Rally of the French People

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Rally of the French People
Rassemblement du peuple français
Political positionRight-wing[1]
Colours    Blue, white, red
National Assembly (1951)
121 / 625
Party flag

The Rally of the French People (French: Rassemblement du Peuple Français, RPF) was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.

Foundation

The RPF was founded by

Bonapartist government, with himself as the single dominant ruler.[3]

As de Gaulle also opposed the parties on the basis that they served particular interests and divided the nation, he wanted the RPF to be a "rally," not a political party, and allowed members of other parties (except

, and even socialists and communists. Nevertheless, most of its voters came from the right-wing electorate.

Electoral record

The party enjoyed success in municipal elections (1947), capturing the cities of Lille, Marseille, Bordeaux (with Jacques Chaban-Delmas), Strasbourg, Rennes, Versailles, Le Mans, and Nancy with over 35% of votes. In Paris in 1947, Pierre de Gaulle, the brother of the General, became President of the municipal council, a post similar to mayor.[4] However, the RPF's performance in the Christian Democratic MRP strongholds of rural France was relatively mediocre. Parliamentarians hostile to the RPF delayed cantonal elections in the fear of another Gaullist breakthrough. The hostility of the media and the social events of 1947 limited the party's electoral success.

The 1949 cantonal elections, albeit delayed in fear of an RPF breakthrough, produced another RPF victory (although smaller than the victory in the municipal elections).

The

apparentements
prevented.

Political defeats

With only 117 seats, the RPF had little influence on decision making in the new Assembly. In 1952, 27 deputies voted in favor of

European Defence Community
treaty.

On 13 September 1955, the party was officially dissolved.

Union for the New Republic and help create the Fifth Republic
in 1958.

Leadership

See also

References

  1. ^ Hitchcock, William I. (2008). The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent, 1945–Present. Knopf Doubleday. p. 77.
  2. .