Radical Party Parti radical | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| President | Nathalie Delattre |
| Founded | 23 June 1901; 124 years ago (1901-06-23) |
| Headquarters | 1 Place de Valois, 75001 Paris |
| Youth wing | Young Radicals |
| LGBT wing | GayLib (since 2018) |
| Membership(2014) | 7,925[1][needs update] |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Centre (since 2017) Historical: Far-left (19th century) Left-wing (early 20th century) Centre-left (1913–1944) Centre (1944–1972) Centre-right (1972–2017)[2] |
| National affiliation | Ensemble Historical: UDF (1978–2002) UMP (2002–2011) ARES (2011–2012) UDI (2012–2017) MR (2017–2021) |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
| International affiliation | Radical International (historical) |
| Colours | Mauve |
| National Assembly | 1 / 577 |
| Senate | 5 / 348 |
| European Parliament | 0 / 81 |
| Presidency of Regional Councils | 0 / 17 |
| Presidency of Departmental Councils | 0 / 95 |
| Website | |
| parti-radical.fr | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Liberalism in France |
|---|
 |
People |
TheRadical Party (French:Parti radical,pronounced[paʁtiʁadikal]), officially theRepublican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party (Parti républicain, radical et radical-socialiste[paʁtiʁepyblikɛ̃ʁadikaleʁadikalsɔsjalist]), is aliberal[3] andsocial-liberal[4]political party inFrance. Since 1971, to prevent confusion with theRadical Party of the Left (PRG), it has also been referred to asParti radical valoisien, after its headquarters on therue de Valois. The party's name has been variously abbreviated toPRRRS,Rad,PR andPRV. Founded in 1901, the PR is the oldest active political party in France.
Coming from theRadical Republican tradition,[5] the PR upheld the principles ofprivate property,social justice andsecularism. The Radicals were originally a left-wing group, but, starting with the emergence of theFrench Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) in 1905, they shifted gradually towards the centre. In 1926, its right-wing split off to form the Unionist (or National) Radicals. In 1971 the party's left-wing split off to form the PRG. The PR then affiliated with the centre-right, becoming one of the founder parties of theUnion for French Democracy (UDF) in 1978. The party split from the UDF in 2002 in order to become an associate party of theUnion for a Popular Movement (UMP). It was later represented on theLiaison Committee for the Presidential Majority prior to launchingThe Alliance (ARES) in 2011 and theUnion of Democrats and Independents (UDI) in 2012. After the2017 presidential andlegislative elections, negotiations to merge the PR and the PRG began. The refounding congress to reunite the parties into theRadical Movement was held in December 2017.[6][7] However, the union proved short-lived and, by 2021, both the PR and PRG returned to be independent parties. The PR has then been part of theEnsemble coalition.
After the collapse ofNapoleon'sempire in 1815, a reactionaryBourbon Restoration took place. The left-wing opposition was constituted by the broad family of Republicans, but these differed over whether and how far to cooperate withliberal-constitutional monarchists in pursuit of theircommon adversary. In contrast to the Republicans' right wing (then the centre-left of the political spectrum), who were more inclined to accept a socially conservativeconstitutional monarchy as the first stage to a republic, the Republicans' left wing took a hard line in advocating progressive reforms such asuniversal manhood suffrage,civil liberties (such as press freedom and right to assembly, among others), and the immediate installation of a republican constitution. They came to be termed Radical Republicans by opposition to theModerate Republicans.
After the installation of the constitutionalJuly Monarchy (1830–1848), the term Republican was outlawed and the regime's remaining Republican opponents adopted the term Radical for themselves. Following the monarchy's conservative turn,Alexandre Ledru-Rollin andLouis Blanc formulated a Radical doctrine. At this time, radicalism was distinct from and to the left of the July Monarchy'sdoctrinal liberalism. Radicals defended traditional peasant farmers and small craftsmen against the new rival economic projects of the 19th century, socialist collectivism and capitalist big business alike.[8]
The Radicals took a major part in the1848 Revolution and the foundation of theSecond Republic, sitting in parliament as theMontagne legislative group. Fifty years later, the Radical-Socialist Party would consider this group its direct forefather. For a few months,Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin was Interior Minister in the provisional government. However, the conservatives won the1848 legislative election, the first election by universal suffrage. The repression of the June 1848 workers' demonstrations disappointed the left-wing supporters of the new regime. Ledru-Rollin obtained only 5% of votes at theDecember 1848 presidential election, which was won byLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who launched acoup, ending parliamentary democracy in favour of aSecond Empire.[9]
From opposition, Radicals criticized Bonaparte's autocratic rule and attacks on civil liberties. At the end of the 1860s, they advocated with theBelleville Programme (supported byLéon Gambetta) the election ofcivil servants andmayors, the proclamation of the so-called "great liberties", free public teaching and the separation of church and state.[10]
After the collapse of theSecond French Empire following the 1870Franco-Prussian War, theThird Republic was proclaimed in September 1870. The firstelections in February 1871 returned a majority of monarchists belonging to two distinct factions, conservative-liberalOrléanists and Catholic-traditionalistLegitimists, but these were too divided to reach an agreement over the type of monarchy they wanted to restore. Their division allowed time for the Republicans to win the1876 elections, leading to the firm establishment of a Republican republic. Like the monarchists, the Republicans were divided into two main factions, namely a centre-left formed of socially-conservative yet liberal and secularModerate Republicans (pejoratively labeled "Opportunist Republicans") and a far-left of uncompromising anticlerical Radicals.Georges Clemenceau was the leader of the Radical parliamentary group, who criticized colonial policy as a form of diversion from"revenge" against Prussia and due to his ability was a protagonist of the collapse of many governments.[11]
In the 1890s, competition from the growinglabour movement and concern for theplight of industrial workers promptedLéon Bourgeois to update the fifty-year-old Radical doctrine to encompass social reforms such as the progressiveincome tax andsocial insurance schemes, hence the term Radical-Socialist, a social-democratic synthesis ofreformist socialism with traditional radicalism.[12] After theDreyfus Affair, Radicals joined forces with conservative Republicans and some Socialists inPierre Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet (1899–1902). In 1901, an Act on the right of association was voted and the various individual Radicals organised themselves into a political party in order to defend their governmental achievements from theCatholic Church's influence and the traditionalist opposition.[13] However, not all Radicals accepted the change in doctrine and alliance. While retaining their doctrines, those who rejected the new turn towards social-democracy and partnership with the Socialist Party gradually peeled away, labelling themselves theIndependent Radicals and sitting in their own loose-knit parliamentary party (Radical Left) to the right of the Radical-Socialists.
The Radical-Socialist and Radical Republican Party was the first large political party established at a national level in France, which contrasted with previous parliamentary groups that were formed spontaneously by likeminded independent lawmakers elected through purely local electoral committees. The first congress of the Radical Party was held in June 1901. Delegates represented 476 election committees, 215 editorial boards of Radical newspapers and 155 Masonic lodges as well as lawmakers, mayors and municipal councillors.[14] However, it was not until 1914 that the Radical-Socialist Party imposed strict discipline on its parliamentary deputies, requiring them to sit exclusively in a single Radical-Socialist legislativecaucus.
The existence of a national party immediately changed the political scene. Several Radical independents had already been presidents of the council (Ferdinand Buisson,Emile Combes andCharles Floquet, among others) and the Radicals already benefited from a strong presence across the country. The party was composed of a heterogeneous alliance of personal fiefdoms, informal electoral clubs,masonic lodges and sections of theLigue des droits de l'homme (Human Rights League) and theLigue française de l'enseignement (French League of Education, an association dedicated to introducing, expanding and defending free, compulsory and non-religious primary education).[15] The secularising cause was championed byÉmile Combes' cabinet start of the 20th century. As the political enemy, they identified the Catholic Church, seen as a political campaign entity for ultra-conservatives and monarchists.[16]
At1902 legislative election, the Radical-Socialists and the Independent Radicals allied themselves with the conservative-liberals of theDemocratic Alliance (to their immediate right) and the Socialists (to their left) in theBloc des gauches (Coalition of the Left), with the Radicals emerging the main political force.Émile Combes took the head of theBloc des gauches cabinet and led a resolute anti-clerical policy culminating in the1905 laic law which along with the earlierJules Ferry laws removing confessional influence from public education formed the backbone oflaïcité, France's policy of combattingclericalism by actively excluding it from state institutions. From then on, the Radical-Socialist Party's chief aim in domestic policy was to prevent its wide-ranging set of reforms from being overturned by a return to power of the religious right.
After the withdrawal of the Socialist ministers from the government following theInternational Socialist Congress of Amsterdam in 1904, the coalition dissolved and the Radicals went alone into the1906 legislative elections. Nevertheless, the Radical-Socialist Party remained the axis of the parliamentary majorities and of the governments. The cabinet led by the Independent RadicalGeorges Clemenceau (1906–1909) introducedincome tax and workers' pensions, but is also remembered for its violent repression of industrial strikes.
For the latter part of theThird Republic (1918–1940), the Radical-Socialists, generally representing the anti-clerical segment of peasant and petty-bourgeois voters, were usually the largest single party in parliament, but with their anti-clerical agenda accomplished the party lost their driving force. Its leader before World War IJoseph Caillaux was generally more noted for his advocacy of better relations with Germany than for his reformist agenda.
DuringWorld War I (1914–1918), the Radical-Socialist Party was the keystone of theSacred Union while the most prominent Independent RadicalGeorges Clemenceau led the cabinet again from 1917 to 1919. He appeared as the "architect of victory", but his relationship with the Radical-Socialist Party deteriorated. The Radical-Socialists and the Independent Radicals entered the1919 legislative election in opposing coalitions, thus Clemenceau'salliance of the right emerged victorious.
By the end of World War I, the Radical-Socialist Party, now led byÉdouard Herriot, were generally a moderate centre-left party faced with the governmental dominance of the socially-conservative liberal parties to its right (seeIndependent Radicals andDemocratic Alliance) and pressure from its left by the rise of support for the socialistFrench Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) andFrench Communist Party (PCF). With these political forces, Radical-Socialists sharedanti-clericalism and the struggle for "social progress", but unlike the other left parties the Radical-Socialists defended the principle of strict parliamentary action and the defence of private property, at least that of smallholders and small business. Additionally, the Radical-Socialist Party had thought before 1914 that its old adversaries among theCatholic,monarchist andtraditionalist right had been weakened once and for all, instead these emerged reinvigorated by World War I.[17]
In 1924, Radical-Socialists formed electoral alliances with the SFIO. TheCartel des Gauches (Coalition of the Left) won the1924 legislative election and Herriot formed a government. However, the Radical-Socialists gradually drifted to the right, moving from left-Republican governments supported by the non-participating Socialists to a coalition of "Republican concentration" with the centre-right Independent Radicals and the more socially-conservative liberal parties in 1926.[18]
Two years later at theAngers Congress, the left-wing of the party obtained the withdrawal of the Radical-Socialists from the cabinet and the return to a policy of alliance with the Socialists.Édouard Daladier was elected party leader. However, a section of the party's right-wing defected to form a second centre-rightIndependent Radical party (the Social and Radical Left) which opposed alliance with the Socialist Party and preferred close cooperation with the centre-right liberals of theDemocratic Alliance.
The party claimed 120,000 members in the 1930s, however, these figures were inflated by competitors purchasing party memberships in bulk to influence inner-party votes.[19]
The secondCartel des gauches won the1932 legislative election, but its two main components were not able to establish a common agenda and consequently the SFIO chose to support the second government led by Herriot without participation. The coalition fell on 7 February 1934 followingriots organized by the far-right leagues the night before. The Radical-SocialistCamille Chautemps's government had been replaced by a government led by his popular rival Édouard Daladier in January after accusations of corruption against Chautemps' government in the wake of theStavisky Affair and other similar scandals.
This pattern of initial alliance with a socialist party unwilling to join in active government followed by disillusionment and alliance with the centre-right seemed to be broken in 1936, when thePopular Front electoral alliance with the Socialists and the Communists led to the accession of Socialist leaderLéon Blum asPresident of the Council in a coalition government in which the Radical-Socialist leaders Édouard Daladier and Camille Chautemps (representing left and right of the Radical-Socialist Party, respectively) took important roles. For the first time in its history, the Radical-Socialist Party obtained fewer votes than the SFIO.
Over the tempestuous life of the coalition, the Radical-Socialists began to become concerned at the perceived radicalism of their coalition partners. Hence, they opposed themselves to Blum's intention to help the Republicans during theSpanish Civil War (1936–1939), forcing him to adopt a non-interventionist policy. Following the failure of Blum's second government in April 1938, Daladier formed a new government in coalition with the liberal and conservative parties.
After the 29 September 1938Munich Agreement which handed overSudetenland toNazi Germany in exchange for what proved to be a temporary peace, Daladier was acclaimed upon his return to Paris as the man who had avoided war. However, two days after theinvasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 the French government led by Daladier made good on its guarantees to Poland by declaring war alongside Britain. Following the 23 August 1939Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Daladier engaged in ananti-communist policy, prohibiting the Communists activities and the party's newspaper,L'Humanité.
Furthermore, Daladier moved increasingly to the right, notably repealing the40-hour work week which had been the Popular Front's most visible accomplishment. Daladier would eventually resign in March 1940 and take part in the new government ofPaul Reynaud (leader of the main centre-right liberal party, theDemocratic Alliance) as minister of National Defense and of War. After the defeat of theBattle of France, the French army being overwhelmed by the NaziBlitzkrieg, the French government declared Paris anopen city on 10 June and flew toBordeaux. The same month, Daladier escaped toMorocco in theMassilia. Thus, he was not there during the controversial 10 July 1940 vote of full powers to MarshalPhilippe Pétain which opened the door to theVichy regime. Daladier was arrested and tried in 1942 by the new regime (see theRiom Trial) which accused him as well as other political leaders such as SocialistLéon Blum and conservativePaul Reynaud of being morally and strategically responsible for the loss of the Battle of France.
After World War II, the Radicals, like many of the other political parties, were discredited by the fact that many of their members had voted to grant emergency powers to MarshalPhilippe Pétain, although senior Radical leaders as Édouard Herriot, then President of the Chamber of Deputies (the parliamentary Speaker), had been ambivalent.
The Radical-Socialist Party was reconstituted and formed one of the important parties of theFourth Republic (1946–1958), but never recovered its dominant pre-war position. It failed to prevent the adoption of the projects of thethree-parties coalition (nationalizations and the welfare state). Along withDemocratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance, it set up an electoral umbrella-group, theRally of Republican Lefts (RGR). From 1947, after the split of the governmental coalition it participated to theThird Force coalition with the SFIO, the Christian-democraticPopular Republican Movement and the conservative-liberalNational Centre of Independents and Peasants.
In the early years of the Fourth Republic, the party returned to the moderate left under the leadership ofPierre Mendès-France, a strong opponent ofFrench colonialism, whose premiership from 1954 to 1955 saw France's withdrawal fromIndochina and the agreement for French withdrawal fromTunisia. Mendès-France, a very popular figure who helped renew the Radical-Socialist Party after its discredit, was indeed elected on the pledge to stopIndochina War (1946–1954).
Mendès-France hoped to make the Radicals the party of the mainstream centre-left in France, taking advantage of the difficulties of the SFIO. The more conservative elements in the party led byEdgar Faure resisted these policies, leading to the fall of Mendès-France's government in 1955. They split and transformed the RGR in a centre-right party distinct from the Radical Party. UnderPierre Mendès-France's leadership, the Radical Party participated to a centre-left coalition, theRepublican Front, which won the1956 legislative election. Another split, this time over France's policy about theAlgerian War (1954–1962), led to his resignation as party leader and the party's move in a distinctly conservative direction.
The Fourth Republic was characterized by constant parliamentary instability because of divisions between major parties over the Algerian War, which was officially called a "public order operation" until the 1990s. Mendès-France opposed the war and colonialism while the SFIO led by Prime MinisterGuy Mollet supported it. Because of the start of theCold War, all political parties, even the SFIO, opposed theFrench Communist Party (PCF), which was very popular due to its role during theResistance (it was known as theparti des 75,000 fusillés, "party of the 75,000 executed people"). The PCF was also opposed toFrench rule in Algeria and supported its independence.
In the midst of this parliamentary instability and divisions of the political class,Charles de Gaulle took advantage of theMay 1958 crisis to return to power. On 13 May,European colonists seized the Governor-General's building inAlgiers whileOpération Résurrection was launched by the right-wing insurrectionaryComité de Salut Public. De Gaulle, who had deserted the political arena for a decade by disgust over the parliamentary system and its chronic instability (thesystème des partis which he severely criticized), now appeared as the only man able to reconcile the far-right and the European settlers, which were threatening a coup d'état, with the French Republic. Thus, he was called to power and proclaimed the end of the Fourth Republic (according to him too weak because of its parliamentarism) and replaced it by theFifth Republic, a hybrid presidential-parliamentary system tailored for himself.
The Radical Party supported de Gaulle at this crucial moment, leading Mendès-France to quit the party. Opposed to the proposed constitution, Mendès-France campaigned for the "no" on 28 September 1958 referendum. However, thenew Constitution was finally adopted and proclaimed on 4 October 1958.
Popular figure Pierre Mendès-France quit the Radical Party, which had crossed the threshold to the centre-right, as early moderate Republicans did at the beginning of the Third Republic, when the Radical Party, appearing to their left, pushed them over the border between the left-wing and the right-wing, a process dubbedsinistrisme.
Mendès-France then founded theCentre d'Action Démocratique (CAD), which would later join theAutonomous Socialist Party (PSA, which had split from the SFIO), which in turn fused into theUnified Socialist Party (PSU) on 3 April 1960. This new socialist party gathered all the dissidents from the Radical Party and the SFIO who were opposed to both the Algerian War and the proclamation of the new presidential regime. Mendès-France would officially become a member of the PSU in 1961, a year before the 18 March 1962Evian Accords which put an end to the Algerian War.
The Radical Party returned from support of the government to opposition in 1959 and declined throughout all the 1960s. Allied with the SFIO in theFederation of the Democratic and Socialist Left, it supportedFrançois Mitterrand for the1965 presidential election. This federation later split in 1968.
Under the leadership ofJean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, President since 29 October 1969 issued from the left-wing, the party again made tentative moves to the left in the 1970s, but stopped short of an alliance withSocialist Party (PS) leaderFrançois Mitterrand and hisCommunist allies, leading to a final split in 1972 when the remaining centre-left Radicals left the party and eventually became theMovement of the Radical-Socialist Left. This group, which wanted to be a part of the left-wingCommon Programme, broke away to create theMovement of the Left Radicals (MRG) and at the1974 presidential election, supported Mitterrand, the candidate of the left-wing.
Henceforth, the Radical Party began to be known asvaloisien, from the location of its national headquarters at thePlace de Valois in Paris, in order to distinguish it from the MRG. Opposed to an electoral alliance with the PCF, which was the foundation of the 1972Common Programme, the Radicals were still anti-Gaullists. They allied with theChristian Democrats in theReforming Movement in order to propose another way between the Common Programme's parties and the Presidential Majority led by Gaullists. Finally, they joined it after the election ofValéry Giscard d'Estaing to thepresidency of France in 1974. They supported most reforms of Giscard d'Estaing's presidency (in particular the authorization of thecontraceptive pill and recognition ofwomen's rights). This evolution brought by Servan-Schreiber's influence would end with the latter's failure during the1979 European elections.
Following the left-wing scission in 1971, the Radical Partyvaloisien maintained the judicial rights to the official name of Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party and is its legal continuation.
After the failure of the alliance with the Christians Democrats into the Reforming Movement, the Radical Party maintained its influence by participating in the foundation of Giscard d'Estaing'sUnion for French Democracy (UDF) in 1978. The Radical Party was one of its six components, along with the centrists of theCentre of Social Democrats, the liberals of theRepublican Party and of theNational Federation of Perspectives and Realities Clubs, the social democrats of theSocialist-Democratic Movement and of the new members of the UDF. Through the UDF, the Radical Party participated to all of the governments issued from parliamentary majorities of theRally for the Republic (RPR).
An important split took place after the1998 regional elections, during which some members of the party composed electoral alliances with the far-rightNational Front party. Those members created theLiberal Democratic Party while the Radical Party remained a member of the UDF. During the2002 presidential election,François Bayrou presented himself as a candidate for the UDF while the Radical Party supported his rivalJacques Chirac (RPR).
After Chirac's re-election in 2002, most radicals participated to the creation of his new party, theUnion for a Popular Movement (UMP). The Radical Party then quit the UDF to associate itself with the UMP, sharing its memberships and budget with the latter. However, some members such asThierry Cornillet continue to be part of UDF. It was then headed byJean-Louis Borloo andAndré Rossinot.
After the rise ofNicolas Sarkozy to the leadership of the UMP, Radicals launched a sort of re-foundation of their party in order to create a counterbalancing moderate and social wing within the UMP. The party soon started to attract other centrists (as Jean-Louis Borloo,Renaud Dutreil,Véronique Mathieu andFrançoise Hostalier) and even some anti-Sarkozy neo-Gaullists (asSerge Lepeltier andAlain Ferry). As a result, the Radical Party had a comeback in French politics. It then had 21 deputies (four more from those elected in 2002), 6 senators (two more from 2002), 4 MEPs and 8,000 members. Jean-Louis Borloo was a high-ranking minister inFrançois Fillon's second government asMinister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Transport andMinister of State from 2007 to 2010, when he chose not take part to Fillon's third government. It was the first time since 1974 that Radicals were not represented in a centre-right government.[20]
During the7th term of the European Parliament, three RadicalMEPs sat with theEuropean People's Party Group (EPP) along with the UMP.[21]
On 7 April 2011, Borloo announced the creation of a centrist coalition. During a party congress on 14–15 May, the Radicals decided to cut their ties with Sarkozy'sUnion for a Popular Movement (UMP), of which they had been an associate party since 2002.[22][23][24] During a convention on 26 June, the party officially joinedThe Alliance (ARES) alongsideNew Centre and other centrist parties as an alternative to the UMP.[25] The Alliance was replaced with theUnion of Democrats and Independents (UDI) in September 2012.
During the8th European Parliament, the single Radical MEPDominique Riquet sat with theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group as part of the UDI.[26]
Party presidents:
| Date | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | % | Second round | % | # | ± | Size | |||
| 1902 | Émile Combes | 853,140 | 10.14 | – | – | 104 / 589 |  30 | 3rd | Coalition |
| 1906 | Émile Combes | 2,514,508 | 28.53 | – | – | 132 / 585 | 28 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1910 | Émile Combes | 1,727,064 | 20.45 | – | – | 148 / 587 | 16 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1914 | Joseph Caillaux | 1,530,188 | 18.15 | – | – | 140 / 592 |  8 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1919 | Édouard Herriot | 1,420,381 | 17.43 | – | – | 86 / 616 | 54 | 2nd | Coalition |
| Part of coalition with theRepublican-Socialist Party, which won 106 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1924 | Édouard Herriot | 1,612,581 | 17.86 | – | – | 139 / 584 | 53 | 2nd | Coalition |
| Part of coalition with theRepublican-Socialist Party, which won 167 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1928 | Édouard Daladier | 1,682,543 | 17.77 | – | – | 120 / 602 | 19 | 3rd | Coalition |
| 1932 | Édouard Herriot | 1,836,991 | 19.18 | – | – | 157 / 605 | 37 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1936 | Édouard Daladier | 1,422,611 | 14.45 | – | – | 111 / 612 | 46 | 3rd | Coalition |
| 1945 | Édouard Herriot | 2,018,665 | 10.54 | – | – | 60 / 586 | 51 | 5th | Coalition |
| I 1946 | Édouard Herriot | 2,295,119 | 11.54 | – | – | 39 / 522 | 31 | 5th | Opposition |
| II 1946 | Édouard Herriot | 2,381,385 | 12.40 | – | – | 55 / 544 | 16 | 5th | Opposition |
| 1951 | Édouard Herriot | 1,887,583 | 11.13 | – | – | 67 / 544 | 12 | 6th | Coalition |
| Part of theRally of Republican Lefts, which won 77 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1956 | Édouard Herriot | 2,381,385 | 12.40 | – | – | 54 / 544 | 13 | 5th | Coalition |
| 1958 | Félix Gaillard | 2,695,287 | 13.15 | 1,398,409 | 7.77 | 37 / 576 | 17 | 5th | Coalition |
| 1962 | Maurice Faure | 1,429,649 | 7.8 | 1,172,711 | 7.69 | 42 / 485 | 5 | 3rd | Opposition |
| 1967 | René Billères | 4,207,166 | 18.79 | 4,505,329 | 24.08 | 24 / 487 | 18 | 2nd | Opposition |
| Part of theFederation of the Democratic and Socialist Left, which won 118 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1968 | René Billères | 3,660,250 | 16.53 | 3,097,338 | 21.25 | 15 / 487 | 9 | 2nd | Opposition |
| Part of theFederation of the Democratic and Socialist Left, which won 57 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1973 | JJ Servan-Schreiber | 2,967,481 | 12.51 | 1,631,978 | 6.96 | 4 / 490 | 11 | 4th | Opposition |
| Part of theReformist Movement, which won 32 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1978 | JJ Servan-Schreiber | 6,128,849 | 21.46 | 5,907,603 | 23.19 | 9 / 491 | 5 | 2nd | Coalition |
| Part of theUnion for French Democracy, which won 124 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1981 | Didier Bariani | 4,827,437 | 19.20 | 3,489,363 | 18.68 | 2 / 491 | 6 | 3rd | Opposition |
| Part of theUnion for French Democracy, which won 61 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1986 | André Rossinot | 2,330,072 | 8.31 | – | – | 7 / 577 | 5 | 4th | Coalition |
| Part of theUnion for French Democracy, which won 53 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1988 | André Rossinot | 4,519,459 | 18.50 | 4,299,370 | 21.18 | 3 / 577 | 4 | 4th | Opposition |
| Part of theUnion for French Democracy, which won 130 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1993 | Yves Galland | 4,855,274 | 19.08 | 5,331,935 | 25.84 | 14 / 577 | 11 | 2nd | Coalition |
| Part of theUnion for French Democracy, which won 213 seats in total | |||||||||
| 1997 | André Rossinot | 3,601,279 | 14.21 | 5,323,177 | 20.77 | 3 / 577 | 11 | 3rd | Opposition |
| Part of theUnion for French Democracy, which won 112 seats in total | |||||||||
| 2002 | François Loos | 8,408,023 | 33.30 | 10,029,669 | 47.26 | 9 / 577 | 6 | 1st | Coalition |
| Part of theUnion for a Popular Movement, which won 357 seats in total | |||||||||
| 2007 | Jean-Louis Borloo | 10,289,737 | 39.54 | 9,460,710 | 46.36 | 16 / 577 | 7 | 1st | Coalition |
| Part of theUnion for a Popular Movement, which won 313 seats in total | |||||||||
| 2012 | Jean-Louis Borloo | 321,124 | 1.24 | 311,199 | 1.35 | 6 / 577 | 10 | 9th | Opposition |
| 2017 | Laurent Hénart | 687,225 | 3.03 | 551,784 | 3.04 | 3 / 577 | 3 | 5th | Coalition |
| Part of theUnion of Democrats and Independents, which won 18 seats in total | |||||||||
| 2022 | Laurent Hénart | 5,857,364 | 25.75 | 8,002,419 | 38.57 | 5 / 577 | 2 | 1st | Coalition |
| Part ofEnsemble, which won 245 seats in total | |||||||||
| 2024 | Laurent Hénart | 6,820,446 | 21.28 | 6,691,619 | 24.53 | 1 / 577 | 4 | 2nd | Coalition |
| Part ofEnsemble, which won 159 seats in total | |||||||||
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024[a] | Laurent Hénart | 3,589,114 | 14.56 (#2) | 0 / 81 | New | − |
