Gaullist Party

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In France the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist.

1 Gaullist Party and Fourth Republic: opposition and desert crossing (1946-1958)
2 Gaullist Party's height (1958-1976)
3 A New Gaullist Party: the RPR (1976-2002)
4 Secretaries General
5 Presidents of the RPR
6 See also

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

In January 1946, Charles de Gaulle resigned from the presidency of the provisional government. He criticized the restoring of the "regim of parties" collapsed in 1940. For he, 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 is opposed to the parliamentary system of the Fourth Republic and advocates a presidential government.

In 1947, he gathered the no-Communist opposition in the Rally of the French People (Rassemblement du peuple français or RPF). This party was nationalist. It accused the French Communist Party to be vassal of the Soviet Union. Furthemmore, it denounced the "abandon" of colonies by the Third Force government and the European construction like a threat for the nation. Besides, the Gaullists recommended an association between capital and labour in order to end the "struggle of classes", which hampered the national unity.

Six months after its foundation, the RPF reached 1 million of members. It conquered the executive of many cities: Paris, Marseille, 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 the lead of the cabinet. In September 28, a new constitution was approved by referendum. The Fifth Republic was born.

[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 leftwing Gaullist 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.

The party is joined by Christian-Democrat politicians (Maurice Schumann...). The Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic (Union des démocrates pour la Cinquième République or UD5) 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, a rivalry appeared between De Gaulle and Pompidou. This one left the lead of the cabinet and declared his candidature if De Gaulle resigned. That was the case in 1969, after the failure of the referendum about Senate and regional reform.

Pompidou was elected president in proposing to achieve "the change in the continuity". 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. While the party became the Union of Democrats for the Republic (Union des démocrates pour la République), Chaban-Delmas was replaced by Pierre Messmer.

Nevertheless, after the death of Pompidou, Chaban-Delmas was the UDR candidate at the 1974 presidential election. This choice was contested by influential personalities of the party. Behind the young minister Jacques Chirac, a former adviser of Pompidou, they published the Call of 43. They esteemed the best candidate to defeat the "Union of Left" was Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. This one is the first no-Gaullist President of the Fifth Republic.

Chirac became Prime minister and conquer the lead of the party in December 1974, in despite of negative opinions of manies historical Gaullist personalities (Michel Debré, Jacques Chaban-Delmas...). Yet, a conflict broken out in the executive duo and Chirac left the government in August 1976.

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

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. 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 and refused to give instruction of vote for the second round, which opposed Giscard d'Estaing and the Socialist leader François Mitterrand.

Against President Mitterrand, 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 main right-wing parties 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. Then, Chirac's leadership 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. This division appeared with the 1992 Maastricht referendum. Chirac voted "yes" whereas Séguin led the campaign 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. Because polls indicated he was the favorite in the presidential race, Balladur was candidate against Chirac. However, they claimed they remained "friends for 30 years".

Balladur presented a liberal programme whereas Chirac advocated keynesianism to reduce the "social fracture". 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 cohabited with a left-wing government until 2002.

Charles Pasqua presented a dissident list at the 1999 European Parliament election to advocate the Gaullist idea of a "Europe of nations". He founded the Rally for France (Rassemblement pour la France or RPF) and obtained more votes than the RPR official list led by Nicolas Sarkozy.

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.