Rally for the Republic facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rally for the Republic Rassemblement pour la République
Abbreviation	RPR
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 Populism 1970s: Paternalistic conservatism
Political position	Centre-right to 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 Rally for the Republic (RPR) was a big political party in France. It was known for following the ideas of Charles de Gaulle, a famous French leader. The RPR was also a conservative party, meaning it generally supported traditional values and less government control in some areas.

Jacques Chirac started the RPR in 1976. It grew out of an older party called the Union of Democrats for the Republic. For many years, the RPR was one of the two main political parties in France, along with the Socialist Party. In 2002, the RPR joined with other groups to form a new, larger party called the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

The RPR's Early Years (1976–1981)

In 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became the President of France. He was the first president since 1958 who was not from the Gaullist movement. However, the Gaullist party was still strong in parliament. Jacques Chirac became the Prime Minister.

Chirac left his role as Prime Minister in 1976. In December of that year, he created the RPR. His goal was to bring back the strong influence of Gaullist ideas in French politics.

The RPR supported the government but also criticized President Giscard d'Estaing. In 1977, Chirac won the election to become Mayor of Paris. This was a big win for the RPR. Another group, the Union for French Democracy (UDF), also wanted to lead the right-wing parties. This led to a friendly competition between the RPR and UDF.

Before the 1979 European Parliament election, Chirac wrote something called the Call of Cochin. In it, he said that some people were putting European interests before France's own independence. This was aimed at President Giscard d'Estaing.

In the 1981 presidential election, Chirac ran against Giscard d'Estaing. Chirac did not win the first round of voting. He did not openly tell his supporters to vote for Giscard d'Estaing in the second round. Many people expected the RPR to work for Giscard d'Estaing's defeat.

The first logo of the RPR showed the Cross of Lorraine, a symbol of French freedom, on top of the phrygian cap, which represents liberty.

Changes and Challenges (1981–1995)

After 1981, the RPR strongly opposed the policies of the Socialist President François Mitterrand. The RPR disagreed with the government taking over many private companies.

The RPR started to change its ideas. They were impressed by leaders like Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom. These leaders believed in less government control over the economy. The RPR began to support more economic freedom and continued to support building a united Europe.

These new ideas helped the RPR and the UDF work together. They ran on a common list in the 1984 European Parliament election. They also created a plan to win the 1986 legislative election, which they did.

However, a rivalry grew between Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre for leadership of the right-wing parties. Also, a new far-right party, the National Front, started to gain support. The RPR was divided on whether to work with this party.

In 1986, Chirac became Prime Minister again. He worked with President Mitterrand, which was called "cohabitation." Chirac's government 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 the RPR was in opposition, some younger politicians wanted to update the party. Some, like Charles Pasqua and Philippe Séguin, felt that Chirac was moving too far from the original Gaullist ideas. They tried to take over the RPR leadership in 1990 but did not succeed.

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

In 1993, the RPR and UDF won the legislative election. Chirac decided not to be Prime Minister again. Instead, Edouard Balladur took the role. Balladur had promised not to run for president in 1995. But polls showed he was very popular, and many right-wing politicians supported him. He decided to run against Chirac.

The main competition in the 1995 presidential election was between Balladur and Chirac. Balladur offered a plan for more economic freedom. Chirac focused on reducing social inequality and won the election.

The RPR as the Presidential Party (1995–2002)

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

In 1995, Prime Minister Juppé announced plans to change France's social welfare system. This led to big protests and made the government very unpopular. President Chirac then called for new elections in 1997, but his supporters lost. This meant he had to work with a left-wing government led by Lionel Jospin until 2002. This was another period of "cohabitation."

Philippe Séguin became the RPR leader after Juppé. However, he felt that President Chirac had too much control over the party. Séguin resigned in 1999. Around the same time, Charles Pasqua created a new party, the Rally for France (RPF), because he wanted to stick to the original Gaullist idea of a "Europe of nations." Pasqua's new party actually got more votes than the official RPR list led by Nicolas Sarkozy in the 1999 European elections.

Michèle Alliot-Marie was then elected as the RPR leader. The RPR also faced some issues regarding party funding. For example, there were questions about whether party employees were paid using city funds from Paris. The RPR lost control of the Paris mayor's office to the left in 2001.

Before the 2002 presidential election, Chirac's supporters from both the RPR and other groups formed a new association. After Chirac was re-elected president and his new party won the legislative election, this group became the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). The RPR officially merged into the UMP in September 2002.

Presidential Election Results

The RPR's main candidate for president was Jacques Chirac.

National Assembly Election Results

The RPR also participated in elections for the National Assembly, which is like the parliament.

National Assembly

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

European Parliament Election Results

The RPR also took part in elections for the European Parliament.

Election year	Main Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	Change in seats	European Parliament Group
1979	Jacques Chirac	3,301,980	16.31	15	–	European Progressive Democrats
1984	Simone Veil (UDF)	8,683,596	43.03	19	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	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		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	3	European People's Party - European Democrats

Leaders of the RPR

Here are the people who led the RPR party over the years:

• 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)

Images for kids

• 

  RPR meeting in 1982.

See also

In Spanish: Agrupación por la República para niños

• Gaullist Party
• Politics of France