Arise the Republic

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Arise the Republic (Debout la République, DLR) is a faction within the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). The faction claims itself to be a traditional Gaullist and souverainiste group.

It is led by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan and has two seats in the French National Assembly. Dupont-Aignan failed to win the required 500 endorsements from elected officials to run in the French presidential election, 2007. He dropped out without endorsing any candidate, not even UMP candidate and current President Nicolas Sarkozy. However, he was re-elected by the first round of the 2007 legislative election as a UMP-DLR candidate in his home department of Essonne.