Composition
The group is currently a bipartisan outfit. As French politics is becoming increasingly close to a two-party system, this heterogeneous group is a sort of anachronism. Moreover, differently from other political groups, RDSE is characterized by no party discipline as its members are always free to vote as they please.
Since 2008 the group, which has been predominantly Radical and centre-right in 2004–2008, has opened its doors to other parties of the left, has now a centre-left majority and is increasingly similar to other miscellaneous left-wing groups in the National Assembly.
Before joining the group of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) in 2002, most senators of the Radical Party were members of RDSE, while a centrist senator of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) joined briefly the group from 2001 to 2002. Since 2008 five Radical senators out of six are members of the UMP group and only one is still a member of RDSE.
Read more about this topic: European Democratic And Social Rally
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