ABSTRACT
The notion of Gaullism as an ideology and a well-established political movement is widely accepted in French politics. Throughout the history of the Fifth Republic, the French political landscape has been influenced by the Gaullist movement. This chapter offers an in-depth review of the existing literature on Gaullism in French politics. It analyses the Gaullist legacy in the French party system, from the foundation of the Union pour la Nouvelle République in 1958 to the most recent Les Républicains party in 2015. The analysis will also emphasise internal divisions within these parties, which were sometimes tolerated by their leadership (e.g. through the recognition of ‘mouvements,’ or factions, within the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) or led to the creation of splinter parties (e.g. Philippe de Villiers’ Mouvement pour la France or Charles Pasqua’s Rassemblement pour la France et l’indépendance de l’Europe). This chapter includes a section on the future of Gaullism in France, drawing on the most recent developments regarding the new Les Républicains movement. It then concludes that while the nature of the Gaullist movement considerably evolved over time, Charles de Gaulle’s legacy remains an essential element of French and European politics.
