The Senate Republicans (formally The Republicans group; , also ''Les Républicains du Sénat''), formerly the Union for a Popular Movement group (''Groupe Union pour un mouvement populaire''), is a

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political party, political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller politic ...

in the

French Senate The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' and ...

including representatives of The Republicans (LR), formerly the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

(UMP). It is currently the largest group in the Senate. Its president has been

Bruno Retailleau Bruno Daniel Marie Paul Retailleau (; born 20 November 1960) is a French politician who has served as Minister of the Interior (France), Minister of the Interior and Minister of State in the Bayrou government, as well as the preceding Barnier gov ...

since 2014.

History

The Union for a Popular Movement group (''groupe Union pour un mouvement populaire'') in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

was officially formed on 10 December 2002 after the foundation of the

earlier that year; at the time of its creation, it included 167 members, an absolute majority, with

Josselin de Rohan Josselin Charles Louis Jean Marie de Rohan-Chabot, 14th Duke of Rohan, CBE (born 5 June 1938), commonly known as Josselin de Rohan, is a French nobleman and retired politician. He is a former member of the Senate of France, where he represented the ...

elected as its first president. The group united 93 out of 94 members of the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

(RPR) group, 40 out of 41 members of the Republicans and Independents (RI) group (associated with

Liberal Democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...

), 29 out of 54 members of the Centrist Union (UC) group, 4 out of 21 members of the

European Democratic and Social Rally The European Democratic and Social Rally group (, abbreviated RDSE), formerly the Democratic and European Rally group (), is a parliamentary group in the French Senate (France), Senate including representatives of the Radical Party of the Left (P ...

(RDSE) group, and 1 non-inscrit. The group maintained its absolute majority until the 2004 renewal. On 15 January 2008, de Rohan stood down as president of the group to assume the role of president of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee, and was succeeded the same day by the former member of the Radical Party Henri de Raincourt. De Raincourt subsequently stepped down on 6 July 2009, ahead of his appointment to the government, with Gérard Longuet elected unopposed as his successor on 7 July, his only opponent – Eric Doligé – having withdrawn his candidacy before the vote. On 7 March 2011, Longuet departed from the presidency of the group after his appointment as Minister of Defense within the government, with

Jean-Claude Gaudin Jean-Claude Gaudin (; 8 October 1939 – 20 May 2024) was a French politician for The Republicans. He served as the Mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2020. Gaudin was a member of the National Assembly of France from Bouches-du-Rhône from 1978 ...

taking his place on 8 March uncontested; though

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...

envisaged the possibility of presenting his candidature, he ultimately supported Gaudin for the post. The UMP group lost its relative majority in the 2011 renewal, after which the left took control of the upper chamber for the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic. Though Gaudin remained in the Senate after the 2014 renewal, he did not wish to seek the presidency of the group, leaving it to an open contest instead. On 2 October,

, a supporter of

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

in the disputed 2012 leadership election, was elected president of the group with 79 votes against Sarkozyist Roger Karoutchi with 39 votes and Longuet with 25. On 2 June 2015, the group was renamed to The Republicans group (''groupe Les Républicains'') following the founding congress of the renamed party. In the

2020 French Senate election Senatorial elections were held on 27 September 2020 to renew 172 of the 348 seats in the Senate of the French Fifth Republic. The elections were a modest victory for the centre-right Republicans. The environmentalist Europe Ecology – The Gre ...

the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

held their majority.

List of presidents

Historical membership

Founding members

The UMP group was founded on 10 December 2002 with 167 members, including 93 out of 94 members of the

(RPR) group, 40 out of 41 members of the Republicans and Independents (RI) group (associated with

), 29 out of 54 members of the Centrist Union (UC) group, 4 out of 21 members of the

(RDSE) group, and 1 non-inscrit.

References

External links