Renaissance (French political party) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Renaissance

Abbreviation	RE
General Secretary	Stéphane Séjourné
President in the National Assembly	Sylvain Maillard
President in the Senate	François Patriat
Honorary President	Emmanuel Macron
Founder	Emmanuel Macron
Founded	6 April 2016; 9 years ago (2016-04-06) 17 September 2022; 2 years ago (2022-09-17) (as Renaissance)
Headquarters	68, Rue du Rocher 75008 Paris
Youth wing	Les Jeunes avec Macron
Membership (2023)	30,000
Ideology	Liberalism
Political position	Centre
National affiliation	Together
European Parliament group	Renew Europe
Colours	Navy Yellow
National Assembly	153 / 577
Senate	23 / 348
European Parliament	7 / 79
Presidency of departmental councils	2 / 95
Presidency of regional councils	1 / 17
Political parties

Renaissance (RE) is a political party in France. It is known for its centrist and liberal ideas. The party was first called En Marche ! and later La République En Marche !. It changed to its current name, Renaissance, in September 2022.

Emmanuel Macron started the party on 6 April 2016. He was a former Minister of the Economy. Macron was elected president in 2017. His party then won many seats in the National Assembly. This gave them a strong majority. Macron was re-elected in 2022. However, the party lost its full majority in the National Assembly that year.

Macron sees Renaissance as a modern movement. It brings together ideas from both left and right political views. The party supports working closely with other European countries. It also believes in globalization and wants to make French politics more fair and modern. Unlike some parties, Renaissance often welcomes members from other groups. It does not charge fees to join. Since June 2019, the party has been part of Renew Europe. This is a group of liberal and centrist parties in the European Parliament.

About Renaissance
How the Party Works
- Membership
- Money for the Party
Election Results
Images for kids
See also

About Renaissance

How it Started

The idea for the party began with a group called La Gauche Libre in 2015. Websites were registered, and a small political group was set up in January 2016. This group was named L'Association pour le renouvellement de la vie politique.

The party, En Marche!, officially began on 6 April 2016. It was founded in Amiens by Emmanuel Macron. He was 38 years old at the time. The initials of the party's name, "EM," are the same as Macron's initials.

When En Marche! was announced, it was the first sign that Macron might run for President. The party helped him raise money for his campaign. News about the party spread quickly. Macron's popularity grew, and he became a strong candidate. Many political figures welcomed the new party. Some, however, did not agree with it.

To create the party's first plans, Macron's team gathered ideas from people. They had 4,000 volunteers. These volunteers talked to 100,000 people door-to-door. They used this information to create a program that fit what French voters wanted.

Winning Elections

The 2017 Legislative Election

Emmanuel Macron

Logo of the Presidential Majority coalition of LaREM, MoDem and other liberal and centrist parties.

La République En Marche! had candidates in most areas for the 2017 legislative election. About half of their candidates were new to politics. The other half had held political jobs before. Half of all candidates were women. Candidates could only run in one area. They also had to be honest and represent different views within the party.

People who wanted to be candidates had to sign up online. Nearly 15,000 people applied. To run for La République En Marche!, politicians from other parties often had to leave their old parties.

On 18 June 2017, La République En Marche! won a clear majority in the National Assembly. They secured 308 seats out of 577. This made them the leading party in France, supporting the President.

The 2017 Senate Election

In the 2017 Senate election, La République En Marche! lost some seats. They ended up with 21 seats, seven fewer than before. The Senate election system is different. Senators are chosen by other elected officials. Because the party was new, it had a disadvantage in this type of election.

The 2019 European Parliament Election

Logo of the Renaissance list of LaREM, MoDem and other liberal parties.

For the 2019 European Parliament election, Macron's party focused on electing its own members. He called his campaign "Renaissance." He wanted to see a "rebirth" across Europe. After the election, the party joined a new group in the European Parliament called Renew Europe.

The 2020 Local Elections

In the 2020 local elections, La République En Marche! aimed to win many local council seats. However, the party did not win control of any major cities. They only had 146 mayors who were supported by the party.

In many cities, the party finished in third or fourth place. This was a setback for them. People were unhappy about various issues at the time. These included the Yellow Vests protests and the start of the COVID-19 crisis. These events made it harder for the party to gain support.

The 2022 Legislative Election

Logo of La République En Marche ! until the rebranding in 2022

In May 2022, the party announced it would change the name of its group in parliament to Renaissance. In September, the party itself also changed its name to Renaissance. This change was part of a plan to bring all of the president's supporting parties into one larger party.

What the Party Believes In

Even though Emmanuel Macron was once part of the Socialist Party, La République En Marche! aims to go beyond traditional political lines. It wants to be a party that includes ideas from different sides.

The party has been described in many ways. Some say it is centrist. Others call it centre-right. Macron himself says it is a progressive party that combines ideas from both the left and the right.

In 2017, experts said the party supports cultural freedom and socially liberal ideas. It also supports economic freedom. The party has also been seen as using strategies that challenge the usual political system. It supports policies similar to classical liberalism, which focuses on individual rights and limited government.

A survey in 2018 showed that some people started to see the party as more right-leaning. About 45% of those surveyed thought it was centre-right or right-wing. Fewer people saw it as purely centrist compared to 2017.

How the Party Works

Membership

Cédric Villani at a public meeting of La République En Marche in Tokyo

La République En Marche! considers anyone who provides their information and agrees to the party's rules to be a member. Unlike many other political parties, it does not ask members for money to join. Macron has said that people can join La République En Marche! even if they are still members of another political party.

Soon after the party launched in April 2016, Macron said they had 13,000 members. Some news reports questioned this number. Macron's team explained that each member signs a special agreement. They also said that this number was different from people who just signed up for the newsletter.

By October 2016, Macron said that En Marche! had almost as many members as the Socialist Party. Many members were new to politics. Most of them had only shown interest by leaving their details on the party's website.

La République En Marche! encourages its members to be active. Any member can join or create a local group. These groups are led by members who organize events, meetings, and discussions. These activities focus on the party's ideas. By December 2016, there were more than 2,600 such groups.

Money for the Party

A financial group helps raise money for La République En Marche!. In 2016, the party raised funds. By May 2016, Macron said that 2,000 people had given money to the party. By December 2016, this number grew to over 10,000 donors. They had collected between 4 and 5 million euros. By the end of March, this amount was over 9 million euros. The average donation was 257 euros. About 600 donors gave half of the total amount, with donations over 5,000 euros.

Election Results

Presidential Elections

Presidency of the French Republic
Election year	Candidate	First round			Second round			Result
Election year	Candidate	Votes	%	Rank	Votes	%	Rank	Result
2017	Emmanuel Macron	8,656,346	24.01	1st	20,743,128	66.10	1st	Won
2022	Emmanuel Macron	9,783,058	27.85	1st	18,768,639	58.55	1st	Won

Legislative Elections

National Assembly
Election year	Leader	First round		Second round		Seats	+/−	Rank (seats)	Government
Election year	Leader	Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats	+/−	Rank (seats)	Government
2017	Richard Ferrand	6,391,269	28.21	7,826,245	43.06	308 / 577	308	1st	Presidential majority
2022	Stanislas Guerini	5,857,364	25.71	8,003,240	38.57	133 / 577	175	1st	Presidential minority