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Democratic Movement (France)

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"MoDem" redirects here. For the network hardware, see Modem.

Democratic Movement
Mouvement démocrate
AbbreviationMoDem
PresidentFrançois Bayrou
FounderFrançois Bayrou
Founded1 December 2007; 17 years ago (2007-12-01)
Preceded byUnion for French Democracy
Headquarters133 bis Rue de l'Université
75007 Paris
Membership (2017)Decrease 13,000[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre to centre-right
National affiliationEnsemble
European affiliationEuropean Democratic Party
European Parliament groupRenew Europe
Colours  Orange
National Assembly
33 / 577
Senate
5 / 348
European Parliament
3 / 79
Presidency of Regional Councils
0 / 17
Presidency of Departmental Councils
1 / 95
Website
www.mouvementdemocrate.fr

The Democratic Movement (French: Mouvement démocrate, pronounced [muv.mɑ̃ de.mɔ.kʁat]; MoDem, [mɔ.dɛm]) is a centre[2][3][4][5] to centre-right[6][7] political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism[8] and Christian democracy,[8] and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance.[8] MoDem was established by François Bayrou to succeed the Union for French Democracy (UDF) and contest the 2007 legislative election, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential election.[9] Initially named the Democratic Party (Parti démocrate), the party was renamed "Democratic Movement",[10] because there was already a small Democratic Party in France.[11]

MoDem secured an agreement with La République En Marche! (LRM) — later Renaissance (RE) — in the 2017 legislative election after Bayrou had endorsed the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron in February. The two parties have since been in alliance, as of late named Ensemble.

History

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Background

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Further information: Union for French Democracy

The MoDem traces its roots to the Union for French Democracy (UDF), centrist coalition/party active from 1978 to 2007.

Traditionally, the UDF had always supported centre-right governments since its creation by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The UDF aligned itself with the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) following its creation in 2002, and even took part in the government coalition in the Senate from 2002 to 2007, though it did not participate in the Cabinet (except for Gilles de Robien). However, during the second term of Jacques Chirac, the UDF became increasingly independent from the UMP. On the initiative of its leader, François Bayrou, it eventually supported a censure motion along with the Socialist Party (PS).

2007 presidential election

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During the 2007 presidential campaign, Bayrou advocated a national unity government. He presented himself as a centrist and a social-liberal,[12] proclaiming that, if elected, he would "govern beyond the left-right divide".[13] Although eliminated in the first round, over 18% of voters supported him, partly because of his independence from major parties. Following the election, he founded the Democratic Movement (MoDem) on 29 May to reinforce his strategy of political independence. MoDem was also supported by the Union of Radical Republicans.

Some members of the UDF did not agree with this new strategy because the weighted French balloting system would hinder the Democratic Movement from obtaining seats in the legislative elections. These members created the New Centre, continuing their support for the newly elected president Nicolas Sarkozy.

2007 legislative election

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The MoDem won 7.6% of the votes in the first round of the June 2007 legislative election.

Candidates ran under the UDF-MoDem banner, since the party had not yet been created officially. The party gained three seats in the National Assembly (not including Abdoulatifou Aly who was elected in Mayotte for a party affiliated to the MoDem. He sat with the New Centre for a short while but he is now sitting with the MoDem deputies[14]). Thierry Benoit, one of the four MPs, has been vocally critical of the party,[15] but he actually sits for the MoDem and defends the movement's policies. He stated that he had been elected jointly by centre-right and left-wing citizens.[16]

Official foundation

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The MoDem became an official political party on 1 December 2007 following its founding assembly in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the suburbs of Paris. The assembly elected Bayrou, who ran uncontested, as the party president, and also elected 29 others to the provisional executive board. On 30 November 2007, the UDF effectively ceased to exist, and was fully integrated within MoDem.[17]

2012 presidential and legislative elections

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At the 2012 presidential election, Bayrou won 9.3% of the vote, a half of what he had obtained five years before. In the subsequent legislative election the party was reduced to 1.8% and won only two seats. Bayrou lost his seat in the National Assembly, which he had held for most of his political career.

2014 municipal elections

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In the cities counting more than 10,000 inhabitants, the party scored an average of 15%, winning over 50 cities.[18] Bayrou won in Pau, while the party governed cities like Biarritz, Saint-Brieuc, Mont-de-Marsan and Talence, and was part of the ruling coalition in Bordeaux, Dijon, Saint-Étienne and Auxerre, among others.[citation needed]

2014 European Parliament election

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In an alliance with the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), also a successor of the Union for French Democracy, MoDem obtained 9.93% of the national level vote in France.

Alliance with Macron's party

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Since the 2017 legislative election MoDem has been in alliance with Emmanuel Macron's La République En Marche! (LRM) — later Renaissance (RE). Macron was first elected president of France in the 2017 presidential election and then re-elected in the 2022 presidential election, both times with MoDem's support.

In June 2017, the MoDem and its MEPs were accused of potentially fictitious employment practices within the European Parliament.[19] Bayrou resigned on 21 June from his post as Justice Minister soon after he became embroiled in the fictitious employment scandals, and allegations of harassment against a journalist reporting on the scandal.[citation needed]

Ahead of the 2022 legislative election, MoDem formed the Ensemble coalition with other centrist parties, notably including RE and Horizons.[20]

Ideology

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During the 2007 presidential election, Bayrou stressed three points: the public debt, the need for change and ouverture to the right/left political system, and the need of constitutional reforms in that direction.

International affiliations

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In 2004, Bayrou launched the European Democratic Party (EDP) along with Francesco Rutelli's Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. In 2005, the EDP created, along with the New Democrat Coalition of the United States Democratic Party, the Alliance of Democrats, a worldwide network of centrist and social liberal parties.

In the European Parliament, MoDem sits in the Renew Europe group with 5 MEPs.[21][22][23][24][25]

In the European Committee of the Regions, MoDem sits in the Renew Europe CoR group with two full member for the 2020 to 2025 mandate.[26] François Decoster is the President of the Group and Vincent Chauvet is Coordinator in the ENVE Commission.[27]

Electoral results

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Presidential elections

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This table includes the 2002 and 2007 elections in which the MoDem founder, François Bayrou, presented himself as a candidate of the Union for French Democracy (UDF).

Presidency of the French Republic
Election year Candidate 1st round 2nd round Result
Votes % Rank Votes % Rank
2002 François Bayrou 1,949,170 6.84 4th — Lost
2007 6,820,119 18.57 3rd — Lost
2012 3,275,122 9.13 5th — Lost
2017 Supported Emmanuel Macron Won
2022 Supported Emmanuel Macron Won

Legislative elections

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National Assembly
Election year Leader 1st round 2nd round Seats +/− Rank
(seats) 		Government
Votes % Votes %
2007 François Bayrou 1,981,107 7.61 100,115 0.49
3 / 577
 Decrease 24 9th Opposition
2012 458,098 1.77 113,196 0.49
2 / 577
 Decrease 1 10th Opposition
2017 932,227 4.12 1,100,656 6.06
42 / 577
 Increase 40 3rd Presidential majority (under REM)
2022 1,044,807 [a] 4.59 1,441,218 6.95
48 / 577
 Increase 6 5th Presidential minority (under Ensemble)
2024 1,205,976 [b] 3.76 1,363,656 5.00
33 / 577
 Decrease 15 6th Presidential minority (under Ensemble)
  1. ^ Votes obtained as part of Ensemble coalition.
  2. ^ Votes obtained as part of Ensemble coalition.

European Parliament elections

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The 2014 elections involved an alliance with the forces of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI); this joint list, The Alternative (L'Alternative), saw four MoDem MEPs out of seven elected from the list.

Election Leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
2009 François Bayrou 1,455,841 8.46 (#4)
6 / 72
 Decrease 5 ALDE
2014[a] 1,884,565 9.94 (#4)
4 / 74
 Decrease 2
2019[b] 5,079,015 22.42 (#2)
5 / 79
 Increase 1 RE
2024[b] 3,589,114 14.56 (#2)
3 / 81
 Decrease 2
  1. ^ Run as part of The Alternative coalition.
  2. ^ a b Run as part of the Ensemble coalition.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bayrou propose que le MoDem et LRM bâtissent une "maison commune" pour les prochaines élections". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 16 December 2017. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  2. ^ "France – Political parties". European Election Database. Norwegian Centre for Research Data. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  3. ^ Jocelyn Evans; Gilles Ivaldi (2017). The 2017 French Presidential Elections: A Political Reformation?. Springer. p. 84. ISBN 978-3-319-68327-0.
  4. ^ Isabel Negro Alousque (2011). "A cognitive approach to humor in political cartoons". In Carmen Valero-Garcés (ed.). Dimensions of Humor: Explorations in Linguistics, Literature, Cultural Studies and Translation. Universitat de València. p. 85. ISBN 978-84-370-8290-5.
  5. ^ http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_140581_en.pdf Archived 25 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ Bruno Amable (2017). Structural Crisis and Institutional Change in Modern Capitalism: French Capitalism in Transition. OUP Oxford. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-19-109188-9.
  7. ^ "French PM rebukes minister Bayrou for complaining to broadcaster". Reuters. 13 June 2017. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Nicolas Hubé (2013). "France". In Nicolò Conti (ed.). Party Attitudes Towards the EU in the Member States: Parties for Europe, Parties Against Europe. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-317-93656-5.
  9. ^ "'Kingmaker' snubs French rivals". BBC News. 25 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  10. ^ "François Bayrou baptisera son parti "Mouvement démocrate"". Le Monde (in French). France. 5 May 2007. Archived from the original on 8 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  11. ^ "Le futur "Parti démocrate" de Bayrou existe déjà". Libération (in French). France. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  12. ^ The third man, The Economist, 1 March 2007.
  13. ^ Jacques Chirac's poisoned legacy, The Economist, 16 March 2007, p. 17.
  14. ^ "M. Abdoulatifou Aly : Assemblée Nationale". www.assemblee-nationale.fr. Archived from the original on 3 August 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  15. ^ He indicated that he was elected as a UDF representative, rather than as a MoDem.
  16. ^ "Pourquoi les députés du MoDem n'ont-ils pas voté la confiance au gouvernement?". La Croix. 5 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Je n'oublie pas que j'ai été élu par des électeurs de droite et par des électeurs de gauche. En m'abstenant, je ne heurte pas ceux de droite et j'envoie un signe à ceux de gauche
  17. ^ "M. Bayrou enterre l'UDF et célèbre la naissance du MoDem", Le Monde, 1 December 2007
  18. ^ "Municipales: le MoDem a fait 15% au 1er tour" Archived 23 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Le Figaro, 27 March 2014.
  19. ^ "Top Macron ally Bayrou quits French government". BBC News. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  20. ^ Elizabeth Pineau (5 May 2022), Parties linked to France's Macron form coalition for parliament elections Archived 7 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  21. ^ "Home | Sylvie BRUNET | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 12 March 1959. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Home | Catherine CHABAUD | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 29 November 1962. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  23. ^ "Home | Laurence FARRENG | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 6 September 1966. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Home | Christophe GRUDLER | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 9 April 1965. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  25. ^ "Home | Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 13 December 1982. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Members Page - Full". Archived from the original on 29 December 2016.
  27. ^ "Coordinators". Renew Europe CoR. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
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