 She subsequently sought to become a deputy in the National Assembly in the 1978 legislative elections; due to irregularities which resulted in the invalidation of the original result by the Constitutional Council, however, a by-election was held on 16 and 23 July which ultimately resulted in her election to the assembly and departure from the Senate; as such, though Marcel Rosette became the new president of the group on 6 April, Goutmann was obligated to continue to sit in the Senate until the Constitutional Council later confirmed her election to the National Assembly.She remained president of the group for only a year, and was replaced by Hélène Luc on 19 December 1979.The communist group expanded to include 24 members after the 1983 renewal, the highest number ever attained by the communist group.