The Republicans (France)

"Les Republicains" redirects here. For other uses, see Republicain.
Not to be confused with Republican Party (France).

The Republicans
Les Républicains
AbbreviationLR
PresidentVacant[a]
Secretary-GeneralAnnie Genevard
FounderNicolas Sarkozy
Founded30 May 2015; 9 years ago (2015-05-30)
Preceded byUnion for a Popular Movement
Headquarters238 Rue de Vaugirard, 75015 Paris
Youth wingLes Jeunes Républicains
Membership (2023)Decrease 72,251[1]
IdeologyLiberal conservatism[2][3][4]
Political positionCentre-right to right-wing
National affiliationUnion of the Right and Centre
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
Colours
  •   Blue
  •   White
  •   Red
National Assembly
51 / 577
Senate
115 / 348
European Parliament
6 / 79
Presidencies of regional councils
3 / 17
Presidencies of departmental councils
36 / 94
Website
republicains.fr Edit this at Wikidata

The Republicans (French: Les Républicains, [le ʁepyblikɛ̃], LR)[b] is a liberal-conservative political party in France, largely inspired by the tradition of Gaullism.[5][2][6] The party was formed in 2015 as the refoundation of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), which had been established in 2002 under the leadership of then-President of France, Jacques Chirac.[7][8]

The UMP used to be one of the two major political parties in the Fifth Republic, along with the centre-left Socialist Party, before being eclipsed by the National Rally and Renaissance. The LR candidate in the 2017 presidential election, former Prime Minister François Fillon, placed third in the first round, with 20.0% of the vote. Following the 2017 legislative election, LR became the second-largest party in the National Assembly, behind President Emmanuel Macron's La République En Marche! party (later renamed Renaissance).

After a disappointing result in the 2019 European Parliament election, party leader Laurent Wauquiez resigned. He was replaced by Christian Jacob, who remained in office until after the 2022 legislative election, which saw LR lose half of its seats, although it became the kingmaker in a hung parliament. One month before, in the 2022 presidential election, LR nominee Valérie Pécresse placed fifth with 4.7% of the vote. Despite those setbacks, LR was still the largest party in the Senate and headed a plurality of regions of France.

LR is a member of the Centrist Democrat International[9] and the European People's Party,[10] and sits in the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament.[11] Éric Ciotti became president of LR after the 2022 leadership election. During an 11 June interview, Ciotti spoke in favor of an electoral alliance with National Rally to contest the upcoming 2024 French legislative election. That would have reversed the historic cordon sanitaire that the party had regarding the group.[12] Ciotti was expelled from his leadership position the following day and from the party on 14 June, though both decisions were reversed by a Paris court on the same day.


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  1. ^ Schuck, Nathalie (11 December 2023). "Les Républicains, cette " brouette de grenouilles " qui s'agitent" [The Republicans, that "wheelbarrow of frogs" waving about]. Le Point (in French). Groupe Artémis. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "France". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Fillon, le triomphe du libéral-conservatisme". Causeur. 28 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Libéral et conservateur : le programme de François Fillon pour la France". Le Parisien. 22 November 2016.
  5. ^ André Knouwel (2021). "Political Partoes". In Rory Costello; Neil Robinson (eds.). Comparative European Politics: Distinctive Democracies, Common Challenges. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780198811404.
  6. ^ "Les Républicains » : comment Sarkozy veut dépasser la logique de parti". lessechos.fr. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  7. ^ Bolton, Doug (30 May 2015). "Nicolas Sarkozy changes UMP party's name to The Republicans ahead of political comeback". The Independent. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  8. ^ "France's UMP party changes name to The Republicans, boosting Sarkozy". Reuters Editorial. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Partidos Archivo". idc-cdi. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  10. ^ "EPP - European People's Party - Member Parties". European People's Party. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2015. Click on France.
  11. ^ "france | EPP Group in the European Parliament". Eppgroup.eu. 2 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  12. ^ Cohen, Roger; Breeden, Aurelien (11 June 2024). "France in Shock as Conservative Leader Embraces Far Right". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 June 2024.