The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a
Gaullist
Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle with ...
and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
political party in France
This article contains a list of political parties in France.
France has a multi-party political system: one in which the number of competing political parties is sufficiently large as to make it almost inevitable that in order to participate in ...
. Originating from the
Union of Democrats for the Republic
The Union for the Defence of the Republic (french: Union pour la défense de la République), after 1968 renamed Union of Democrats for the Republic (french: Union des Démocrates pour la République), commonly abbreviated UDR, was a Gaullist p ...
(UDR), it was founded by
Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of
Gaullist
Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle with ...
politics.
On 21 September 2002, the RPR was merged into the Union for the Presidential Majority, later renamed the
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right List of political parties in France, political party in France that was one of the two major party, major contemporary political pa ...
(UMP).
History
The defense of the Gaullist identity against President Giscard d'Estaing (1976–1981)
In 1974, the divisions in the Gaullist movement permitted the election of
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
to the Presidency of the French Republic. Representing the pro-European and
Orleanist centre-right, he was the first non-Gaullist becoming head of state since the beginning of the
Fifth Republic in 1958. However, the Gaullist Party remained the main force in parliament and
Jacques Chirac was appointed Prime Minister. Chirac resigned in August 1976 and in December 1976 the RPR was created in order to restore the Gaullist domination over the institutions of the French republic.
Though retaining its support for the president's government, the RPR criticized the executive duo composed of President Giscard d'Estaing and Prime Minister
Raymond Barre
Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French centre-right politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents (Rey, ...
. Its first master stroke was in March 1977 the election of Chirac as Mayor of Paris against
Michel d'Ornano
Michel d'Ornano (12 July 1924 – 8 March 1991) was a French politician. A descendant of both Marie Walewska and Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, he began his political career as mayor of Deauville in 1962. He served as president of the Genera ...
, a close friend of President Giscard d'Estaing. Nevertheless, it was faced with the creation of the
Union for French Democracy
The Union for French Democracy (french: Union pour la démocratie française, UDF) was a centre to centre-right political party in France. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to ...
(UDF), a confederation of the parties supporting the presidential policies and which competed for the leadership over the right. Consequently, the stake of the
1978 legislative election was not only the victory of the right over the left, but the domination of the RPR over the UDF in the parliamentary majority.
Given the increasing unpopularity of the executive duo, and with a view to the next presidential election, the RPR became increasingly critical. In December 1978, six months before the European Parliament election, the ''Call of Cochin'' signed by Chirac 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 clearly targeted Giscard d'Estaing. RPR leaders contrasted this as coming from the social doctrine of Gaullism as opposed to a perceived liberalism on the part of the President.
As RPR candidate at the
1981 presidential election, Chirac formulated vigorous condemnations of President
Giscard d'Estaing, who ran for a second term. Eliminated in the first round, Chirac refused to give an endorsement for the second round, though he did say privately that he would vote for Giscard d'Estaing. In fact, the RPR was expected to work for the defeat of the incumbent president.
The opposition to President Mitterrand and the abandonment of the Gaullist doctrine (1981–1995)
After 1981, the RPR opposed with energy the policy of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
President
François Mitterrand and the left-wing governments. The RPR denounced the plan of
nationalizations as the setting up of a "collectivist society". Impressed by the electoral success of
New Right
New Right is a term for various right-wing political groups or policies in different countries during different periods. One prominent usage was to describe the emergence of certain Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Uni ...
conservatives led by
Ronald Reagan in the United States of America and by
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
in the United Kingdom, it gradually abandoned the Gaullist doctrine, claiming less control of the state in the economy. During its 1983 congress, it advocated a
liberal economic programme and the pursuit of the European construction, accepting the supranationality.
This new political line contributed to the reconciliation between the RPR and the UDF. In this, they presented a common list at the 1984 European Parliament election and a platform to prepare the winning
1986 legislative election. However, a rivalry appeared between Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre who competed for the right-wing leadership with a view to the next presidential election. Furthermore, if the right-wing coalition benefited from the failures of the Socialist power, it was confronted with the emergence of the
National Front in the far right. The RPR was divided about the possibility of alliance with this party.
In 1986, being the leader of the main party of the new parliamentary majority and accepting the principle of the "
cohabitation
Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...
" with President Mitterrand (contrary to Barre), Chirac became again Prime Minister. He led a liberal economic policy inspired by
Anglo-Saxon examples, selling many public companies, and abolishing the
wealth tax
A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and pension plans, ownershi ...
. His Interior Minister
Charles Pasqua led a policy of restriction of immigration. If Chirac acceded in the second round of the
1988 presidential election despite Raymond Barre's candidacy, he was defeated by Mitterrand.
While the RPR returned in the opposition, the leadership of Chirac was challenged by younger politicians who wished to renew the right. Furthermore, the abandonment of the Gaullist doctrine was criticized by
Charles Pasqua and
Philippe Séguin
Philippe Séguin (21 April 1943 – 7 January 2010) was a French political figure who was President of the National Assembly from 1993 to 1997 and President of the Cour des Comptes of France from 2004 to 2010.
He entered the Court of Financi ...
. 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
The Union for France (french: Union pour la France, UPF) was an electoral alliance between the Rally for the Republic and Union for French Democracy formed from 1992 until 1997.
The label is used in the 2022 French legislative election by an alli ...
", a RPR/UDF coalition, won the
1993 legislative election. Chirac refused to re-cohabitate with Mitterrand, and
Edouard Balladur became prime minister. Balladur promised that he would not be a candidate at the
1995 presidential election. Nevertheless, polls indicated Balladur was the favorite in the presidential race and, furthermore, he was supported by the most part of the right-wing politicians. He decided finally to run against Chirac. However, they claimed that they remained friends for 30 years.
The Socialists being weakened after the 14 years of Mitterrand's presidency, the main competition was within the right, between Balladur and Chirac, two Neo-Gaullists. Balladur proposed a liberal program and took advantage of the "positive results" of his cabinet, whereas Chirac advocated
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output a ...
to reduce the "social fracture" and criticized the "dominant ideas", targeting Balladur. Chirac won the
1995 presidential election.
The RPR became the presidential party (1995–2002)
After his election as
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
, Jacques Chirac nominated
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans (France), The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced 1995 strikes ...
, "the best among us" according to him, as Prime Minister. But the majority of the personalities who had supported Balladur during the presidential campaign were excluded from the government. The ''balladuriens'' (such as
Nicolas Sarkozy) were completely isolated in the party too.
In November 1995, Prime Minister
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans (France), The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced 1995 strikes ...
announced a plan to reform the French
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
which sparked wide social conflict. The executive duo became very unpopular and some months later President Chirac dissolved the National Assembly. His supporters lost the
1997 legislative election. Consequently, he was forced to cohabitate with a left-wing cabinet led by
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.
Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...
until 2002.
Séguin succeeded 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
The Rally for France (french: Rassemblement pour la France (RPF); also briefly known in 2003 as Rally for France and European Independence or ) was a political party in France of the right. It was founded in 1999 by the Gaullist and former Interi ...
(RPF) and obtained more votes than the RPR official list led by
Nicolas Sarkozy.
Michèle Alliot-Marie
Michèle Yvette Marie-Thérèse Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie (; born 10 September 1946), known in France as MAM, is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from France. She is a member of the Republicans, part of the Eu ...
, former Minister of Youth and sports, was elected RPR leader, against the will of President Chirac who supported covertly an unfamous candidate
Jean-Paul Delevoye. Besides, the RPR was involved in many financing scandals. For instance, the party was suspected to pay its employees with the funds of Paris's municipality. The RPR lost the mayoralty of Paris in 2001, in aid of the left.
After the
1999 European elections, the RPR joined the
European People's Party–European Democrats
The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEPs ...
(EPP-ED) parliamentary group, and became a full member of the
European People's Party (EPP) in December 2001.
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 a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right List of political parties in France, political party in France that was one of the two major party, major contemporary political pa ...
(UMP) after the 21 April 2002 electoral shock. Chirac was re-elected and the new party won the
legislative election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
.
Prior to its replacement by the UMP, the RPR had been increasingly embroiled in judicial proceedings following from the
corruption scandals in the Paris region
In the 1980s and 1990s there were, in the Paris region (Île-de-France), multiple instances of alleged and proved political corruption cases, as well as cases of abuse of public money and resources. Almost all involved were members of the conservat ...
. Its former secretary-general
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans (France), The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced 1995 strikes ...
was sentenced in 2004 for a related felony. In 2007, a formal judicial investigation was opened against Jacques Chirac himself.
Election results
Presidential
National Assembly
European Parliament
Past presidents
*
Jacques Chirac, 1976–1994
*
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans (France), The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced 1995 strikes ...
, 1994–1997
*
Philippe Séguin
Philippe Séguin (21 April 1943 – 7 January 2010) was a French political figure who was President of the National Assembly from 1993 to 1997 and President of the Cour des Comptes of France from 2004 to 2010.
He entered the Court of Financi ...
, 1997–1999
*
Nicolas Sarkozy, 1999 (interim)
*
Michèle Alliot-Marie
Michèle Yvette Marie-Thérèse Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie (; born 10 September 1946), known in France as MAM, is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from France. She is a member of the Republicans, part of the Eu ...
, 1999–2002
*
Serge Lepeltier
Serge Lepeltier (born 12 October 1953 in Le Veurdre, Allier) is a French politician.
He studied at HEC Paris.
He was mayor of Bourges in 1995 and again in 2001. He was elected senator of the Cher ''département'' on 27 September 1998.
...
, 2002 (interim)
RPR Assembly Groups
*1978–1981: 154 members including 11 caucusing (out of 491)
*1981–1986: 88 members including 9 caucusing (out of 491)
*1986–1988: 155 members including 8 caucusing (out of 577)
*1988–1993: 130 members including 3 caucusing (out of 577)
*1993–1997: 257 members including 12 caucusing (out of 577).
*1997–2002: 140 members including 6 caucusing (out of 577)
See also
*
Gaullist Party
In France, the term Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claims to transcend the left–right divide in a similar way to populist republican parties elsewhere such as Fianna Fáil in Rep ...
*
Politics of France
The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic ...
References
External links
Unofficial history and descriptionUnofficial timeline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rally for the Republic
Gaullist parties
Conservative parties in France