August 1871 French general election (FCF)

General elections were held in France in August 1871 following the Communard Revolution in the spring of the same year that deposed Adolphe Thiers' moderate government and began a rapid decentralization of the country as new self-governing and often leftist communes sprung up throughout France. In these elections the French people elected their National Assembly, departmental and municipal councils, completely renewing the political leadership of their country.

Held in the midst of a process of rapid breakdown of central authority as rural communities began forming their own communes after the surge in urban communes in the spring and summer, the election was marked by the exile or imprisonment of many monarchists and conservative republicans. As a result of the breakdown of central authority and limited political options, the election was also marked by a historically low turnout.

Context
The six months since the previous election in February were extremely tumultuous. In March, numerous cities rose up against Adolphe Thiers' conservative and pro-peace government. Composed of socialists, anarchists, and radical republicans, these communards managed to gain control over many cities by forming self-governing communes. In April, a short civil war broke out and the monarchists and conservatives were defeated, imprisoned, or fled into exile. As a result, Adolphe Thiers formed a government-in-exile in French Algeria.

In order to calm rising tensions with European Great Powers the communards formed an alliance with left-wing republicans, agreeing to form a government of national unity that would open peace negotiations with the victorious Germans. The Treaty of Frankfurt, ceding Alsace-Lorraine to Germany and forcing France to pay large reparations, was eventually signed on May 24, 1871. While the Treaty was viewed as a national humiliation in Paris, the conservative rural areas largely supported peace and wanted stability, leading them to support the bourgeois Third Republic and the now moderate republicans.

Results
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" colspan="2"|Alliance ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |% ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" colspan="2"|Party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |% ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Seats Note that the number of seats by party is approximate as some members of the National Assembly were closely aligned to one or more party or changed allegiances throughout their term.
 * - style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right"
 * style="text-align:center;" colspan="8" | [[File:Aug1871.svg]]
 * style="text-align:center;" colspan="8" | [[File:Aug1871.svg]]
 * style="background-color:#EC95A0" rowspan="2"|
 * style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Republicans
 * style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 36.8
 * style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 279
 * style="background-color:#FEC3AC"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Republican Left
 * style="text-align:center;" | 25.5
 * style="text-align:center;" | 193
 * style="background-color:#D96694"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Republican Union
 * style="text-align:center;" | 11.3
 * style="text-align:center;" | 86
 * style="background-color:#82AE39" rowspan="3"|
 * style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"| Liberals and Monarchists
 * style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"| 35.8
 * style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"| 269
 * style="background-color:#22427C"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Monarchists
 * style="text-align:center;" | 20.8
 * style="text-align:center;" | 156
 * style="background-color:#ffcc33"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Center-left
 * style="text-align:center;" | 13.4
 * style="text-align:center;" | 101
 * style="background-color:#05903F"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Bonapartists
 * style="text-align:center;" | 3.1
 * style="text-align:center;" | 12
 * style="background-color:#ff0000" rowspan="4"|
 * style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4"| Radicals and Socialists
 * style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4"| 27.4
 * style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4"| 202
 * style="background-color:#E9383F"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Radicals and Radical-Socialists
 * style="text-align:center;" | 13.6
 * style="text-align:center;" | 101
 * style="background-color:#FF5E4D"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Jacobins
 * style="text-align:center;" | 9.9
 * style="text-align:center;" | 74
 * style="background-color:#dd0000"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| International Workingmen's Association
 * style="text-align:center;" | 2.3
 * style="text-align:center;" | 16
 * style="background-color:#000000"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Anarchists and Proudhonists
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1.6
 * style="text-align:center;" | 11
 * style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="6" | Total
 * style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | 100.0
 * style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | 750
 * }
 * style="background-color:#000000"|
 * style="text-align:left;"| Anarchists and Proudhonists
 * style="text-align:center;" | 1.6
 * style="text-align:center;" | 11
 * style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="6" | Total
 * style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | 100.0
 * style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | 750
 * }
 * style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" | 750
 * }

Aftermath
The National Assembly proved to be short-lived as the government's attempts to centralize the country and impose political reforms alienated both conservatives and communards. During the fall of 1871, the already autonomous communes began organizing their own militias and began conducting independent policies that prevented the Gambetta's policies.

Between September and November, the dozens of socialist-controlled communes organized themselves into cantonal and departmental federations, which will lead to the foundation of the Federation of French Communes in March. The socialist communes were joined by representatives of rural communities, opposed to the radicalism of the National Assembly. As a result, the National Assembly would lose all remainders of its power before eventually dissolving itself after the FCF organized their own elections in May 1872.