centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The UDF was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President
Gaullist
Gaullism ( ) 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 withdrew French forces from t ...
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
(CPR). The UDF was most frequently a junior partner in coalitions with the neo-Gaullist
Rally for the Republic
The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
(RPR). In 1998 the UDF became a single entity, causing the defection of
Liberal Democracy
Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...
(DL), PR's successor. In 2002 the RPR, DL and most of the remaining UDF members joined the
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...
(UMP), which aimed to unite the entire centre-right. The UDF effectively ceased to exist by the end of 2007 and its membership and assets were transferred to its successor, the
Democratic Movement Democratic Movement may refer to:
*Brazilian Democratic Movement
*Democratic Movement (France)
*Democratic Movement (Israel)
*Democratic Movement (Italy)
*Democratic Italian Movement
*Democratic Movement (San Marino)
*Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzst ...
(MoDem). The UDF's last president and MoDem's founding leader was
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
by overcoming
Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d ...
of the
Union of Democrats for the Republic
The Union for the Defence of the Republic ( ), after 1968 renamed Union of Democrats for the Republic ( ), commonly abbreviated UDR, was a Gaullism, Gaullist List of political parties in France, political party of France that existed from 1967 to ...
(UDR), the largest centre-right party, in the first round and defeating
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
Rally for the Republic
The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
(RPR), in order to restore the
Gaullist
Gaullism ( ) 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 withdrew French forces from t ...
domination over the centre-right. The RPR would represent the right-wing of the presidential majority and would criticise with virulence the policies put forward by President Giscard and Prime Minister
Raymond Barre
Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents ( Rey, Malfatti a ...
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 th ...
(PS), the neo-Gaullist RPR and his own camp, which lacked a cohesive representation. Therefore, he sought to formally organise the centrist side of the presidential majority through the UDF. It consisted of the conservative-liberal Republican Party (PR) – the evolution of Giscard's Independent Republicans –, the Christian-democratic
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
(CPR). Contrary to the RPR, the UDF advocated less
market intervention
A market intervention is a policy or measure that modifies or interferes with a market, typically done in the form of state action, but also by philanthropic and political-action groups. Market interventions can be done for a number of reas ...
ism by the state,
decentralisation
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...
and support of local authorities, and a strong commitment towards the building of a
federal Europe
A federal Europe, also referred to as the United States of Europe (USE) or a European federation, is a hypothetical scenario of European integration leading to the formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of America), ...
, the UDF descended from the Orleanist tradition of the right, whereas the RPR was a reincarnation of the
Bonapartist
Bonapartism () is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In ...
tradition, which promoted national independence by virtue of a strong state.
After the centre-right won the 1978 legislative election and the subsequent focus of both the RPR and the UDF toward the 1981 presidential election, their relations deteriorated. Especially, RPR leader Chirac criticised the market-oriented and
pro-European
Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...
policies of Giscard and Barre. In the run-up of the
1979 European Parliament election
The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the Eur ...
, Chirac published the Call of Cochin where the UDF was accused of being "the party of foreigners". Since the UDF list, led by
Simone Veil
Simone Veil (; ; 13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017) was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician who served as health minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman t ...
, obtained 27.1% of the vote compared with RPR's 16.3%, the quarrels between the two parties and the rivalry between Giscard and Chirac contributed to the defeat of the incumbent president who ran for a second term.
1980s
After the election of Mitterrand as president, the two centre-right parties reconciled. Gradually, the RPR abandoned Gaullist doctrine and joined the market-oriented and pro-European positions of the UDF. Although they presented a common list at the
1984 European Parliament election
The 1984 European Parliament election was the first since the inaugural election of 1979 and the 1981 enlargement of the European Community to include Greece. It was also the last before the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1986.
Results sh ...
, their leaders Chirac and Barre still competed for the leadership of the French centre-right. Focused on winning the 1986 legislative election, Chirac, unlike Barre, accepted the principle of "
cohabitation
Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a Romance (love), romantic or Sexual intercourse, sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. ...
" with President Mitterrand. Furthermore, some UDF politicians (notably from the PR) covertly supported Chirac. Consequently, he served as Prime Minister from 1986 to 1988 and the UDF played a supporting role in his government.
Barre was a candidate in the 1988 presidential election, yet, despite his popularity, he was not supported by all UDF leaders. Giscard himself refused to choose clearly and publicly between his two former Prime Ministers. Eliminated in the first round, Barre called on his supporters to vote for Chirac in the second round, but despite this, Chirac was defeated by Mitterrand. After the re-election of Mitterrand, some UDF members participated as ministers in the centre-left governments led by Prime Minister
Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard (; 23 August 1930 – 2 July 2016) was a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). He served as Prime Minister of France, Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 199 ...
.
Also in 1988 Giscard retook the leadership of the UDF. However, his authority and that of the other centre-right leaders (Chirac, Barre etc.) were contested by a new generation of politicians called the "renovation men", who accused the old guard leadership of bearing responsibility for the successive electoral defeats. However, Giscard would give the party a more consistent centre-right approach, that would culminate in the entire UDF joining the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
(EPP), which had been previously home only of the Christian-democratic CDS, in 1994.
1990s
With the dismissal of Rocard in 1991 there were no longer UDF ministers from the government, thus RPR and the UDF were allied in opposition to the subsequent Socialist governments which were weakened by economic crisis, scandals and internal quarrels. The RPR–UDF coalition named " Union for France" comfortably won the 1993 legislative election and obtained a massive majority in the National Assembly. The new Prime Minister
Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur (; born 2 May 1929) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1995 French presidential election, co ...
, who hailed from the RPR, nominated a large number of UDF members to his cabinet:
(CDS) of Education, Simone Veil (PR) of Health and Social Affairs,
Alain Madelin
Alain Madelin (; born 26 March 1946) is a French politician.
Politician
Madelin was minister of Industry in Prime Minister Jacques Chirac's cabinet from 1986 to 1988, a minister of Business in Prime Minister Édouard Balladur's cabinet f ...
(CPR) of Housing.
In the run-up of the 1995 presidential election the different components of the UDF were unable to agree on a common candidacy and consequently they divided between the two RPR candidates. Most UDF members supported Balladur, whereas a minority endorsed Chirac, as Giscard had proposed. In the aftermath, the CDS merged with the PSD into Democratic Force (FD), while CPR members and other supporters of Giscard within the PR formed the
(PPDF), Defense with Charles Millon (PR), Economy and Finances with Alain Madelin (PR), Industry with
Yves Galland
Yves Galland (born 8 March 1941 in Paris), is a French politician and entrepreneur.
Biography
After his studies in law from Paris University, Yves Galland started his career in the world of business before also starting his political career. H ...
(Rad), Education with François Bayrou (CDS/FD), Commerce with
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac.
He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...
Philippe Douste-Blazy
Philippe Douste-Blazy (; born 1 January 1953) is a French United Nations official and former centre-right politician. Over the course of his career, he served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Adviser on Innovative Financi ...
Liberal Democracy
Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...
(DL), under Madelin's leadership. DL soon began to reassert its autonomy within the alliance and finally broke ranks with the UDF in 1998. The split was triggered by the 1998 regional elections, during which some UDF politicians were elected regional presidents with the support of the National Front: DL refused to condemn the arrangement, whilst the UDF leadership did.
New UDF
This split of DL led to a re-organisation of the UDF. The ''nouvelle UDF'' (new UDF) was transformed into a single party through the merger of FD and the Independent Republican and Liberal Pole (PRIL), formed by those DL members who refused to leave UDF. The Radicals and the PPDF remained as autonomous entities within the new party.
Former FD leader Bayrou became the natural leader of the new UDF. He conceived it as the embryo of a future centrist party which would include politicians from both the left and right. Bayrou ran for president in the 2002 presidential election, but some UDF leaders supported Chirac. The latter won re-election comfortably, with Bayrou being eliminated after the first round, having gained only 6.8% of the vote. Bayrou subsequently refused Chirac's invitation to join the newly-formed centre-right, big-tent
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy (, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties with ...
social-liberal
Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited ...
party aiming for a balance between
social-democratic
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...
and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
policies.
Democratic Movement
In May 2006 Bayrou and other ten UDF deputies, a minority within the parliamentary party, voted for the motion of no-confidence brought forward by the Socialist-led opposition calling for the resignation of Prime Minister
's government, embroiled in the Clearstream affair. This motion had no chance of being passed, given that the UMP had an absolute majority in the National Assembly. Following this event, France's television authority started to classify Bayrou and the other UDF deputies who had voted for the motion as being in the opposition for time allocation purposes; however, after Bayrou protested, they were classified as neither majority nor opposition.
In April 2007 Bayrou announced that he would be submitting a plan to a vote by UDF members to create a new
Democratic Movement Democratic Movement may refer to:
*Brazilian Democratic Movement
*Democratic Movement (France)
*Democratic Movement (Israel)
*Democratic Movement (Italy)
*Democratic Italian Movement
*Democratic Movement (San Marino)
*Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzst ...
(MoDem), which was finally launched in May. However, most of the UDF's deputies protested and formed the
New Centre
The Centrists (, , ), known as The Centrists – New Centre ( , ) since 2018, formerly known as New Centre (, ) and European Social Liberal Party ( , ), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of the Union for French Dem ...
(NC) – later The Centrists –, in order to support newly-elected President
of the UMP. In the subsequent 2007 legislative election held in June, the MoDem won 7.6% of the vote and three seats, while the NC stopped at 2.4%, but, thanks to its alliance with the UMP, obtained 22 seats.
In November 2007 the UDF effectively ceased to exist and was fully integrated within the MoDem, headed by Bayrou.
Ideology, positions, platform
The UDF was a
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
party, although it considered itself
centrist
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
. Broadly, the UDF was a
big tent
A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a political party having members covering a broad spectrum of beliefs. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined ideology, seek voters who adhere to that ideology, and att ...
radicals
Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century
*Radical politics ...
,
social democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
and non-
Gaullist
Gaullism ( ) 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 withdrew French forces from t ...
conservatives. The main ideological trends in the party were
Christian democracy
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
,
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
,
conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism, also referred to as right-liberalism, is a variant of liberalism combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right wing of the liberal movement. In the case of modern con ...
and
liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
.
The UDF's most marked political trait was
pro-Europeanism
Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...
and support for
European integration
European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
, up to the point of turning the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
into a federal
United States of Europe
A federal Europe, also referred to as the United States of Europe (USE) or a European federation, is a hypothetical scenario of European integration leading to the formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of America), ...
. In that respect, UDF was the likely target of Chirac's Call of Cochin (1978), in which he denounced the pro-European policies of "the party of the foreigners".
Until 2002, the UDF spanned a somewhat wide ideological spectrum on the centre-right. A tongue-in-cheek characterisation of UDF's membership is that it was the union of everybody on the right that was neither
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
supporter. However, the UDF suffered for its lack of cohesion, in contrast to Chirac's
Rally for the Republic
The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
. Its economic policies ranged from favouring left-leaning
social justice
Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
to favouring
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...
liberalism. Such divergences led the laissez-faire advocates, such as
Alain Madelin
Alain Madelin (; born 26 March 1946) is a French politician.
Politician
Madelin was minister of Industry in Prime Minister Jacques Chirac's cabinet from 1986 to 1988, a minister of Business in Prime Minister Édouard Balladur's cabinet f ...
, to form
Liberal Democracy
Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...
in 1997 and split from the UDF in 1998. Similarly, social policies ranged from the
social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...
s for
homosexuals
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
,
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
,
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
and
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
, to more
socially progressive
Progressivism is a left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has universal application and endeavor to spread this idea to human so ...
presented himself as a centrist and a social-liberal (he even opened the door to gay adoptions), proclaiming that if elected, he would "govern beyond the left-right divide". He won 18.6% of the vote, but this was not enough for him to reach the second round.
Factions
*Bayrouistes, those who wanted the UDF to be independent:
Marielle de Sarnez
Marielle de Sarnez (; 27 March 195113 January 2021) was a French politician who served as Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France), Secretary of State for European Affairs under Prime Minister of France, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. ...
,
Jean-Louis Bourlanges
Jean-Louis Bourlanges (; born 13 July 1946) is a French politician who represented the 12th constituency of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the National Assembly from 2017 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Movement (MoDem), he presided over ...
Maurice Leroy
Maurice Leroy (; born 2 February 1959) is a French politician who served as Minister of City Affairs under President Nicolas Sarkozy in the third government of Prime Minister François Fillon from November 2010 to May 2012. In this capacity, h ...
François Sauvadet
François Sauvadet (born 20 April 1953) is a French journalist and politician of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) who has been serving as the president of the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France since 2008.
Early career
Sauva ...
*Society in Movement, those who wanted close ties with the UMP: Gilles de Robien,
Francis Vercamer
Francis Vercamer (born 10 May 1958 in Lille, Nord) is a French politician of the Union of Democrats and Independents (as part of the Centrists) who served as a member of the National Assembly from 2002 until 2020, representing the Nord departmen ...
,
Claude Leteurtre
Claude Leteurtre (born 30 December 1940 in Donville-les-Bains, Manche) is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Calvados (department), Calvados department, and is a member of the New Centre.
References
1940 ...
Democratic Movement Democratic Movement may refer to:
*Brazilian Democratic Movement
*Democratic Movement (France)
*Democratic Movement (Israel)
*Democratic Movement (Italy)
*Democratic Italian Movement
*Democratic Movement (San Marino)
*Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzst ...
New Centre
The Centrists (, , ), known as The Centrists – New Centre ( , ) since 2018, formerly known as New Centre (, ) and European Social Liberal Party ( , ), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of the Union for French Dem ...
.
Composition
Presidents
*
Jean Lecanuet
Jean Adrien François Lecanuet (4 March 1920 – 22 February 1993) was a French Centrism, centrist politician.
Biography
Lecanuet was born to a family of modest means in Rouen and gravitated towards philosophy studies. He received his diplo ...