Gaullist Party

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In France, the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. The original Gaullism advocated to transcend the left/right rift. In this, some personalities and voters defined themselves as "left-wing Gaullists". However, the most part of Charles de Gaulle's followers were conservative, and since his death, all the Gaullist politicians and voters belong to the right. The Gaullist Party is the dominant organization over the French right since the beginning of the Fifth Republic.


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[edit] Gaullist Party and Fourth Republic: opposition and desert crossing (1946-1958)

Symbol of the French resistance to the Nazi occupation, Charles de Gaulle resigned from the presidency of the provisional government in January 1946. He objected to the restoration of the "regime of parties" that had characterised the Third Republic. He believed that parties served particular interests and divided France, and the nation is strong when it is united behind a man who asserts the national interest. He called to vote against the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which restored a parliamentary system. In his Call of Bayeux, he advocated a presidential government. He was accused to want re-establish a bonapartist government.

In 1947, he gathered the anti-Communist opposition in the Rally of the French People (Rassemblement du peuple français or RPF). In keeping with its strongly nationalist stance, it accused the French Communist Party of being a vassal of the Soviet Union. Furthemore, it denounced what it called the "abandonment" of colonies by the Third Force cabinets, and it viewed French participation in the European Economic Community to be a threat to the nation. In addition, the Gaullists recommended an association between capital and labour in order to end the "struggle of classes", which hampered national unity.

Six months after its founding, membership of the RPF reached 1 million. It took control of the executive of many cities, including Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux. It is in the lead of the 1951 legislative election, but made a systematic opposition.

In 1952, some RPF deputies voted in favour of Antoine Pinay's cabinet and joined the majority, against the instructions of De Gaulle. One year later, the RPF died and De Gaulle retired. The RPF parliamentary group became Union of Republicans for Social Action (Union des républicains d'action sociale or URAS). First, it participated to right-wing majorities then, a part of the Gaullists as Jacques Chaban-Delmas joined the center-left Republican Front under the label National Center of Social Republicans (Centre national des républicains sociaux or CNRS).

At the end of the 1950s, the Fourth Republic floundered in Algerian War. The May 13, 1958 riots in Alger caused a political crisis. A threat of military coup was brandished. Emissaries sent by De Gaulle participated to this bustle (Jacques Soustelle...). The National Assembly accepted to call back De Gaulle to lead the cabinet. In September 28, a new constitution was approved by referendum. The Fifth Republic was born. The parliamentary system was not questionned, but the presidential function was enhanced.

[edit] Gaullist Party's height (1958-1976)

In October 1958, one month before the legislative election, the Union for the New Republic (Union pour la nouvelle République or UNR) was founded and became the main party of the political system. It was allied with center-left and center-right parties to support De Gaulle, who was elected President of France by a congress of local and national elects in December 1958. Michel Debré was nominated as Prime minister.

However, the change of Algerian policy divided the party. The chairman of the National Assembly Jacques Chaban-Delmas considered Algeria is a part of the presidential "reserved domain". Soustelle and "French Algeria" militants left the party.

Besides, center-left parties returned in opposition in 1959, followed in 1962 by center-right parties, which criticized the eurosceptic declaration of De Gaulle and the "presidentialisation". Indeed, De Gaulle instituted the presidential election by the universal suffrage. The French voters approved by referendum. Georges Pompidou was chosen as Prime minister but he was denied by a vote of no-confidence. Associated with the left-wing Gaullists of the Democratic Union of Labour (Union démocratique du travail or UDT), the UNR won the 1962 legislative election.

Naturally, the UNR/UDT supported De Gaulle's candidature at the 1965 presidential election. But this one won after a second ballot, what he considered as a disavowal. The relations became more difficult with the only allied in the presidential majority, the Independent Republicans led by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The opposition was reconstructed.

While the Democratic Center intensified its criticism, some Christian-Democrats, such Maurice Schumann, joined the Gaullist Party re-named Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic (Union des démocrates pour la Cinquième République or UD5). It only just won the 1967 legislative election. Then, the Gaullist power was confronted with the social and student May 68 crisis. If the Union for the Defense of the Republic (Union pour la défense de la République or UDR) triumphed at the June 1968 legislative election, disagreements appeared between De Gaulle and Pompidou. This one left the lead of the cabinet and declared his candidacy if De Gaulle resigned. That was the case in 1969, after the failure of the referendum about Senate and regional reform.

Pompidou won the 1969 presidential election in despite of the reluctances of some "barons of Gaullism". His Prime minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas announced a reforms programme for a "New Society". It raise sceptical reactions by the conservative part of the UDR then by Pompidou himself. They reproached him to do too many concessions to the left-wing opposition. While the party became the Union of Democrats for the Republic (Union des démocrates pour la République), Chaban-Delmas was replaced by Pierre Messmer. The UDR allied with the Independent Republicans and Center, Democracy and Progress to win the 1973 legislative election and succeded to block the "Union of Left" and its Common Programme.

When Popidou died in office, in 2 April 1974, his two former Prime Ministers, Chaban-Delmas and Messmer, laid claim to candidacy at the presidential election. Finally, the second renounced, but some influential personalities of the party, notably in the circle of the defunct president, doubted of the capacity of Chaban-Delmas to defeat François Mitterrand, the representing of the "Union of Left". Behind the young minister Jacques Chirac, a former adviser of Pompidou, they published the Call of the 43. They supported covertly Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Minister of Economy and Independent Republicans's leader. This one eliminated Chaban-Delmas in the first round, then defetaed Mitterrand in the second. He was the first non-Gaullist President of the Fifth Republic.

Chirac became Prime minister and conquered the lead of the UDR in December 1974, in despite of negative opinions of manies historical Gaullist personalities (Michel Debré, Jacques Chaban-Delmas...). They accused him to have betrayed the party during the previous presidential campaign. Some month later, a conflict broken out in the executive duo and Chirac left the cabinet in August 1976.

[edit] A Neo-Gaullist Party: the RPR (1976-2002)

Further information: Rally for the Republic

In December 1976, the UDR was replaced by the Rally for the Republic (Rassemblement pour la République or RPR). This name was chosen due to its similarity with the RPF. Indeed, the New Gaullist Party was devised as a machine of reconquest behind a man, Jacques Chirac.

Without to leave the pesidential majority, the RPR criticized the executive duo composed of President Giscard d'Estaing and Raymond Barre. In December 1978, six months before the European Parliament election, the Call of Cochin denounced the appropriation of France by "the foreign party", which sacrificed the national interests and the independence of the country in order to build a federal Europe. This accusation targeted clearly Giscard d'Estaing. Besides, the RPR opposed the social doctrine of Gaullism to the presidential liberalism.

The RPR supported Chirac at the 1981 presidential election but he was eliminated in the first round. He refused to give instruction of vote for the second round, even if he said "in a private capacity", he will vote for Giscard d'Estaing. In fact, the RPR was suspected to work for the defeat of the incumbent president.

While the Socialist leader François Mitterrand became President, the RPR gradually abandoned the Gaullist doctrine, adopting the European and liberal positions of the Union for French Democracy (Union pour la démocratie française or UDF). The two parties competed for the leadership of the right-wing opposition, but they presented a common list at the 1984 European Parliament election and a platform to prepare the winning 1986 legislative election.

From 1986 to 1988, Chirac "cohabited" as Prime minister with Mitterrand, but lost the 1988 presidential election. After his defeat, his ledership was challenged by younger politicians who wished to renew the right. Furthemore, the abandonment of the Gaullist doctrine was criticized by Charles Pasqua and Philippe Séguin. They tried to take him the RPR lead in 1990, in vain. However, the division re-appeared with the 1992 Maastricht referendum. Chirac voted "yes" whereas Séguin and Pasqua campaigned for "no".

The "Union for France", a RPR/UDF coalition, won the 1993 legislative election. Chirac refused to re-cohabit with Mitterrand, and his man of confidence Edouard Balladur became Prime minister. This one promised he will not candidate at the 1995 presidential election. Nevertheless, polls indicated Balladur was the favorite in the presidential race and furthemore, he was supported by the most part of the right-wing politicians. He decided finally to be candidate against Chirac. However, they claimed they remained "friends for 30 years".

The Socialist being weakent after the 14 years of Mitterrand's presidency, the main stake was the competition in the right, between Balladur and Chirac, two Neo-Gaullists. Balladur proposed a liberal programme and took advantage of the "positive results" of his cabinet, whereas Chirac advocated keynesianism to reduce the "social fracture" and criticized the "dominant ideas", targeting Balladur. Chirac won the 1995 presidential election.

In November 1995, his Prime Minister Alain Juppé, "the best among us" for Chirac, announced a plan of Welfare-State reforms which sparked wide social conflict. President Chirac dissolved the National Assembly and lost the 1997 legislative election. He was forced to cohabit with a left-wing cabinet led by Lionel Jospin until 2002.

Séguin succeded to Juppé as RPR leader. But, he criticized the ascendancy of President Chirac over the party. He resigned during the 1999 European campaign while Pasqua presented a dissident list to advocate the Gaullist idea of a "Europe of nations". Pasqua founded the Rally for France (Rassemblement pour la France or RPF) and obtained more votes than the RPR official list led by Nicolas Sarkozy. Michèle Alliot-Marie was elected RPR leader, against the will of President Chirac who supported covertly another candidate.

Before the 2002 presidential election, both RPR and non-RPR supporters of Chirac gathered in an association: the "Union on the move". It became the Union for the Presidential Majority (Union pour la majorité présidentielle or UMP) after the April 21 electoral shock. Chirac was re-elected and the new party won the legislative election.

[edit] Secretaries General


[edit] Presidents of the RPR

[edit] See also

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