Gaullism - Political Group

Political Group

The "Gaullists" as a political group used to refer to the Union of Democrats for the Republic.

Since de Gaulle's death, and the break-up of the UDR, the exact meaning of Gaullism has become somewhat unclear. In 1980s-1990s usage, "Gaullism", or "Neo-Gaullism", referred to the Rally for the Republic (now integrated into the Union for a Popular Movement), the centre-right party founded by Jacques Chirac. Chirac has, in the past, adopted both dirigiste and laissez-faire approaches to economics; he later took on a pro-European stance after having famously denounced Europeanism in the Call of Cochin. For these reasons, some on the right, such as Charles Pasqua, denounced Chirac and his party as not being true Gaullists.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement is the current heir of Gaullism.

Before the rightward shift of Gaullism in the 1980s, especially with the rallying of the RPR and the UMP to economic liberalism and the European federalist project, many objections have been formed, committed to the independence of France, calling for a more social Gaullism and close to the project of General de Gaulle. This is particularly the case with Philippe Séguin, who opposed the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and more recently with MP Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, who founded his own party, Arise the Republic (DLR) which seems to be the closest to the original Gaullism.

There are people on the political left who also call themselves Gaullists. Even Socialist president François Mitterrand, who denounced de Gaulle's way of ruling as a permanent coup d'état, was very intent on keeping the nuclear deterrent and asserting France's independence.