Gaullist Party and Fourth Republic: Opposition and Desert Crossing (1947-1958)
Further information: Rally of the French People
In 1947, he gathered the anti-Communist opposition in the Rally of the French People (Rassemblement du peuple français or RPF). He accused the Fourth Republic of being dominated by the "parliamentary fiddles" and to organize the state helplessness. In keeping with its strongly nationalist stance, it accused the French Communist Party of being a vassal of the Soviet Union. Furthemore, it denounced what it called the "abandonment" of colonies by the Third Force cabinets, and it viewed French participation in the European Economic Community to be a threat to the nation. In addition, the Gaullists recommended an association between capital and labour in order to end the "struggle of classes", which hampered national unity.
Six months after its founding, membership of the RPF reached one million. It took control of the executive of many cities, including Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux. After the 1951 legislative election and in despite of the change of the ballot system, the RPF formed the largest parliamentary group of the Assembly. But it made a systematic opposition.
In 1952, some RPF deputies voted in favour of Antoine Pinay's cabinet then joined the majority, against the instructions of De Gaulle. They left the RPF parliamentary group. More and more divided, the RPF suffered an important decrease in the 1953 local elections. In 6 May 1953, De Gaulle asked to the Gaullist deputies to abandon the name "RPF". One month later, 5 Gaullist deputies joined Joseph Laniel's government. Indeed, they participated to right-wing majorities then, a part of the Gaullists as Jacques Chaban-Delmas joined the center-left Republican Front under the label National Center of Social Republicans (Centre national des républicains sociaux or CNRS).
At the end of the 1950s, the Fourth Republic floundered in Algerian War. The May 13, 1958 riots in Algeria caused a political crisis. A threat of military coup was brandished. Emissaries sent by de Gaulle participated to this bustle (Jacques Soustelle). The National Assembly accepted to call back De Gaulle to lead the cabinet. On September 28, a new constitution was approved by referendum. The Fifth Republic was born. The parliamentary system was not questioned, but the presidential function was enhanced.
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