a large majority of seats in the Parliament.

Mitterrand's government tried to make big changes. They took control of banks and some industries. They also increased workers' wages and reduced working hours. Other important changes included ending the death penalty and giving more power to local governments.

However, economic problems continued. In 1984, Mitterrand decided to focus more on the economy and less on big socialist changes. The alliance with the Communists ended.

In 1986, the PS lost its majority in Parliament. This meant Mitterrand had to work with a conservative government. But he was re-elected president in 1988 with a more moderate plan. He focused on foreign policy and European cooperation.

During his second term, the party faced challenges, including financial scandals. In the 1993 election, the PS lost many seats in Parliament.

Jospin and the Plural Left (1995–2002)

After the 1993 defeat, Lionel Jospin became the leader of the Socialist Party. The PS formed a new group called the "Plural Left" with other left-wing parties, including the Communists and the Greens. This group won the 1997 election, and Jospin became Prime Minister.

His government introduced new laws, like reducing the work week to 35 hours and creating universal health insurance. However, they also continued to sell off some state-owned businesses.

In the 2002 presidential election, Jospin was surprisingly eliminated in the first round. The Socialist Party then asked its supporters to vote for the other candidate to stop a far-right candidate from winning. The "Plural Left" also lost the parliamentary election that year.

Recent Years

After the 2002 Election

After the 2002 election, François Hollande became the leader of the Socialist Party. In the 2004 regional elections, the Socialists made a big comeback, winning control of many regions in France.

In 2004, most Socialist Party members voted to approve a new European Constitution. However, some important members disagreed and asked the public to vote "no" in the 2005 referendum, which led to the Constitution being rejected. This disagreement caused some problems within the party.

2007 Presidential Election

For the 2007 French presidential election, many people wanted to be the Socialist candidate. In November 2006, the party members chose Ségolène Royal as their candidate. She got 25.87% of the votes in the first round but lost to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round.

In the 2007 parliamentary elections, the Socialist Party gained more seats, becoming stronger in the Parliament.

2012 Presidential Election

In 2011, the Socialist Party held an open primary election to choose their candidate for the 2012 French presidential election. François Hollande, a former party leader, won the primary. He then went on to win the presidential election on May 6, 2012, defeating the current president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

2017 Presidential Election and Beyond

In 2017, the Socialist Party held another primary. The party's candidate, Benoît Hamon, won the primary but finished fifth in the presidential election with only 6.36% of the vote. This was a very low result for the party.

After this, the Socialist Party lost many of its seats in the Parliament, going from 280 to just 30. This made them the fourth-largest group in the Parliament. In 2018, Olivier Faure was elected as the new leader of the party. Due to financial issues, the party had to sell its historic headquarters in Paris and move to a smaller building.

For the 2019 European election, the Socialist Party joined with other groups and elected three members to the European Parliament.

In the 2022 French presidential election, the Socialist candidate, Anne Hidalgo, received the lowest percentage of votes in the party's history, with 1.75%.

For the 2022 French legislative election, the party joined a big left-wing alliance called the New Ecologic and Social People's Union (NUPES). Through this alliance, the Socialist Party won 27 seats in the Parliament.

Leaders of the Socialist Party

The leader of the Socialist Party is called the First Secretary. Here are some of the people who have held this important role:

• Alain Savary (1969–1971)
• François Mitterrand (1971–1981)
• Lionel Jospin (1981–1988)
• Pierre Mauroy (1988–1992)
• Laurent Fabius (1992–1993)
• Michel Rocard (1993–1994)
• Henri Emmanuelli (1994–1995)
• Lionel Jospin (1995–1997)
• François Hollande (1997–2008)
• Martine Aubry (2008–2012)
• Harlem Désir (2011–2014)
• Jean-Christophe Cambadélis (2014–2017)
• Rachid Temal (2017–2018; temporary)
• Olivier Faure (2018–present)

Election Results

The Socialist Party takes part in different elections in France and Europe. Here's a look at how they've done in some of the main ones:

Presidential Elections

The Socialist Party has had candidates run for President of France.

Presidency of the French Republic

Election year	Candidate	First round			Second round			Result
		Votes	%	Rank	Votes	%	Rank
1974	François Mitterrand	11,044,373	43.25	1st	12,971,604	49.19	2nd	Lost
1981		7,505,960	25.85	2nd	15,708,262	51.76	1st	Won
1988		10,367,220	34.10	1st	16,704,279	54.02	1st	Won
1995	Lionel Jospin	7,097,786	23.30	1st	14,180,644	47.36	2nd	Lost
2002		4,610,113	16.18	3rd	N/A			Lost
2007	Ségolène Royal	9,500,112	25.87	2nd	16,790,440	46,94	2nd	Lost
2012	François Hollande	10,272,705	28.63	1st	18,000,668	51.64	1st	Won
2017	Benoît Hamon	2,291,288	6,36	5th	N/A			Lost
2022	Anne Hidalgo	616,478	1.75	10th	N/A			Lost

National Assembly Elections

The National Assembly is the main law-making body in France.

National Assembly
Year	1st round				2nd round				Seats	+/–	Result	Note
	Votes	%	± pp	Rank	Votes	%	± pp	Rank
1973	4,559,241	19.18%	2.65	3rd	5,564,610	23.72%	2.47	2nd	89 / 491	32	Opposition	In coalition with the MRG
1978	6,451,151	22.58%	3.40	2nd	7,212,916	28.31%	4.59	1st	104 / 491	15	Opposition
1981	9,432,362	37.52%	14.94	1st	9,198,332	49.25%	20.94	1st	269 / 491	165	Government	In coalition with the MRG
1986	8,693,939	31.02%	6.50	1st	N/A				206 / 573	63	Opposition
1988	8,493,702	34.77%	3.75	1st	9,198,778	45.31%	3.94	1st	260 / 577	54	Government
1993	4,415,495	17.61%	17.16	3rd	6,143,179	31.01%	14.30	1st	59 / 577	201	Opposition
1997	5,977,045	23.49%	5.88	1st	9,722,022	38.20%	7.19	1st	255 / 577	196	Government
2002	6,086,599	24.11%	0.62	2nd	7,482,169	35.26%	2.94	2nd	140 / 577	115	Opposition
2007	6,436,520	24.73%	0.62	2nd	8,624,861	42.27%	7.01	2nd	186 / 577	46	Opposition
2012	7,618,326	29.35%	4.62	1st	9,420,889	40.91%	1.36	1st	279 / 577	93	Government
2017	1,685,677	7.44%	21.91	5th	1,032,842	5.68%	35.23	4th	30 / 577	249	Opposition
2022	860,201	3.78%	3.66	7th	1,084,909	5.23%	0.45	6th	28 / 577	2	Opposition	In coalition with the NUPES

European Parliament Elections

These elections decide who represents France in the European Parliament.

European Parliament
Year	Votes	%	± pp	Rank	Seats	+/–	Note
1979	4,763,026	23.53%	N/A	2nd	20 / 81	N/A	In coalition with the MRG
1984	4,188,875	20.76%	2.77	2nd	20 / 81
1989	4,286,354	23.61%	2.85	2nd	17 / 87	3	In coalition with the MRG
1994	2,824,173	14.49%	9.12	2nd	15 / 87	2
1999	3,873,901	21.95%	7.46	1st	18 / 78	3	In coalition with the PRG and the MDC
2004	4,960,756	28.90%	6.95	1st	31 / 74	13
2009	2,838,160	16.48%	12.42	2nd	14 / 74	17
2014	2,649,202	13.98%	2.50	3rd	12 / 74	2	In coalition with the PRG
2019	1,403,170	6.19%	7.79	6th	3 / 79	9	In coalition with the PP–PRG–ND
2024	3,401,076	13.80%	7.61	3rd	13 / 81	10	In coalition with the PP

Images for kids

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  Logo of the PS

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  From left to right: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Bertrand Delanoë and Ségolène Royal at a meeting in 2007.

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  The former headquarters of the Socialist Party in Paris, sold in 2017.