1872 French general election (FCF)

The 1872 French general election was held on April 28, 1872 to elect the first National Assembly of the newly reorganized French Republic after the creation of the Federation of French Communes. In the wake of the foundation of the Federation, the previous National Assembly dissolved itself, allowing for new elections to the reformed body. This was the first election where the rift between federalism and centralism became an important issue.

The election resulted in a victory for federalist and republican politicians, which was problematic as parties that were similar on one issue were not on the other. The big winners were the Federalists, a loose coalition of rural conservative politicians that wanted more decentralization, allying with both the monarchists and the Radicals and Socialists from one decision to another.