Gaullist Party

In France, the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claimed to transcend the left/right rift (in a similar way to populist parties elsewhere such as Fianna Fáil in Ireland). The current Gaullist party is the Union for a Popular Movement.

Some personalities and voters defined themselves as "left-wing Gaullists" - a view often ascribed to leading Gaullist André Malraux. However, most of Charles de Gaulle's followers were conservative, and after his death, traditional left-wing voters ceased voting Gaullist and figures identified with the Gaullist left such as Jacques Chaban-Delmas were gradually marginalised. Under its various names and acronyms, the Gaullist Party has been the dominant organization of the French right since the beginning of the Fifth Republic (1958).