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Reds crushed in French election

PARIS, Nov. 24, 1958 (UPI) - Election of the French Fifth Republic's first Parliament shaped up today as a victory for the moderate right and a "crushing defeat" for the Communists who seem likely to lose two-thirds of their voting strength in the Nationa The big gainer in yesterday's voting was the Union of the New Republic (UNR), a party formed only a few weeks ago by Information Minister Jacques Soustelle.

The UNR, which was considered to be the main "Gaullist" party of the dozen or so which claimed full support for Premier Charles de Gaulle, captured 3,603,958 ballots, 17.6 % of the popular vote.

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The Communists remained France's largest party with a popular vote of 3,882,709, 18.9 % of the vote. However, the Reds lost 1,572,385 of the votes they received in the 1956 general elections and were threatened with the loss of more than 100 of the 140 seats they held in the Fourth Republic's last National Assembly.

The final results will not be known until after next Sunday's runoff elections. Only 40 candidates who received more than 50 % of the vote were elected yesterday.

The other 425 seats will be filled next week when only a plurality is needed for election.

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An estimate based on yesterday's voting indicated the new Chamber of Deputies may be made up of:

UNR, 150 seats; Socialists, 110; Popular Republicans, 50-60; Communists, 30-40; Radical Socialists, 25-30; and Independents and smaller parties, 100.

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