The Republican Centre (Centre républicain, CR) was a former French political party, formed as a splinter group from the Radical Party's pro-

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

faction. The party was established in October 1956 and led by

Henri Queuille Henri Queuille (; 31 March 1884 – 15 June 1970) was a French Radical politician prominent in the Third and Fourth Republics. After World War II, he served three times as Prime Minister. Governments First ministry (11 September 1948 – 28 O ...

(president), André Morice (general secretary),

André Marie André Marie (3 December 1897 – 12 June 1974) was a French Radical politician who served as Prime Minister during the Fourth Republic in 1948. Biography Born at Honfleur, Calvados, the young André Marie studied at primary and second ...

, and Vincent Badie. Initially named the Radical Socialist Party (''Parti radical-socialiste''), it was forced to change its name following a court decision. On January 29, 1958, it was renamed the Party of Democratic and Radical Socialist Left (''Parti de la gauche démocratique et radicale-socialiste'') and became the Republican Centre (''Centre républicain'') on September 13, 1958, when it merged with Bernard Lafay's party of the same name.

History

The Republican Centre opposed the policies of

Pierre Mendès France Pierre Isaac Isidore Mendès France (; 11 January 190718 October 1982) was a French politician who served as prime minister of France for eight months from 1954 to 1955. As a member of the Radical Party, he headed a government supported by a c ...

. André Morice was particularly vocal in favor of

and displayed strong anti-Gaullist sentiments. During the Radical Party's congress in Lyon in October 1956, twelve Radical deputies (including Henri Queuille, André Morice, and

Émile Hugues Émile Hugues (b. Vence, 7 April 1901 – d. Paris, 10 February 1966) was a French politician and government minister. With a doctorate in law and by profession a notaire, Hugues was elected in 1946 as a Radical-Socialist ''député'' for the ...

) left the party after being outvoted on three key issues: the reinstatement of

Edgar Faure Edgar Jean Faure (; 18 August 1908 – 30 March 1988) was a French politician, lawyer, essayist, historian and memoirist who served as Prime Minister of France in 1952 and again between 1955 and 1956.1962 legislative elections, five members of the Republican Centre were elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

André Rossi André Rossi (16 May 1921, Menton – 22 August 1994, Paris) was a French politician.Législatives 93: Ains à Gers - Dominique Ageorges, Bernard Pellegrin, Agence France-Presse - 1993 "5ème circonscription, Château-Thierry Le député sortan ...

Francis Palmero Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...

Jean-Paul de Rocca Serra Jean Paul or ''variation'' may refer to: Places * Rue ''Jean-Paul-II'', several streets, see List of places named after Pope John Paul II * Place ''Jean Paul II'', several squares, see List of places named after Pope John Paul II People Given nam ...

, Pierre de Montesquiou, and

Alexandre de Fraissinette Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Alexandra (disambiguation) * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name " Alexandre (di ...

. From 1973, the Republican Centre became part of the

Reformist Movement The Reformist Movement (, , MR) is a liberal French-speaking political party in Belgium, which includes social-liberal and conservative-liberal factions. Stemming from the Belgian Liberal Party founded in 1846, the MR is one of the oldest par ...

before rejoining the Valoisian Radical Party in May 1977.

References

Defunct political parties in France Liberal parties in France Political parties established in 1956 Defunct liberal political parties Political parties disestablished in 1977 Centrist parties in France Political parties of the French Fifth Republic {{France-party-stub