The Centrist Union ( French : Union centriste , abbreviated UC ) is a centrist parliamentary group in the Senate uniting members of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) and Democratic Movement (MoDem), as well as the Centrist Alliance (AC), a former component of the UDI. The group was historically associated with the Popular Republican Movement (MRP) and later the Democratic Centre (CD), Centre of Social Democrats (CDS), and Union for French Democracy (UDF). Most recently, from 2012 to 2017, it was known as the Union of Democrats and Independents – UC group ( French : groupe Union des démocrates et indépendants – UC , abbreviated UDI–UC ).
32-726: In the first election of the Council of the Republic of the Fourth Republic , the Popular Republican Movement (MRP) group ( groupe du Mouvement républicain populaire ) obtained 76 seats, a quarter of the upper chamber, following senatorial elections on 8 December 1946. During the debate on the existence of the upper chamber, the MRP advocated for a bicameral system in which both the roles and modes of election of
64-559: A return to the Fourth Republic , political instability and "Communist danger". The alliance between centrists and the candidates of the Presidential Majority in some constituencies explained the victory of the Right in the second round. The left improved in comparison with the previous legislative election and the Presidential Majority won with only a one-seat majority. The centrist deputies were not numerous enough to force
96-669: A second ballot. This election marked a process of rebuilding by the opposition. François Mitterrand 's unexpected result, as De Gaulle's challenger in the second round of the presidential election , allowed him to establish himself as the leader of the non-Communist Left. He led the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (FGDS), composed of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO, socialist party),
128-756: A second round on 12 March, electing the third National Assembly of the Fifth Republic . Although the Gaullists retained their absolute majority, the results made it clear that Charles de Gaulle 's position was weakening, as the French Communist Party and the Socialists achieved 40% representation in parliament. In December 1965 Charles de Gaulle was re-elected President of France in the first Presidential election by universal suffrage. However, contrary to predictions, there had been
160-769: The Radical Party and several left-wing republican clubs, which concluded an electoral agreement with the French Communist Party (PCF). Ahead of the election, minor redistricting occurred to account for the impending dissolution of the Seine and Seine-et-Oise departments in Ile-de-France , which contained Paris and its western suburbs, due to take place on 1 January 1968. While the existing constituencies in Paris were already fully contained within
192-602: The "Council of the Republic" (as opposed to the Senate of the Third Republic ) and was granted greatly diminished powers. The council did not have the power to make laws, which was the responsibility of the National Assembly . The council was mainly consultative, and bills were only given a single reading at the council before being passed. However, it did share responsibility should the need arose to amend
224-660: The "grouping of elected officials of the UDF" ( groupement des élus de l'UDF ), a political formation with the sole purpose of collecting and redistributing funds to the parties composing the Union for French Democracy (UDF), in addition to the "association of the Centrist Union" ( association de l'Union centriste ), founded in 1989 by the majority of senators in the group, that allowed the Centrist Union to collect public aid and direct it to political parties and formations, principally
256-575: The "third man" of 1965 presidential election . However some centrists refused to integrate into this group and joined the Gaullist Party, which became the Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic (UD5). Prime Minister Georges Pompidou led the campaign of the incumbent majority, but this was divided. In January 1966, a cabinet reshuffle took place. The Independent Republicans (RI) leader and Economy minister Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
288-577: The Centrist Alliance announced its support for Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 presidential election , it was expelled from the UDI, though its senators remained within the group. On 3 July 2017, the UDI–UC group, chaired by François Zocchetto , voted in support of a motion placing the 42 members of the group within the presidential majority of Macron following his election, with 4 senators abstaining; this
320-564: The MRP amended its statutes to indicate its openness to activist forces, marking the beginning of a rapprochement with the Democratic Center, which merged into the main group by 1965 to form the Popular Republicans and Democratic Centre group ( groupe des Républicains populaires et du Centre démocratique , abbreviated RPCD). The same year, the divergences between the group and the senatorial majority became apparent over
352-650: The MRP received a proposal from the Rally of Democratic Forces ( Rassemblement des forces démocratiques , abbreviated RFD) envisaging the "establishment in France of a very large rally inspired by an ideal of political, economic, and social democracy", with the RFD consisting of a number of members of Catholic youth movements, some part of the MRP, including Rémy Montagne , Michel Debatisse , Bernard Lambert , and Nestor Rombeaut . Negotiations began immediately and significant progress
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#1732771821864384-404: The Senate and the government. The opposition of the group was linked to its centrist tendencies, which were in opposition to the referendum despite the support of the MRP for the government on paper; the referendum by its nature contradicted the fundamental liberal, European, and social values of the centrists. The centrist group gradually became less closely connected to its associated party, with
416-406: The UDF, Democratic Force (FD), and Centrist Union group. The foundation of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) in 2002, and official constitution of a group in the Senate on 10 December, significantly reduced the ranks of the Centrist Union group, with 29 of its 54 members leaving for the newly-founded UMP group , with the group consisting of 27 members at the end of 2002. On 14 January 2005,
448-558: The appellation of the Centrist Union of Democrats for Progress group ( groupe de l'Union centriste des démocrates de progrès ). The growth of the group, which peaked in 1983, corresponded with the foundation of the Centre of Social Democrats (CDS) in 1976 by Jean Lecanuet , which remained independent of the activities of the senatorial group. However, from 1983, the independence of the group became more structural than political with
480-527: The arrival of three radicals of the UMP. In 2012, the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), uniting most of the parties of the centre – the Radical Party (PR) of Jean-Louis Borloo , the New Centre (NC) of Hervé Morin , Centrist Alliance (AC) of Jean Arthuis , Modern Left (LGM) of Jean-Marie Bockel , and Democratic European Force (FED) of Jean-Christophe Lagarde – was founded, notably without
512-496: The city's boundaries, and thus needed no change in light of its promotion to a department in its own right, the remaining constituencies of the two dissolved departments were replaced by ones for the then-unestablished Yvelines , Essonne , Hauts-de-Seine , Seine-Saint-Denis , Val-de-Marne , and Val-d'Oise . The centrist and right-wing opposition to de Gaulle gathered in the Democratic Centre led by Jean Lecanuet ,
544-900: The constitution in matters regarding the election of the President of the Republic . A formal notice to the council was required to declare war. In 1954, the Constitution was amended to provided that all bills would be examined successively by the National Assembly and the Council of the Republic, essentially restoring full legislative powers to the latter. Members of the Council were known as '"councillors" ( conseiller ) from 1946 to 1948, and then "senators" from 1948 onwards. The number of senators had to be between 250 and 320. Senators were elected by indirect universal suffrage: five-sixths were elected by communes and departments ;
576-492: The group was renamed to the Centrist Union – Union for French Democracy group ( groupe Union centriste – Union pour la démocratie française , abbreviated UC–UDF), a denomination which it retained until 29 September 2008, when it became then Centrist Union group ( groupe Union centriste ). The group was renamed again in 2011, this time to become the Centrist and Republican Union group ( groupe Union centriste et républicaine ) after
608-471: The issue of Algeria; though the Algerian cause was appreciated by the group, in which senators of French overseas territories and departments had traditionally constituted a significant part. However, the main reason that the group took issue with the governmental majority was the proposal to elect the president of the republic by universal suffrage , which consecrated the estrangement of the centrist group in
640-519: The local level as a result of the 1947 municipal elections in which the newly-founded Rally of the French People (RPF) of Charles de Gaulle secured a massive victory (the RPF having deprived the MRP of its flag as the party of the resistance ), the MRP was reduced to just 22 seats following the senatorial elections of 7 November 1948. and never regained its former strength through the duration of
672-547: The lower chamber, MoDem senators within the group decided not to join the La République En Marche group in the Senate, preferring to support the government within the existing centrist group. On 26 September, Hervé Marseille was elected the new president of the group following the renewal two days earlier. Council of the Republic (France) The Council of the Republic ( French : Conseil de la République , [kɔ̃sɛj d(ə) la ʁepyblik] )
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#1732771821864704-455: The other one-sixth were elected by the National Assembly , the lower house. They served six-year terms. The President was the presiding officer of the council. Political Party: MRP Rad-Soc 1967 French legislative election Georges Pompidou UDR Georges Pompidou UDR Legislative elections were held in France on 5 March 1967, with
736-611: The participation of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) of François Bayrou , whose members are part of the senatorial group. and on 23 October the group was officially renamed to the Union of Democrats and Independents – UC group ( groupe Union des démocrates et indépendants – UC ), and briefly took upon its unabbreviated form in 2017, registered as the Union of Democrats and Independents – Centrist Union group ( groupe Union des démocrates et indépendants – Union centriste ). After
768-649: The republic, with 24 seats following senatorial elections on 18 May 1952, 21 seats following senatorial elections on 19 June 1955, and 23 seats following senatorial elections on 8 June 1958. In the Fifth Republic , the group was reincarnated as the Popular Republicans group ( groupe des Républicains populaires ), presided over by Alain Poher , with the Democratic Centre formation ( formation du Centre démocratique ) administratively attached to it, with Yvon Coudé du Foresto serving as its secretary. In January 1959,
800-455: The rise of the Rally for the Republic (RPR) group and the emergence of a senatorial majority that established a clear political position, either for or against the government. In 1984, the group simply took upon the appellation of the Centrist Union group ( groupe de l'Union centriste ). From 29 January 1993, the Centrist Union no longer received direct public financing, which was instead paid to
832-434: The senatorial group asserting its independence from the party. The group increasingly welcomed the accession of senators not members of the MRP but supported the decisions of the new majority within the group. Following the cessation of activities of the MRP after the 1967 legislative elections in which it called to support the Democratic Centre , the MRP ceased all political activities, and the senators subsequently took upon
864-414: The strongholds of the MRP had largely been located in overseas France ; with the MRP overwhelmed by the success of the RPF in the 1958 legislative elections , six former deputies, including four former ministers, found refuge in the Senate. The ranks of the group were filled with relatively young senators; as a result, it demonstrated greater dynamism, but also greater politicization, in its work. In 1962,
896-409: The two houses were clearly distinguished from each other, calling for the replacement of the system of indirect universal suffrage to select electors with greater representation of local collectivities. This proposal eventually prevailed despite the reluctance of certain members of the MRP, cognizant of the fact that such a system would favor it significantly less. Indeed, with a lack of representation at
928-420: Was dismissed from the cabinet. His group stayed in the Presidential Majority but with a more critical position. He summed up this attitude by a "yes, but..." to Gaullist policies. The result of the first round was perceived as a punishment against the Presidential Majority, which obtained a surprisingly low result. The outcome of the second round depended on the centrist voters. The Gaullists warned voters against
960-406: Was in contrast to the decision of the deputies in the National Assembly part of The Constructives: Republicans, UDI, and Independents group , of which two-thirds abstained during the vote of confidence in the government. With a consensus among its senators to support the reform efforts of Macron, the group returned to its old denomination of the Centrist Union group ( groupe Union centriste ). As in
992-414: Was made until the issue of the denomination of the movement was raised, with its general secretary Maurice-André Simmonet objecting, noting that the name was popular with voters. In the 1959 renewal , the group secured 34 seats, an achievement aided by the increased strength of the MRP within metropolitan France , especially at the level of municipal and regional councils in rural areas; prior to that point,
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1024-598: Was the upper house of the French Parliament under the Fourth Republic , with the National Assembly being the lower house . It was established by the Constitution of 1946, dissolved by the Constitution of 1958 and replaced with the current-day Senate . The constitution of the Fourth Republic, which came into force in 1946, stipulated that parliament was bicameral. The upper house was named
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