Democratic Movement (France)
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Movement , MoDem) is a centrist
, social liberal
and pro-European
French political party that was founded by centrist politician François Bayrou
to succeed his Union for French Democracy
(UDF) and to contest the 2007 legislative election
, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential election
.
Initially named the Democratic Party (Parti démocrate), the party was renamed "Democratic Movement", because there was already a small Democratic Party in France.
Traditionally, the UDF had always supported centre-right governments since its creation by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
. The UDF aligned itself with the Union for a Popular Movement
(UMP) following its creation in 2002, and even took part in the government coalition in the Senate
from 2002 to 2007, though it did not participate in the Cabinet (except for Gilles de Robien
). However, during the second term of Jacques Chirac
, the UDF became increasingly independent of the UMP. On the initiative of its leader François Bayrou, it eventually supported a censure motion along with the Socialist Party
.
, François Bayrou advocated a national unity government. Although eliminated in the first round, a high number of voters (over 18%) supported him, partly because of his independence from major parties. Following the election, he founded the Democratic Movement (MoDem) on the 29 May to reinforce his strategy of political independence. MoDem was also supported by the Union of Radical Republicans
.
Some members of the UDF did not agree with this new strategy because the weighted French balloting system would hinder the Democratic Movement from obtaining seats in the legislative elections. These members created the New Centre
, continuing their support for the newly elected president Nicolas Sarkozy
.
. Candidates ran under the UDF-MoDem banner, since the party had not yet been created officially. The party gained three seats in the National Assembly of France (not including Abdoulatifou Aly
who was elected in Mayotte
for a party affiliated to the MoDem. He sat with the New Centre
for a short while but he is now sitting with the MoDem deputies). Thierry Benoit
, one of the four MPs, has been vocally critical of the party, but he actually sits for the MoDem and defends the movement's policies. He stated that he drew the conclusions of being elected joinly by centre-right and left-wing citizens.
, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the suburbs of Paris. The assembly elected Bayrou, who ran uncontested, as the party president, and also elected 29 others to the provisional executive board.
, François Bayrou
stressed three points: the public debt, the need for change and ouverture to the right/left political system and the need of constitutional reforms in that direction.
MoDem will be something different from UDF. First, many members left to form the New Centre
. Second, some Greens
(including an MEP) are to join the new party and also
Corinne Lepage
, leader of CAP 21, has stated her desire to work with MoDem in order to re-found political ecology beyond the left-right divide. MoDem will thus be a centre-left party with a different and broader electoral base from the late UDF.
(EDP) along with Francesco Rutelli's Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. In 2005 the EDP created, along with the New Democrat Coalition
of the United States Democratic Party
, the Alliance of Democrats, a worldwide network of centrist
and social liberal
parties.
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
, social liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
and pro-European
Pro-European
Pro-European is a subjective term applied to a person who supports the idea of European unification and generally supports further 'deepening' of European integration, specifically in the context of political argument over the current and future status of the EU and its policies.-The Pro-European...
French political party that was founded by centrist politician François Bayrou
François Bayrou
François Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....
to succeed his Union for French Democracy
Union for French Democracy
The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
(UDF) and to contest the 2007 legislative election
French legislative election, 2007
The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a few weeks after the French presidential election run-off on 6 May. 7,639 candidates stood for 577 seats, including France's overseas possessions...
, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential election
French presidential election, 2007
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...
.
Initially named the Democratic Party (Parti démocrate), the party was renamed "Democratic Movement", because there was already a small Democratic Party in France.
Traditionally, the UDF had always supported centre-right governments since its creation by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
. The UDF aligned itself with the Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
(UMP) following its creation in 2002, and even took part in the government coalition in the Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
from 2002 to 2007, though it did not participate in the Cabinet (except for Gilles de Robien
Gilles de Robien
Count Gilles de Robien is a French politician. He is the son of count Jean de Robien and of Éliane Le Mesre de Pas. The Robien are a noble family originating from Brittany....
). However, during the second term of Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, the UDF became increasingly independent of the UMP. On the initiative of its leader François Bayrou, it eventually supported a censure motion along with the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
.
2007 presidential election
During the 2007 presidential campaignFrench presidential election, 2007
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...
, François Bayrou advocated a national unity government. Although eliminated in the first round, a high number of voters (over 18%) supported him, partly because of his independence from major parties. Following the election, he founded the Democratic Movement (MoDem) on the 29 May to reinforce his strategy of political independence. MoDem was also supported by the Union of Radical Republicans
Union of Radical Republicans
The Union of Radical Republicans is a French political party with its origins in the Radical faction of the Republican Pole, an organization rallying together supporters of Jean-Pierre Chevènement's candidacy for the 2002 presidential election...
.
Some members of the UDF did not agree with this new strategy because the weighted French balloting system would hinder the Democratic Movement from obtaining seats in the legislative elections. These members created the New Centre
New Centre
New Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...
, continuing their support for the newly elected president Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
.
2007 legislative election
The Democratic Movement won 7,61% of the votes in the first round of the June 2007 legislative electionFrench legislative election, 2007
The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a few weeks after the French presidential election run-off on 6 May. 7,639 candidates stood for 577 seats, including France's overseas possessions...
. Candidates ran under the UDF-MoDem banner, since the party had not yet been created officially. The party gained three seats in the National Assembly of France (not including Abdoulatifou Aly
Abdoulatifou Aly
Abdoulatifou Aly is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the island of Mayotte, and is a member of the Democratic Movement nationally, but is a member of the Mahoran Departmentalist Movement in Mayotte.Aly campaigned strongly for the "Yes" result in the...
who was elected in Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
for a party affiliated to the MoDem. He sat with the New Centre
New Centre
New Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...
for a short while but he is now sitting with the MoDem deputies). Thierry Benoit
Thierry Benoit
Thierry Benoit is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Ille-et-Vilaine department, is a member of the Centrist Alliance and caucuses with the New Centre.-References:...
, one of the four MPs, has been vocally critical of the party, but he actually sits for the MoDem and defends the movement's policies. He stated that he drew the conclusions of being elected joinly by centre-right and left-wing citizens.
Official foundation
The MoDem became an official political party on 1 December 2007 following its founding assembly in VillepinteVillepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis
Villepinte is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Heraldry:-Transport:Villepinte is served by three stations on Paris RER line B: Villepinte, Parc des Expositions, and Vert-Galant....
, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the suburbs of Paris. The assembly elected Bayrou, who ran uncontested, as the party president, and also elected 29 others to the provisional executive board.
Ideology
During the 2007 presidential electionFrench presidential election, 2007
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...
, François Bayrou
François Bayrou
François Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....
stressed three points: the public debt, the need for change and ouverture to the right/left political system and the need of constitutional reforms in that direction.
MoDem will be something different from UDF. First, many members left to form the New Centre
New Centre
New Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...
. Second, some Greens
The Greens (France)
The Greens were a Green political party to the centre-left of the political spectrum in France. They had officially been in existence since 1984, but their spiritual roots could be traced as far back as René Dumont’s candidacy for the presidency in 1974...
(including an MEP) are to join the new party and also
Corinne Lepage
Corinne Lepage
Corinne Dominique Marguerite Lepage, also known as Corinne Lepage is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament elected in the 2009 European election for the North-West constituency....
, leader of CAP 21, has stated her desire to work with MoDem in order to re-found political ecology beyond the left-right divide. MoDem will thus be a centre-left party with a different and broader electoral base from the late UDF.
International and European affiliations
In 2004, François Bayrou launched the European Democratic PartyEuropean Democratic Party
The European Democratic Party is a centrist European political party in favour of European integration. It was initiated on April 16, 2004 and formally founded on December 9 in Brussels...
(EDP) along with Francesco Rutelli's Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. In 2005 the EDP created, along with the New Democrat Coalition
New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a Congressional Member Organization within the United States Congress made up of Democrats who support an agenda that the organization describes as moderate and pro-growth. A July 2009 Press release described the organization as "the largest moderate coalition in the U.S...
of the United States Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, the Alliance of Democrats, a worldwide network of centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
and social liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
parties.
Elected officials
- Deputies: Abdoulatifou AlyAbdoulatifou AlyAbdoulatifou Aly is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the island of Mayotte, and is a member of the Democratic Movement nationally, but is a member of the Mahoran Departmentalist Movement in Mayotte.Aly campaigned strongly for the "Yes" result in the...
, François BayrouFrançois BayrouFrançois Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....
, Jean LassalleJean LassalleJean Lassalle is a French Occitan politician and MoDem deputy in the National Assembly.- Political career :... - Senators: Nicolas AboutNicolas AboutNicolas About is a French politician from the centrist MoDem. he is a member of the French Senate and President of the Centrist Union group. About was the mayor of Montigny-le-Bretonneux from 1977 to 2004. He was elected senator of Yvelines on September 24, 1995, and reelected on September 26,...
, Denis BadréDenis BadréDenis Badré is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Hauts-de-Seine department. He is a member of the MoDem.-References:...
, Didier BorotraDidier BorotraDidier Borotra is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. He is a member of the Centrist Union and of the MoDem.-References:*...
, Marcel DeneuxMarcel DeneuxMarcel Deneux is a member of the Senate of France. He represents the Somme department and is a member of the Union for French Democracy Party.-References:*...
, Jacqueline GouraultJacqueline GouraultJacqueline Gourault is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Loir-et-Cher department. She is a member of the Centrist Union.-References:*...
, Jean-Jacques JégouJean-Jacques JégouJean-Jacques Jégou is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Val-de-Marne department. He is a member of the Centrist Union.-References:*...
, Jean-Marie VanlerenbergheJean-Marie VanlerenbergheJean-Marie Vanlerenberghe is a French politician.Vanlerenberghe was born in Bully-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais. He has served as mayor of Arras since June 1995, and was elected UDF senator from the Pas-de-Calais at the elections of 2001.... - MEPs: Jean-Luc BennahmiasJean-Luc BennahmiasJean-Luc Bennahmias is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament for the south-east of France. He is a member of the Democratic Movement , and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.He is also a substitute for the Committee on Culture and...
(formerly GreenThe Greens (France)The Greens were a Green political party to the centre-left of the political spectrum in France. They had officially been in existence since 1984, but their spiritual roots could be traced as far back as René Dumont’s candidacy for the presidency in 1974...
), Sylvie GoulardSylvie GoulardSylvie Goulard is a French politician. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the West region of France in the 2009 European elections. As an MEP she is a member of the Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs, and ALDE group coordinator, as well as a substitute member of...
, Nathalie Griesbeck, Robert RochefortRobert RochefortRobert Rochefort is a French economist and politician.In 2009, he joined the MoDem and was selected to lead the MoDem list in the South-West constituency ahead of the 2009 European elections. He was the MoDem's only elected Member of the European Parliament in that region.-References:...
, Marielle de SarnezMarielle de SarnezMarielle de Sarnez is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Île-de-France. She is a member of the MoDem, vice-chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education.She is also substitute for...
Former elected officials
- Former Deputies: Gilles Artigues, Anne-Marie CompariniAnne-Marie CompariniAnne-Marie Comparini is a French politician. She is a former Member of Parliament and a former President of the Rhône-Alpes Regional Council.-Biography:...
, Gérard Vignoble - Former Ministers: François BayrouFrançois BayrouFrançois Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....
, former Minister of Education; Azouz BegagAzouz BegagAzouz Begag, is a French writer, politician and researcher in economics and sociology at the CNRS. He was the delegate minister for equal opportunities of France in the government of French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin till 5 April 2007...
, former Minister for Equality of Opportunity;