Popular Republican Movement

{{Short description|Defunct political party in France}} {{Infobox political party | colorcode = {{party color|Popular Republican Movement}} | name = Popular Republican Movement | native_name = Mouvement Républicain Populaire | logo = Popular Republican Movement logo.png | leader1_title = President | leader1_name = [[Maurice Schumann]] {{small|(first)}} [[Jean Lecanuet]] {{small|(last)}} | leader2_title = Founder | leader2_name = [[Georges Bidault]] | foundation = {{start date|1944|11|25}} | dissolution = {{end date|1967|9|13}} | merger = [[Popular Democratic Party (France)|Popular Democratic Party]] [[Lorrain Republican Union]] [[Popular Republican Union (1919–1946)|Popular Republican Union]] | merged = [[Democratic Centre (France)|Democratic Centre]] | ideology = [[Christian democracy]]<ref name="Startin">{{Citation |first=Nick |last=Startin |title=Maastricht, Amsterdam and beyond: The troubled evolution of the French right |work=French Relations with the European Union |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |page=64}}</ref> [[Pro-Europeanism]]<ref name="Startin"/> | position = {{nowrap|[[Centrism|Centre]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=de Boissieu |first1=Laurent |title=Mouvement Républicain Populaire (MRP) |publisher=France Politique |date=1 March 2012}}</ref> to [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]]<ref name="Startin"/><ref>{{Citation |first=Arthur B. |last=Gunlicks |title=Comparing Liberal Democracies: The United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the European Union |publisher=iUniverse |year=2011 |page=123}}</ref>}} | religion = [[Catholic Church in France|Catholic Church]] | national = [[Tripartisme]] (1944–47) [[Third Force (France)|Third Force]] (1947–58) | international = [[Centrist Democrat International|Christian Democrat International]] | european = | europarl = [[European People's Party (European Parliament group)|Christian Democratic Group]] | colours = {{Color box|#FFFFFF|border=darkgray}} [[White]] | country = France }} {{Christian Democracy sidebar}} The '''Popular Republican Movement''' ({{langx|fr|Mouvement Républicain Populaire}}, '''MRP''') was a [[Christian democracy|Christian-democratic]]<ref name="Hanley1999">{{cite book|author=David Hanley|chapter=France: Living with Instability|editor=David Broughton|title=Changing Party Systems in Western Europe|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkDNoNiBEjUC&pg=PA66|access-date=21 August 2012|year=1999|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-85567-328-1|page=66}}</ref><ref name="Slomp2011">{{cite book|author=Hans Slomp|title=Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics: An American Companion to European Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1uzkNq8xfIC&pg=PA395|access-date=19 August 2012|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-39181-1|page=395}}</ref><ref name="Gunlicks2011">{{cite book|author=Arthur B. Gunlicks|title=Comparing Liberal Democracies: The United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the European Union|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUFRVi63EuYC&pg=PA123|year=2011|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1-4620-5724-5|page=123}}</ref> [[List of political parties in France|political party in France]] during the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]]. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included [[Georges Bidault]], [[Robert Schuman]], [[Paul Coste-Floret]], [[Pierre-Henri Teitgen]] and [[Pierre Pflimlin]]. It played a major role in forming governing coalitions, in emphasizing compromise and the middle ground, and in protecting against a return to extremism and political violence. It played an even more central role in foreign policy, having charge of the Foreign Office for ten years and launching plans for the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, which grew into the European Union. Its voter base gradually dwindled in the 1950s and it had little power by 1954.<ref>Russell B. Capelle, ''The MRP and French Foreign Policy'' (1963) pp 3-4.</ref>

== History == === Origins of French Christian Democracy === In the late 19th century secular forces sought to radically reduce the power of the Catholic Church in France, especially regarding schools. The Catholic bishops mistrusted the Republic and the ideas of the [[French Revolution]], as well as the idea of [[popular sovereignty]], which questioned the superiority of the spiritual power over the temporal. For this reason, it supported all the conservative governments of the 19th century, notably [[Patrice de MacMahon|MacMahon]] and his policy of "moral order".<ref>{{cite book|author=Alfred Cobban|title=History of Modern France|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA240|year=1963|publisher=Cambridge UP|pages=240, 346}}</ref>

In 1892, in his [[encyclical]] ''[[Au Milieu Des Sollicitudes]]'', Pope [[Leo XIII]] advised the [[French Catholics]] to rally to the Republic. The previous year, another encyclical, ''[[Rerum novarum]]'' had denounced both capitalistic society and socialist ideology, and advocated the creation of Catholic popular organisations. In 1894, students founded ''[[Le Sillon]]'' (The Furrow). Its leader, [[Marc Sangnier]], campaigned for spiritual values, democracy and social reforms. It represented the progressive wing of French Catholicism. Radical forces triumphed in 1905 and disestablished the Catholic Church and seized its properties. The very conservative [[Pope Pius X]] told the bishops to distance themselves from the state and condemned Le Sillon in his 1910 encyclical ''[[Notre charge apostolique]]''. Better relations [[Briand-Ceretti Agreement|were restored]] in the 1920s, but the parties on the left (Radical, Socialist and Communist) were strongly anticlerical.<ref>{{cite book|author=Coppa|title=Politics and the Papacy in the Modern World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWxyWgF9Oz4C&pg=PA71|year=2008|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|pages=71–72|isbn=978-0313080487|first=Frank J.|author-link=Frank J. Coppa}}</ref>

At the beginning of the 20th century, many organisations appeared: the Christian Workers Youth, the {{Interlanguage link|Christian Agricultural Youth (France)|lt=Christian Agricultural Youth|fr|Mouvement rural de jeunesse chrétienne}}, and the [[French Confederation of Christian Workers]]. In 1924, the [[Popular Democratic Party (France)|Popular Democratic Party]] (PDP) was founded, but it remained a small centre-right party. However, more liberal Christian Democratic ideas arose in intellectual circles. [[Emmanuel Mounier]] founded the review ''[[Esprit (magazine)|Esprit]]'' (mind or spirit) which denounced [[Fascism in Europe|fascism]] and the passivity of the Western democracies. In the paper ''[[L'Aube (newspaper)|L'Aube]]'' (The Dawn), [[Francisque Gay]] and [[Georges Bidault]] shared similar theses. These circles participated actively in the [[anti-Nazi]] underground [[French Resistance|Resistance]] during the Second World War.

=== Foundation and height of the MRP === In 1944, some prominent French politicians wanted to rally all the non-Communist Resistance behind [[Charles De Gaulle]]. This project failed. The [[French Section of the Workers' International]] (SFIO) was refounded and people from the Christian resistance movement founded the Popular Republican Movement. It claimed its loyalty to de Gaulle, who led the provisional government composed of Communists, Socialists and Christian democrats. At the [[1945 French legislative election|November 1945 legislative election]], the MRP was second (23.9%) after the [[French Communist Party]] (PCF) but ahead the SFIO.

The MRP benefited from the absence of real right-wing challengers to rally the conservative electorate. Indeed, among the three largest parties, it was the only one that was not [[Marxism|Marxist]]. Furthermore, it appeared the closest to de Gaulle. It supported the reforms decided by the provisional government and inspired by the programme of the [[National Council of Resistance]] written during the war: nationalisation of banks and industrial companies such as [[Renault]], and the creation of a [[welfare state]]. [[Georges Bidault]] remarked that the MRP was governing "in the centre with right-wing methods to attain left-wing ends"<ref>{{Cite book |author=Wolfram Kaiser |title=Christian Democracy and the Origins of European Union |url=https://archive.org/details/christiandemocra00kais |url-access=limited |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |page=[https://archive.org/details/christiandemocra00kais/page/n188 175]|isbn=9780521883108 }}</ref> or that it was "pursuing left-wing policies with a right-wing electorate"<ref>{{Cite book |author=Emmanuelle Vignaux |title=French Political Parties and Cleavages: Why is there no Christian Democratic Party? |editor1=Harald Baldersheim |editor2=Jean-Pascal Daloz |work=Political Leadership in a Global Age: The Experiences of France and Norway |publisher=Ashgate |year=2003}}</ref> ''(une politique de gauche, avec un électorat de droite)''.<ref>{{Citation |author=Denis Pelletier |title=1905–2005: Un siècle d'engagements catholiques |editor=Bruno Duriez |display-editors=etal |work=Les Catholiques dans la République, 1905–2005 |publisher=Editions de l'Atelier |year=2005 |page=33}}</ref>

Nevertheless, the MRP disagreed with the institutional and constitutional ideas of De Gaulle, who advocated a [[Executive president|strong executive power]], not dependent on Parliament, acting in the national interest while particular interests would be represented by the parties in Parliament. Wanting to achieve the complete integration of Catholicism in the Republic, the MRP supported the principle of [[parliamentary democracy]] against De Gaulle.

Relations with De Gaulle deteriorated. In January 1946, the president of the provisional government resigned in protest at the restoration of the "parties regime". The MRP ministers chose to stay in government. Nevertheless, the party called on voters to reject the proposed constitution in May 1946, fearing the election of a pro-Communist regime. After that, the MRP became the largest party in parliament after the [[June 1946 French legislative election|June 1946 legislative election]] (28.2%) and Bidault took charge of the cabinet. In October 1946, the MRP, together with the SFIO and the PCF, presented a new proposed constitution. It was approved despite De Gaulle's call for a "no" vote. One year later, a Gaullist party was founded under the name of [[Rally of the French People]] (''Rassemblement du peuple français'' or RPF).

The MRP became a mainstay of the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]]. It was allied with the Socialists and the Communists in the [[Three-parties]] alliance until spring 1947. Then, it joined the [[Third force (France)|Third Force]] that brought together centre-left and centre-right parties against the Communists on the one hand and the Gaullists on the other hand. Two Christian Democrats led the cabinet: [[Georges Bidault]] (June–December 1946, October 1949-July 1950) and [[Robert Schuman]] (November 1947-July 1948, August–September 1948) who [[Schuman Declaration|presented]], as Foreign Minister, plans for what would become the European Community. Indeed, European unification was an important part of the MRP platform.<ref name="Russell Beckett Capelle 1963">Russell Beckett Capelle, ''The MRP and French foreign policy'' (1963).</ref>

It is the only major French party to defend the functioning of the colonial system, including forced labour, in the post-war period.<ref>Thomas Deltombe, Manuel Domergue, Jacob Tatsita, KAMERUN !, La Découverte, 2019</ref>

=== A gradual decline === With the creation of the Gaullist RPF and the reconstruction of the conservative right in the [[National Center of Independents and Peasants]] (''Centre national des indépendants et paysans'', CNIP), the MRP faced challengers to represent the right-wing electorate. At the [[1951 French legislative election|1951 legislative election]], it lost half of its 1946 voters (12.6%). Furthermore, due to its propensity for integrating conservative politicians sometimes compromised by their association with Vichy, it was sardonically nicknamed the "Machine à Ramasser les Pétainistes" ("Machine for collecting Pétainists").

The MRP also dominated French foreign and colonial policies during most of the later 1940s and 1950s. Along with the French Socialist Party, it was the most energetic supporter in the country of European integration. It was also a strong backer of [[NATO]] and of close alliance with the United States, making it the most "Atlanticist" of French political parties.

Its leaders, especially Georges Bidault and Paul Coste-Floret (foreign and colonial ministers respectively in several French coalition governments) were primary architects of France's hard-line colonial policies that culminated in long insurgencies in [[Vietnam]] (1946-1954) and [[Algeria]] (1954-1962), as well as a series of smaller insurrections and political crises elsewhere in the French Empire. The MRP eventually divided over the Algerian question in the late 1950s (with Bidault being an avid supporter of the [[Organisation armée secrète|OAS]]).<ref name="Russell Beckett Capelle 1963"/>

In terms of voters, many on its left-wing joined the Socialists and many on its right wing left for the Moderates or Gaullists.<ref>{{cite book|author=J. Robert Wegs|title=Europe since 1945: A Concise History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjpdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87|year=1996|publisher=Macmillan |page=87|isbn=9781349140527}}</ref>

After the 13 May 1958 crisis, the party supported De Gaulle's return and called for approval of the constitution of the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]]. It participated in the government of national unity behind De Gaulle, then broke with him in 1962 over his opposition to extending European economic integration into the realm of political integration.

=== Faced with the Gaullist hegemony === When De Gaulle proposed a referendum on presidential election by universal suffrage, the MRP took part in the "coalition of the no". De Gaulle dissolved the [[French National Assembly|National Assembly]] and the MRP suffered a serious electoral defeat.

In 1963, [[Jean Lecanuet]] took the leadership in order to renew the party's image. He was a candidate at the [[1965 French presidential election|1965 presidential election]] and was third (15%) behind De Gaulle and Socialist [[François Mitterrand]]. Then he created the '''[[Democratic Centre (France)|Democratic Centre]]''' by merging MRP members with the [[National Center of Independents and Peasants]] (CNIP). The MRP itself disbanded in 1967, while some historical personalities of the party (such as [[Maurice Schumann]]) joined the Gaullist party [[Union of Democrats for the Republic|Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic]].

== Presidents == *1944–1949: [[Maurice Schumann]] *1949–1952: [[Georges Bidault]] *1952–1956: [[Pierre-Henri Teitgen]] *1956–1959: [[Pierre Pflimlin]] *1959–1963: [[André Colin]] *1963–1965: [[Jean Lecanuet]]

== Members == *[[Abbé Pierre]] (1912–2007), MRP deputy from 1946 to 1951 *[[Robert Lecourt]] (1908–2004), MRP deputy from 1946 to 1958, later Judge and President of the [[European Court of Justice]].

===French Parliament=== {| class=wikitable |- | colspan=7|[[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] |- ! Election year ! # of overall votes ! % of overall vote ! # of overall seats won ! +/– ! Leader |- ! [[1945 French legislative election|1945]] | 4,780,338 (#2) | 24.9 | {{Composition bar|141|522|hex={{party color|Popular Republican Movement}}}} | {{center|–}} | {{center|[[Maurice Schumann]]}} |- ! [[June 1946 French legislative election|1946 (Jun)]] | 5,589,213 (#'''1''') | 28.22 | {{Composition bar|166|586|hex={{party color|Popular Republican Movement}}}} | {{center|{{increase}} 25}} | {{center|[[Georges Bidault]]}} |- ! [[November 1946 French legislative election|1946 (Nov)]] | 4,988,609 (#2) | 25.96 | {{Composition bar|173|627|hex={{party color|Popular Republican Movement}}}} | {{center|{{increase}} 7}} | {{center|[[Georges Bidault]]}} |- ! [[1951 French legislative election|1951]] | 2,369,778 (#5) | 12.60 | {{Composition bar|95|625|hex={{party color|Popular Republican Movement}}}} | {{center|{{decrease}} 78}} | {{center|[[Georges Bidault]]}} |- ! [[1956 French legislative election|1956]] | 2,366,321 (#6) | 10.88 | {{Composition bar|83|595|hex={{party color|Popular Republican Movement}}}} | {{center|{{decrease}} 12}} | {{center|[[Pierre-Henri Teitgen]]}} |- ! [[1958 French legislative election|1958]] | 1,365,064 (#6) | 7.5 | {{Composition bar|57|466|hex={{party color|Popular Republican Movement}}}} | {{center|{{decrease}} 26}} | {{center|[[Pierre Pflimlin]]}} |- ! [[1962 French legislative election|1962]] | 821,635 (#6) | 5.45 | {{Composition bar|36|465|hex={{party color|Popular Republican Movement}}}} | {{center|{{decrease}} 21}} | {{center|[[André Colin]]}} |}

== See also == * [[Ligue de la jeune République]] founded in 1912 by Marc Sangnier

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * Béthouart, Bruno. "Entry of the Catholics into the Republic: The Mouvement Républicain Populaire in France" in Michael Gehler and Wolfram Kaiser, eds. ''Christian Democracy in Europe since 1945'' (Routledge, 2004) pages=74–87. * Capelle, Russell B. ''The MRP and French foreign policy'' (1963).[https://www.questia.com/library/1022177/the-mrp-and-french-foreign-policy online] * Irving, R.E.M. ''Christian Democracy in France'' (2010). * Rauch, R. William. ''Politics and belief in contemporary France: Emmanuel Mounier and Christian democracy, 1932–1950'' (Springer Science & Business Media, 2012). * Woloch, Isser. "Left, right and centre: the MRP and the post-war moment." ''French History'' 21.1 (2007): 85-106.

[[Category:Defunct political parties in France]] [[Category:Catholic political parties]] [[Category:Political parties established in 1944]] [[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1967]] [[Category:French Fourth Republic]] [[Category:Defunct Christian political parties]] [[Category:Christian democratic parties in France]] [[Category:1944 establishments in France]] [[Category:1967 disestablishments in France]] [[Category:Centrist parties in France]] [[Category:Pro-European political parties in France]]