Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance

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Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance
Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance
PresidentRené Pleven
Founded1945 (1945)
Dissolved1964 (1964)
Merged intoCIR
IdeologySocial liberalism
Anti-communism
Factions:
Liberal socialism
Conservatism[1]
Political positionCentre to centre-left[2][3]
National affiliationRally of Republican Lefts (1946-1955)
Republican Front (1956-1958)
International affiliationLiberal International

The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (French: Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance or UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation, mainly active during the Fourth Republic (1947–58). It was a loosely organised "cadre party" without mass membership. Its ideology was vague, including a broad diversity of different political convictions,[2] and it was variously described as left-wing, centrist, and even conservative. It was decidedly anti-communist and linked with the Paix et Liberté ("Peace and Liberty") movement.[1] The UDSR was a founding member of the Liberal International in 1947.

Foundation

It was founded in 1945 by the non-communist majority of the

Rally of Republican Lefts (Rassemblement des gauches républicaines or RGR), which presented itself as an alternative to the tripartisme alliance between the SFIO, the MRP and the French Communist Party
(PCF).

Fourth Republic

Following the

May 1947 crisis, during which Maurice Thorez (Communist vice-premier) and four other PCF ministers left Paul Ramadier's government, the UDSR took part in the Third Force coalition which united centre-left and centre-right parties in opposition to the PCF on the one hand, and the RPF on the other. It remained, throughout the Fourth Republic, a minor centrist political party, though it participated in various governments. Its president René Pleven was named President of the Council of Ministers from 1951 to 1952, before being succeeded by Antoine Pinay of the CNIP. Pleven's leadership was eventually challenged by François Mitterrand
, who advocated a realignment to the Left, and took the lead in 1953.

In 1956 the UDSR participated in the centre-left

May 1958 crisis, in the midst of the Algerian War and threats of a coup d'état, and the institutions of the Fifth Republic, unlike Mitterrand, who called the new Constitution
a "permanent coup d'état."

Legacy

The UDSR survived until 1964, when it merged into Mitterrand's Convention of Republican Institutions (CIR), which itself merged at the 1971 Epinay Congress into the new Socialist Party (PS), which until 2017 was the main centre-left party in France.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Vinen, Richard (1995). Bourgeois Politics in France, 1945-1951. Cambridge University Press. pp. 184–187.
  2. ^ a b Cole, Alistair (1994). François Mitterrand: A Study in Political Leadership. Routledge. p. 13.
  3. ^ Wakeman, Rosemary (2011). The Fourth Republic. Cornell University Press. p. 74. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)