Republican Party (France)
Republican Party Parti Républicain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing |
| President |
Jean-Pierre Soisson Jacques Blanc Gérard Longuet François Léotard |
| Founded | 20 May 1977 |
| Dissolved | 24 June 1997 |
| Preceded by | Independent Republicans[1] |
| Succeeded by | Liberal Democracy[1] |
| Ideology |
Conservative liberalism[2] Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| National affiliation | Union for French Democracy |
| European affiliation | ELDR |
| European Parliament group | ELDR Group |
| Colours | Blue and red |
The Republican Party (French: Parti républicain, PR) was a conservative-liberal[2] political party in France founded in 1977. It replaced the National Federation of the Independent Republicans that was founded in 1966.[3] It was created by future President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. It was known to be conservative in domestic, social and economic policies, pro-NATO, and pro-European.[4]
In 1978, the Republican Party allied with centrist groups to form the Union for French Democracy (UDF), a confederation created in order to support President Giscard d'Estaing and counterbalance the influence of the Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) over the French centre-right. However, after Giscard d'Estaing's defeat at the 1981 presidential election, the PR gravitated away from its founder and a new generation of politicians, led by François Léotard, took the lead.
This group called la bande à Léo ("Léo(tard)'s band"), advocated an alliance with the RPR and covertly supported RPR leader Jacques Chirac's candidacy in the 1988 presidential election, against the official UDF candidate Raymond Barre.
During the 1995 presidential campaign, the PR divided again between the two main centre-right candidates: François Léotard and Gérard Longuet supported Edouard Balladur while Alain Madelin and Jean-Pierre Raffarin supported Jacques Chirac, who won.
Until the split of the UDF confederation in 1998, the Republican Party was its liberal component, advocating economic liberalism. In 1997, it was replaced by Liberal Democracy (DL) led by Alain Madelin.
Presidents
Independent Republicans
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1966–74)
- Michel Poniatowski (1975–77)
Republican Party
- Jean-Pierre Soisson (1977–88)
- François Léotard (1988–90)
- Gérard Longuet (1990–95)
- François Léotard (1995–97)
- Alain Madelin (1997)
References
- 1 2 David S. Bell (2002), French Politics Today, Manchester University Press, p. 88
- 1 2 Carol Diane St Louis (2011). Negotiating Change: Approaches to and the Distributional Implications of Social Welfare and Economic Reform. Stanford University. p. 77.
- ↑ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/498826/Republican-Party
- ↑ Cook, Chris; Francis, Mary (1979). The first European elections: A handbook and guide. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-26575-0.
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