Union for the New Republic
The Union for the New Republic (French: L'Union pour la nouvelle République, UNR), was a French political party founded on 1 October 1958 that supported Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections.
Union for the New Republic Union pour la nouvelle république | |
|---|---|
 The Cross of Lorraine was the official symbol of the UNR. | |
| President | Charles de Gaulle |
| General Secretary | Robert Poujade (last) |
| Founder | Charles de Gaulle |
| Founded | 1 October 1958 |
| Dissolved | 26 November 1967 |
| Preceded by | National Centre of Social Republicans |
| Succeeded by | Union for the Defense of the Republic |
| Headquarters | Paris |
| Newspaper | La Lettre de la nation Magazine |
| Trade union | Union démocratique du travail |
| Ideology | Gaullism[1] Dirigisme Conservatism[2] Republicanism |
| Political position | Right-wing[3] |
| European Parliament group | Liberal and Allies Group[4] (1958-65) European Democratic Union (1965-67) |
| Colours | Blue and red |
| Party flag | |
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History
The UNR won 206 of 579 seats in the November 1958 elections.
In 1962, the UNR grouped with the Gaullist Democratic Union of Labour (French: Union démocratique du travail, UDT) to form the UNR-UDT. They won 233 seats out of 482, slightly less than an absolute majority. 35 Independent Republicans boosted their support.
In 1967, UNR candidates ran under the title Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic (Union des démocrates pour la Ve République, UD-Ve), winning 200 out of 486 seats.
The UNR was renamed Union for the Defense of the Republic in 1967, and later Union of Democrats for the Republic in 1971.
Secretaries General of the UNR
- Roger Frey, 1958–1959
- Albin Chalandon, 1959
- Jacques Richard, 1959–1961
- Roger Dusseaulx, 1961–1962
- Louis Terrenoire, 1962
- Jacques Baumel, 1962–1967
- Robert Poujade, 1967–1969
UNR in the Senate
Under the Fifth Republic, 39 senators were affiliated to the UNR Group and 11 of them were Muslims or with Muslim origins.[5]
- First Senate election – 37 seats; 12.0%
- Second Senate election – 32 seats; 11.7%
- Third Senate election – 30 seats; 10.9%
Maurice Bayrou was the leader of the group in the Senate from October 1962 to October 1965.
Election results
Presidential
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 1958 | Charles de Gaulle | 62,394 | 78.51% | - | - | Won |
| 1965 | 10,828,521 | 44.65% | 13,083,699 | 55.20% | Won | |
National Assembly
| Election year | Leader | First round | Second round | Seats | +/− | Rank
(seats) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
| 1958 | Charles de Gaulle | 3,603,958 | 17.6 | 4,769,052 | 26.4 | 189 / 576 |
– | 1st |
| 1962 | Georges Pompidou | 5,855,744 | 31.9 | 6,169,890 | 40.5 | 233 / 491 |
 44 |
1st |
See also
References
- Mény, Yves (2008), "France: The Institutionalisation of Leadership", Comparative European Politics (Third ed.), Routledge, p. 105
- Laponce, J. A. (1961), The Government of the Fifth Republic, University of California Press, p. 23
- Blondel, Jean (1974), Contemporary France: Politics, Society and Institutions, Methuen & Co, pp. 24–25
- UFE on Europe Politique
- Groupe de l'Union pour la Nouvelle République