Democratic and Republican Left group
Democratic and Republican Left group Groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine | |
---|---|
Tavini Péyi Guyane | |
President | André Chassaigne |
Constituency | Puy-de-Dôme's 5th |
Representation | 22 / 577 |
Ideology | Communism |
Website | groupe-communiste |
The Democratic and Republican Left group (French: groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine or GDR) is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly including representatives of the French Communist Party (PCF) as well as leftist parties with bases in Overseas France.
History
The electoral record of the French Communist Party (PCF) in 2007 was marked by dismal performances, first in the presidential election in which the party's national secretary Marie-George Buffet stood as a candidate supported by the PCF within the framework of an anti-liberal alliance; she was routed in the first round, receiving just 1.93% of the overall vote, a result deemed "catastrophic" for the party.[1] The party's result in the subsequent legislative elections was similarly middling: though it outpaced the projections of pollsters, which placed it between only 5 and 15 seats,[2] it still fell short of the threshold of 20 deputies, then required for the formation of a parliamentary group in the National Assembly. As a result, Alain Bocquet, outgoing leader of the preceding communist group in the assembly, demanded on 18 June that the requirement for the number of deputies to form a political group be lowered to 15 from 20 then needed, with a total of 15 deputies elected under the PCF label in the legislative elections (not counting PCF dissident Maxime Gremetz or PCF associate deputies Jean-Pierre Brard and Jacques Desallangre).[3] Bocquet, referring to the recent election of Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election, added "if the president of the Republic is a democrat, he will prove it", further arguing that "contrary to all predictions, the conditions for the constitution of a communist group in the National Assembly have been met, and their recognition is only a regulatory formality".[3]
During the evening of 17 June, the second round of the legislative elections, Buffet issued an appeal to form an "open" group to carry the "people's voice" in the National Assembly, singling out
Despite this initial outreach to the Greens, however, Buffet's initiative to form a common group with the Greens was ultimately rebuffed, ending the possibility of a "communist, republican and ecologist" group as envisaged by Mamère. Discussions between Mamère, PCF deputy
Unable to pass the threshold of 20 deputies on their own, however, the communists – Bocquet in particular – were eventually forced to reopen the door to the Greens and PRG, with Mamère proposing a "radical, communist, and green" group. Though the PCF continued to petition for a lowering of the bar for a parliamentary group from 20 to 15 deputies, the necessary change of regulation required the assent of a majority of the National Assembly, then controlled by the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). There being no guarantee that this would happen, Bocquet said that the communists needed to act with "pragmatism".[7] The Democratic and Republican Left group (groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine) was ultimately formed on 26 June with 24 deputies, Jean-Claude Sandrier becoming its first president;[8] it included the deputies of the PCF (with the exception of André Gerin, who refused to join), four Greens, and two miscellaneous left deputies: Alfred Marie-Jeanne for Martinique and Huguette Bello for Réunion.[9]
After leaving the PS along with
Following the 2012 legislative elections, André Chassaigne was designated by the 10 deputies of the Left Front to form a parliamentary group, with only 15 deputies now required to form a parliamentary group, again raising the possibility of seeking support from "progressive" deputies representing Réunion, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.[16] With the support of two such deputies already confirmed, as previous members of the group, the support of two newly elected deputies in Martinique, Jean-Philippe Nilor and Bruno Nestor Azerot, was sought out. The search for the fifteenth deputy proved difficult; though Ary Chalus of Guadeloupe, another newly minted deputy, was expected to join the group, the situation was complicated by Chalus's statement on 21 June that he would associate with the Socialist group. The continued existence of the group was finally assured with the confirmation that Gabriel Serville of the Guianese Socialist Party (PSG) would sit with the GDR in the assembly,[17] the group now reduced to 15 deputies.[18]
In the 2017 legislative elections, the PCF and la France Insoumise, the movement founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon prior to the presidential election, failed to establish an alliance to run common candidates in the legislative elections.[19] Both subsequently decided to form separate parliamentary groups; Chassaigne declared that the GDR would continue on 21 June, including 11 of its own deputies and 4 from overseas France, but would not oppose the initiatives of the la France Insoumise group. Mélenchon's insistence on voting discipline respecting his movement's program proved an obstacle in any potential alliance between the two.[20] At the time of its formation on 27 June, the parliamentary group included 16 deputies.[21]
List of presidents
Name | Term start | Term end | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Jean-Claude Sandrier | 26 June 2007 | 1 September 2010 | [8][13] |
Yves Cochet | 1 September 2010 | 29 November 2011 | [13][15] |
Roland Muzeau | 29 November 2011 | 19 June 2012 | [15][23] |
André Chassaigne | 19 June 2012 | present | [16] |
Historical membership
Year | Seats | Change | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | 24 / 577 |
[8] | |
2012 | 15 / 577 |
9 | [18] |
2017 | 16 / 577 |
1 | [21] |
2022 | 22 / 577 |
6 |
See also
References
- ^ "Les communistes se penchent sur leurs échecs électoraux". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Le Parti communiste pourrait conserver son groupe à l'Assemblée". Le Monde. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Alain Bocquet (PCF) appelle à la constitution d'un groupe parlementaire à partir de quinze députés". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Le PCF confiant dans sa capacité à former un groupe à l'Assemblée". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Les Verts gagnent un quatrième député, M. Mamère veut former un groupe avec le PCF". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ Sylvia Zappi (19 June 2007). "Les députés communistes n'envisagent plus de siéger avec les Verts". Le Monde. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Les députés PCF devraient constituer un groupe avec les Verts". Le Monde. Sylvia Zappi. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b c "Les déclarations politiques des groupes, signées de leurs membres, accompagnées de la liste de ces membres et des députés apparentés, ainsi que du nom du président du groupe, ont été remises le mardi 26 juin 2007 au Secrétariat général de la Présidence". Assemblée nationale. 26 June 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-29. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ Patrick Roger; Sylvia Zappi (27 June 2007). "Dernières tractations pour les postes à l'Assemblée". Le Monde. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Mélenchon et Buffet pour un "front commun" aux européennes". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Modifications apportées à la composition de l'Assemblée nationale". Assemblée nationale. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ Jean-Baptiste Garat (11 July 2010). "La Verte Anny Poursinoff l'emporte à Rambouillet". Le Figaro. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b c "Rapport d'activité de l'Assemblée nationale 2010" (PDF). Assemblée nationale. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Gremetz quitte son poste de député". Europe 1. Agence France-Presse. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Emile Picy (29 November 2011). "Le Front de gauche va présider le groupe GDR à l'Assemblée". BFM TV. Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b Arthur Nazaret (19 June 2012). "Front de Gauche : Chassaigne président d'un groupe qui reste à former". Le Journal du Dimanche. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ Patrick Roger (25 June 2012). "Le Front de gauche réussit à constituer un groupe à l'Assemblée". Le Monde. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Les déclarations politiques des groupes, signées de leurs membres, accompagnées de la liste de ces membres et des députés apparentés, ainsi que du nom du président du groupe, ont été remises le mardi 26 juin 2012 au Secrétariat général de la Présidence". Assemblée nationale. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ Rachid Laïreche (9 May 2017). "Législatives : pas d'accord entre la France insoumise et le PCF". Libération. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "Les communistes ne s'allient pas à La France insoumise à l'Assemblée nationale". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine". Assemblée nationale. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "Actrice, militante féministe, et maintenant députée : Qui est Karine Lebon ?". Linfo.re. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Statistiques de l'activité parlementaire à l'Assemblée nationale : XIIIe législature". Assemblée nationale. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
External links
- Notices and portraits of deputies (in French)
- Changes in the composition of groups Archived 2017-06-25 at the Wayback Machine (in French)