Gaullism
Encyclopedia
Politics of France
France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
based on the thought and action of Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
leader then president Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
.
Foreign policy
The main theme of de Gaulle's foreign policy was national independence, and maintaining as much control as possible of as many of France's colonies as possible (cf. de Gaulle's policy on IndochinaIndochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
) with, as some practical consequences, some degree of opposition to international organizations such as NATO or the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
. The basic tenets were that France should not have to rely on any foreign country for its survival (thus the creation of the French nuclear deterrent
Force de frappe
The Force de Frappe is the designation of what used to be a triad of air-, sea- and land-based nuclear weapons intended for dissuasion, and consequential deterrence...
) and that France should refuse subservience to any foreign power, be it the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. One can also cite what foreign observers dubbed the policies of grandeur, that is, the insistence that France be a major power in the world scene and that military and economic forces be established to back this claim. In that respect, Gaullism significantly influenced the foreign policy of France
Foreign relations of France
A charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies.-Nicolas Sarkozy:...
in the subsequent decades, even after Gaullists were nominally no longer in power.
Foreign critics, particularly in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, derided and resented de Gaulle's policy "of grandeur". A major point of friction was de Gaulle's decision to withdraw France from the integrated military command of NATO (but not from NATO itself) and to expel NATO from its headquarters at Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
. De Gaulle refused to allow foreign troops on French soil if these troops were not under French command, a move that greatly angered the United States, which had troops in France at the time and expected French military and foreign policies to be aligned with its own.
Domestic policies
One may also cite social conservatismSocial conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
, and economic dirigisme
Dirigisme
Dirigisme is an economy in which the government exerts strong directive influence. While the term has occasionally been applied to centrally planned economies, where the state effectively controls both production and allocation of resources , it originally had neither of these meanings when...
and volontarisme as parts of the Gaullist ideology, but these are not necessarily accepted by all who called themselves Gaullists. Gaullism is generally considered a right-wing ideology, but there have also been left-wing Gaullists, the differences between the two consisting of differing social and economic policies.
Gaullism has sometimes been characterized as a form of populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, since de Gaulle relied heavily on his personal charisma
Charisma
The term charisma has two senses: 1) compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others, 2) a divinely conferred power or talent. For some theological usages the term is rendered charism, with a meaning the same as sense 2...
. That is, de Gaulle preferred a direct relationship with the people to parliamentary politics; to some extent, he was scornful of politicians and political games. He resigned after failing to obtain a majority in a constitutional referendum on a reform of the French Senate
French constitutional referendum, 1969
A constitutional referendum was held in France on 27 April 1969. The reforms would have led to government decentralization and changes to the Senate...
.
Political group
The "Gaullists" as a political group used to refer to the Union of Democrats for the Republic.Since de Gaulle's death, and the break-up of the UDR, the exact meaning of Gaullism has become somewhat unclear. In 1980s-1990s usage, "Gaullism", or "Neo-Gaullism", referred to the Rally for the Republic
Rally for the Republic
The Rally for the Republic , was a French right-wing political party. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic , it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullism...
(now integrated into 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...
), the centre-right party founded by 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...
. Chirac has, in the past, adopted both dirigiste
Dirigisme
Dirigisme is an economy in which the government exerts strong directive influence. While the term has occasionally been applied to centrally planned economies, where the state effectively controls both production and allocation of resources , it originally had neither of these meanings when...
and laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
approaches to economics; he later took on a 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...
stance after having famously denounced Europeanism in the Call of Cochin
Call of Cochin
The Call of Cochin is a famous discourse published on December 6, 1978 by Jacques Chirac, former Prime Minister of France, president of the Rally for the Republic party, and mayor of Paris....
. For these reasons, some on the right, such as Charles Pasqua
Charles Pasqua
Charles Pasqua is a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was Interior Minister from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac's cohabitation government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government of Edouard Balladur...
, denounced Chirac and his party as not being "true Gaullists".
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....
's 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...
is the current heir of Gaullism.
There are people on the political left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
who also call themselves Gaullists. Even Socialist
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...
president François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
, who denounced de Gaulle's way of ruling as a permanent coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, was very intent on keeping the nuclear deterrent and asserting France's independence.
Germany
The expression Gaullist has also been used in the politics of the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1950s and 1960s. In the governing Christian DemocraticChristian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
party some wanted to strengthen the ties with the United States, the Atlantiker (Atlanticians), others wanted to build up a European counterweight, with the help of France, the Gaullists.
The most notable Gaullist was chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
, an outstanding Atlantiker his minister of foreign affairs, Schröder
Gerhard Schröder (CDU)
Gerhard Schröder was a West German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union Party.A lawyer by profession, Schröder joined the Nazi Party and the SA in 1933....
. A typical Atlantiker was Protestant and believed in free market economy, a typical Gaullist was Catholic and tended toward Rhine Capitalism
Rhine Capitalism
Rhine capitalism or Rhenish capitalism is a contemporary economic order existing primarily in Western Europe. The term originates from the French economist and Chairman of the Board and CEO Assurances Générales de France , Michel Albert who first used it in his book Capitalisme contre Capitalisme...
with its more regulated markets and state intervention.
A problem to the Gaullists has been that their concept of foreign relationships was based on a strong European integration, which needed support from France. French president Charles de Gaulle actually was reluctant to give more power to European institutions and advocated instead a less tight Europe of the nations.
After de Gaulle's retreat in 1969 and the end of Christian Democratic government in Germany the same year, the distinction lost its prominence. Anyway, even Gaullists always believed that the relationship to the United States was in general the most important.
Gaullist Political Parties
- 19471947 in FranceSee also:1946 in France,other events of 1947,1948 in France.----Events from the year 1947 in France.-Events:*16 January - Vincent Auriol is inaugurated as President of France....
- 19551955 in FranceSee also:1954 in France,other events of 1955,1956 in France.----Events from the year 1955 in France.-Events:*5 May – Bonn–Paris conventions come into force, putting an end to the Allied occupation of West Germany.*11 June – 1955 Le Mans disaster...
: Rally of the French PeopleRally of the French PeopleThe Rally of the French People was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.-Foundation:...
(RPF) - 19581958 in FranceSee also:1957 in France,other events of 1958,1959 in France.----Events from the year 1958 in France.-Events:*13 May - Crisis caused by putsch attempt in Algiers involving French officers....
- 19621962 in FranceSee also:1961 in France,other events of 1962,1963 in France.----Events from the year 1962 in France.-Events:*5 February – President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence....
: Union for the New Republic (UNR) and Democratic Union of Labour (UDT) - 19621962 in FranceSee also:1961 in France,other events of 1962,1963 in France.----Events from the year 1962 in France.-Events:*5 February – President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence....
- 19671967 in FranceSee also:1966 in France,other events of 1967,1968 in France.----Events from the year 1967 in France.-Events:*5 March - Legislative Election held.*12 March - Legislative Election held....
: Union for the New Republic - Democratic Union of Labour (UNR - UDT) - 19671967 in FranceSee also:1966 in France,other events of 1967,1968 in France.----Events from the year 1967 in France.-Events:*5 March - Legislative Election held.*12 March - Legislative Election held....
- 19681968 in FranceSee also:1967 in France,other events of 1968,1969 in France.----Events from the year 1968 in France-Events:*27 January - French submarine sinks in the Mediterranean with 52 men on board....
: Democratic Union for the Fifth Republic (UD-Ve) - 19681968 in FranceSee also:1967 in France,other events of 1968,1969 in France.----Events from the year 1968 in France-Events:*27 January - French submarine sinks in the Mediterranean with 52 men on board....
- 19711971 in FranceSee also:1970 in France,other events of 1971,1972 in France.----Events from the year 1971 in France.-Events:*14 March - Municipal elections held.*21 March - Municipal elections held....
: Union for the Defence of the Republic (UDR) - 19711971 in FranceSee also:1970 in France,other events of 1971,1972 in France.----Events from the year 1971 in France.-Events:*14 March - Municipal elections held.*21 March - Municipal elections held....
- 19761976 in FranceSee also:1975 in France,other events of 1976,1977 in France.----Events from the year 1976 in France.-Events:*21 January - The first commercial Concorde flight takes off.*7 March - Cantonales Elections held....
: Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR) - 19761976 in FranceSee also:1975 in France,other events of 1976,1977 in France.----Events from the year 1976 in France.-Events:*21 January - The first commercial Concorde flight takes off.*7 March - Cantonales Elections held....
- 20022002 in FranceSee also:2001 in France,other events of 2002,2003 in France.----Events from the year 2002 in France.-Events:*1 January - the Euro replaces the French franc as France's currency....
: Rally for the RepublicRally for the RepublicThe Rally for the Republic , was a French right-wing political party. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic , it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullism...
(RPR) - 20022002 in FranceSee also:2001 in France,other events of 2002,2003 in France.----Events from the year 2002 in France.-Events:*1 January - the Euro replaces the French franc as France's currency....
- The Present : Union for a Popular MovementUnion for a Popular MovementThe 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)
See also
- Gaullist PartyGaullist PartyIn France, the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claimed to transcend the left/right rift...
- Vive le Québec libre! speechVive le Québec libre speech"Vive le Québec libre !" was a controversial phrase in a speech delivered by French president Charles de Gaulle in Montreal on July 24, 1967.De Gaulle was in Canada on an official visit under the pretext of attending Expo 67...