National Centre of Independents and Peasants facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
National Centre of Independents and Peasants
Centre national des indépendants et paysans
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| President | Bruno North |
| Founder | René Coty |
| Founded | 6 January 1949 (as CNI) |
| Merger of | Democratic Alliance, Republican Party of Liberty, Peasant Party |
| Headquarters | 6, Rue Quentin Bauchart 75008 Paris |
| Youth wing | Youngs Independents and Peasants |
| Ideology | French nationalism Conservatism Agrarianism Euroscepticism Before 1962: Conservative liberalism Economic liberalism Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Right-wing Before 1962: Centre-right |
| Colours | Blue, white, red (French Tricolour) |
| National Assembly |
0 / 577
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| Senate |
0 / 348
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| European Parliament |
0 / 74
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| Regional Councils |
0 / 17
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| Departmental Councils |
0 / 101
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The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (in French: Centre national des indépendants et paysans, or CNIP) is a political party in France. It is considered a right-wing party that supports farmers. It was created in 1951 when several groups joined together. These groups included the National Centre of Independents (CNI), the Peasant Party, and the Republican Party of Liberty.
The CNIP was very important during the time of the Fourth Republic (before 1958). However, after the Fifth Republic started, its influence became much smaller. The party has often worked as a smaller partner with bigger centre-right parties. The CNIP and the groups it came from have always believed in free markets. They were against the government controlling the economy too much.
Contents
History of the CNIP Party
The Fourth Republic Era (Before 1958)
The Centre National des Indépendants started in January 1949. Its goal was to bring together centre-right and right-wing politicians. These politicians were spread out among many different parties. In 1951, this group joined with the Peasant Party to form the CNIP we know today.
During the Fourth Republic, the CNIP was the main right-wing party. It won about 14% of the votes in the elections of 1951 and 1956. The party was part of government groups called "Third Force" coalitions. They played a big role in the government in the early 1950s.
Antoine Pinay, a very popular figure from the party, became Prime Minister in 1952. After him, Joseph Laniel was Prime Minister from 1953 to 1954. Also, René Coty, a CNIP politician, was elected President of France in 1953. The party's power started to decline after a big military defeat in Indochina in 1954. After the 1956 elections, they were mostly in opposition for the last two years of the Fourth Republic.
During the Cold War, the CNIP was strongly against communism. It received a lot of support and money from business owners, colonial groups, and farmers. The CNIP believed in free markets more than some other parties. However, like other parties, it supported European integration (countries in Europe working closely together) and NATO (a military alliance). The party also strongly defended French Algeria during the Algerian War.
The Fifth Republic Era (After 1958)
In 1958, the CNIP supported Charles de Gaulle when he returned to power. They also approved the new rules for the Fifth Republic. After winning over 130 seats in the 1958 election, the CNIP was part of the government until 1962. Antoine Pinay, who was the Minister of the Economy, successfully introduced a new currency in 1959.
However, the party soon disagreed with Charles de Gaulle. They did not like his policy of letting Algeria decide its own future. They also disliked his economic policies, where the government got involved a lot. The CNIP also criticized de Gaulle's doubts about European unity. They were against the president gaining too much power. On October 5, 1962, 107 CNIP politicians voted against Georges Pompidou's government. They were against de Gaulle's plan to let people directly vote for the president.
Even with this, some CNIP ministers, like Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, continued to support de Gaulle. These ministers and 24 other politicians started their own party, called the Independent Republicans (RI).
The CNIP was greatly weakened by this split and its opposition to the 1962 vote. They lost many seats in the 1962 election. They were left with only a few seats. The party then joined with another group to form the Democratic Centre. The CNIP became a very small part of this new group.
The party has never become as strong as it once was. It became a small conservative group. In the 1980s, it tried to connect the main right-wing parties with the far-right. In the 1986 election, CNIP members were on the lists of bigger parties. They won three seats by working with the far-right in some areas. In 1997, they had a short-lived partnership with another party.
Recent History of the CNIP
In 2002, the CNIP became a partner of the Union for a Popular Movement. But in June 2008, they decided to separate from that party. After the 2007 legislative election, the CNIP had two seats in the French National Assembly. François Lebel, a mayor in Paris, joined the party in April 2008.
Since 2008, the party has been unsure whether to stay allied with President Nicolas Sarkozy's party or to join with more centrist allies. They joined a temporary group that connected the main party with its close partners. Gilles Bourdouleix, who became the party's leader in 2009, announced in 2011 that his party was trying to form an alliance with a centrist group.
These talks did not work out. They also caused a big disagreement with the party's former leader, Annick du Roscoät. She wanted the party to keep its conservative ideas. Bourdouleix, however, wanted to move the CNIP more towards the centre-right.
In the 2009 European Parliament election, the party ran its own separate lists of candidates in three areas. However, they could only print ballots in two of these areas. In the 2010 regional elections, the CNIP supported some lists led by another party. In other regions, they supported the main right-wing party or other right-wing groups.
On September 19, 2012, Bourdouleix, who was the party's only remaining politician in the National Assembly, announced that the CNIP was joining a centre-right group called the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI). He had already joined the UDI group in the National Assembly in June 2012. However, the CNIP was later removed from the UDI.
The CNIP joined a group called Les Amoureux de la France during the 2019 European Parliament election. They were also part of the parties that supported Eric Zemmour's political party during the 2022 presidential election.
Electoral Results
These tables show how the CNIP party and its supported candidates have performed in past elections in France.
Presidential Election Results
| President of France | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
Candidate president | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 13,083,699 (#1) | 55.20 |
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Won | ||
| 1969 | 7,943,118 (#2) | 41.79 |
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Lost | ||
| 1974 | 13,396,203 (#1) | 50.81 |
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Won | ||
| 1981 | 14,642,306 (#2) | 48.24 |
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Lost | ||
| 1988 | 5,031,849 (#3) | 16.55 |
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Lost | ||
| 1995 | 1,443,186 (#7) | 4.74 |
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Lost | ||
| 2002 | 25,537,956 (#1) | 82.21 |
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Won | ||
| 2007 | 18,983,138 (#1) | 53.06 |
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Won | ||
| 2012 | 16,860,685 (#2) | 48.36 |
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Lost | ||
| 2022 | 2,485,226 (#4) | 7.07 |
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Lost | ||
French Parliament Election Results
| National Assembly | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
# of overall seats won |
+/– | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 2,563,782 (#4) | 13.64 |
96 / 625
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| 1956 | 3,259,782 (#2) | 14.99 |
95 / 595
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 1 |
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| 1958 | 4,092,600 (#2) | 19.9 |
132 / 546
|
 37 |
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| 1962 | 1,404,177 (#6) | 7.66 |
28 / 491
|
104 |
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| 1967 | Ran together with UD-Ve |
0 / 491
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28 |
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| 1968 | Ran together with UDR |
0 / 491
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||
| 1973 | Ran together with UDR |
0 / 491
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||
| 1978 | Ran together with RPR |
8 / 491
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8 |
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| 1981 | Ran together with RPR |
5 / 491
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3 |
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| 1986 | Ran together with RPR |
5 / 573
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| 1988 | Ran together with RPR |
5 / 577
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| 1993 | 122,194 (#13) | 0.5 |
2 / 577
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3 |
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| 1997 | 132,814 (#13) | 0.52 |
0 / 577
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2 |
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| 2002 | 14,403 (#19) | 0.06 |
2 / 577
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2 |
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| 2007 | Ran together with UMP |
2 / 577
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| 2012 | Ran together with UMP |
1 / 577
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1 |
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European Parliament Election Results
| European Parliament | ||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
# of overall seats won |
+/– | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979* | 5,588,851 (#1) | 27.61 |
0 / 81
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| 1984** | 8,683,596 (#1) | 43.03 |
2 / 81
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2 |
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| 1989** | 5,242,038 (#1) | 28.88 |
2 / 81
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| 1994** | 4,985,574 (#1) | 25.58 |
0 / 87
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2 |
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| 2009 | 8,656 (#12) | 0.05 |
0 / 72
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Leaders of the CNIP Party
The CNIP party has had different leaders over the years. Before 1973, the leader was called a secretary-general. After 1973, the leader was called a president.
- 1949–1961: Roger Duchet (Secretary-General)
- 1961–1973: Camille Laurens (Secretary-General)
- 1973–1975: François Schleiter (President)
- 1975–1979: Bertrand Motte (President)
- 1979–1980: Shared leadership (Jacques Fouchier, Maurice Ligot, Raymond Bourgine)
- 1980–1987: Philippe Malaud (President)
- 1987–1989: Jacques Féron (President)
- 1989–1992: Yvon Briant (President)
- 1992–1996: Jean-Antoine Giansily (President)
- 1996–1998: Olivier d'Ormesson (President)
- 1998–1999: Jean Perrin (President)
- 1999–2000: Gérard Bourgoin (President)
- 2000–2009: Annick du Roscoät (President)
- Since 2009: Gilles Bourdouleix (President)
Elected Officials
- Gilles Bourdouleix (from Maine-et-Loire) is a politician who is also the mayor of Cholet.
Images for kids
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The logo of the National Centre of Independents and Peasants party.
See also
In Spanish: Centro Nacional de Independientes y Campesinos para niños
