Rally for the Republic facts for kids

The Rally for the Republic (RPR) was a major political party in France. It followed the ideas of Charles de Gaulle, a famous French leader. The RPR was also a conservative party.

Jacques Chirac started the RPR in 1976. It grew out of an older party called the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR). The RPR aimed to continue de Gaulle's political legacy. On September 21, 2002, the RPR joined with other groups to form a new party called the Union for the Presidential Majority. This new party was later renamed the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

Quick facts for kids Rally for the Republic Rassemblement pour la République
President	Michèle Alliot-Marie (last)
Founder	Jacques Chirac
Founded	5 December 1976; 48 years ago (1976-12-05)
Dissolved	21 September 2002; 22 years ago (2002-09-21)
Preceded by	Union of Democrats for the Republic
Merged into	Union for a Popular Movement
Ideology	Gaullism Conservatism Liberal conservatism Republicanism 1970s: Paternalistic conservatism
Political position	Right-wing
European affiliation	European People's Party (1999–2002)
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
European Parliament group	EPD (1976–84) EDA (1984–95) UFE (1995–99) EPP-ED (1999–2002)
Colours	Blue      White      Red
Political parties

The RPR's Early Years (1976–1981)

In 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became President of France. He was the first non-Gaullist president since 1958. However, the Gaullist party was still strong in parliament. Jacques Chirac became Prime Minister.

Chirac resigned in August 1976. In December 1976, he created the RPR. The goal was to bring back Gaullist influence in French politics.

The RPR supported the government but also criticized President Giscard d'Estaing. In March 1977, Chirac won the election for Mayor of Paris. This was a big win for the RPR.

Another group, the Union for French Democracy (UDF), also supported the president. The RPR and UDF competed for leadership among right-wing parties. The 1978 election was important for both parties.

The RPR became more critical of the president. In December 1978, Chirac spoke out against policies that he felt hurt France's independence. He believed these policies were too focused on building a federal Europe.

In the 1981 French presidential election, Chirac ran against Giscard d'Estaing. Chirac lost in the first round. He did not openly tell his supporters to vote for Giscard d'Estaing in the second round. Many in the RPR hoped Giscard d'Estaing would lose.

The first logo of the RPR. It shows the Cross of Lorraine, a symbol of the Free French, and the phrygian cap (worn by Marianne, a symbol of France).

The RPR in Opposition (1981–1995)

After 1981, the RPR strongly opposed the policies of President François Mitterrand and his Socialist Party government. The RPR disagreed with the government's plan to take over many companies. They called it a "collectivist society."

The RPR was impressed by leaders like Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom. They started to support less government control in the economy. This was a change from the original Gaullist ideas.

In 1983, the RPR supported a more liberal economic plan. They also accepted the idea of a stronger, united Europe. This new direction helped the RPR and the UDF work together.

They formed a joint list for the 1984 European Parliament election. They also created a plan for the 1986 election, which they won. However, Chirac and Raymond Barre competed for leadership of the right-wing parties.

A new far-right party, the National Front, also emerged. The RPR was divided on whether to work with this party.

In 1986, Chirac became Prime Minister again. This was a "cohabitation" government, meaning the president and prime minister were from different parties. Chirac sold many public companies and removed a tax on wealth. His Interior Minister, Charles Pasqua, made rules to limit immigration.

Chirac ran for president again in 1988 but lost to Mitterrand.

While in opposition, some younger politicians wanted to change the RPR. Some, like Charles Pasqua and Philippe Séguin, felt Chirac was moving too far from Gaullist ideas. They tried to take over the RPR leadership in 1990 but failed.

The party was divided again over the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. This treaty was about European unity. Chirac voted "yes," but Séguin and Pasqua campaigned for "no."

In 1993, the RPR and UDF won the election together. Chirac did not want to be Prime Minister under Mitterrand again. So, Edouard Balladur became Prime Minister. Balladur had promised not to run for president in 1995.

However, polls showed Balladur was popular, and many right-wing politicians supported him. He decided to run against Chirac. Even so, they said they remained friends.

The main competition in the 1995 French presidential election was between Balladur and Chirac. Balladur offered a liberal plan. Chirac focused on helping people and fixing social problems. Chirac won the election.

The RPR as the Presidential Party (1995–2002)

After becoming President, Jacques Chirac chose Alain Juppé as his Prime Minister. However, many people who had supported Balladur were not included in the new government.

In November 1995, Prime Minister Juppé announced plans to change France's social welfare system. This led to many protests and made the government unpopular. President Chirac then called for a new election.

His supporters lost the 1997 French legislative election. This meant Chirac had to work with a left-wing government led by Lionel Jospin until 2002. This was another period of "cohabitation."

Philippe Séguin became the new RPR leader after Juppé. But Séguin felt President Chirac had too much control over the party. Séguin resigned during the 1999 European election campaign.

Charles Pasqua created a separate list for the European election. He wanted to promote the Gaullist idea of a "Europe of nations." Pasqua's group, the Rally for France (RPF), got more votes than the RPR's official list, which was led by Nicolas Sarkozy.

Michèle Alliot-Marie was then elected as the RPR leader. President Chirac had secretly supported another candidate, but Alliot-Marie won.

The RPR faced some problems related to party funding. For example, the party was suspected of using money from Paris city funds to pay its staff. In 2001, the RPR lost the election for Mayor of Paris to a left-wing candidate.

After the 1999 European elections, the RPR joined a group called the European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP-ED) in the European Parliament. They became a full member of the European People's Party (EPP) in December 2001.

Before the 2002 French presidential election, Chirac's supporters formed a group called "Union on the move." After the election, this group became the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Chirac was re-elected president, and the new UMP party won the legislative election.

The RPR was replaced by the UMP.

Election Results

Presidential Elections

National Assembly Elections

National Assembly

Election year	Leader	1st round		2nd round		Seats	+/−	Rank	Result
		Votes	%	Votes	%
1978	Jacques Chirac	6,462,462	22.62	6,651,756	26.11	150 / 491	33	1st	Government
1981		5,231,269	20.81	4,174,302	22.35	85 / 491	63	2nd	Opposition
1986		3,143,224	11.22	-	-	149 / 573	64	2nd	Government
1988		4,687,047	19.19	4,688,493	23.09	126 / 577	23	3rd	Opposition
1993		5,032,496	20.08	5,741,629	28.99	242 / 577	116	1st	Government
1997	Alain Juppé	3,983,257	15.65	5,714,354	22.46	139 / 577	103	2nd	Opposition

European Parliament Elections

Election year	Main Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/−	European Parliament Group
1979	Jacques Chirac	3,301,980	16.31	15 / 81	–	European Progressive Democrats
1984	Simone Veil (UDF)	8,683,596	43.03	19 / 81	4	European Democratic Alliance
	joint list with Union for French Democracy, which together won 41 seats.
1989	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (PR)	5,242,038	28.88	14 / 81	5	European Democratic Alliance
	joint list with Union for French Democracy, which together won 26 seats.
1994	Dominique Baudis (CDS)	4,985,574	25.58	14 / 87		European Democratic Alliance Union for Europe
	joint list with Union for French Democracy, which together won 28 seats.
1999	Nicolas Sarkozy	2,263,476	12.82	12 / 87	3	European People's Party - European Democrats

Past Leaders

• Jacques Chirac, 1976–1994
• Alain Juppé, 1994–1997
• Philippe Séguin, 1997–1999
• Nicolas Sarkozy, 1999 (for a short time)
• Michèle Alliot-Marie, 1999–2002
• Serge Lepeltier, 2002 (for a short time)

RPR Members in Parliament

• 1978–1981: 154 members (out of 491)
• 1981–1986: 88 members (out of 491)
• 1986–1988: 155 members (out of 577)
• 1988–1993: 130 members (out of 577)
• 1993–1997: 257 members (out of 577)
• 1997–2002: 140 members (out of 577)

Images for kids

• 

  RPR meeting in 1982.

See also

In Spanish: Agrupación por la República para niños

• Gaullist Party
• Politics of France