According to Serge Berstein, Gaullism is "neither a doctrine nor a political ideology" and cannot be considered either left or right. Rather, "considering its historical progression, it is a pragmatic exercise of power that is neither free from contradictions nor of concessions to momentary necessity, even if the imperious word of the general gives to the practice of Gaullism the allure of a programme that seems profound and fully realised". Gaullism is "a peculiarly French phenomenon, without doubt the quintessential French political phenomenon of the 20th century".[1]
Lawrence D. Kritzman argues that Gaullism may be seen as a form of French patriotism in the tradition of Jules Michelet. He writes: "Aligned on the political spectrum with the right, Gaullism was committed nevertheless to the republican values of the Revolution, and so distanced itself from the particularist ambitions of the traditional right and its xenophobic causes". Furthermore, "Gaullism saw as its mission the affirmation of national sovereignty and unity, which was diametrically opposed to the divisiveness created by the leftist commitment to class struggle".[3]
Gaullism was nationalistic. In the early post-WWII period, Gaullists advocated for retaining the French Empire.[4] De Gaulle shifted his stance on empire in the mid-1950s, suggesting potential federal arrangements or self-determination and membership in the French Community.[4]
In the second phase (1946–1958), Gaullism was a type of opposition to the . Gaullists in this period challenged the unstable parliamentary government of the Fourth Republic and advocated its replacement with "a president of the republic with preeminent constitutional powers."[1]
Fourth French Republic
In the third phase (1958–69), "Gaullism was nothing other than the support given to the general's own politics after he returned to power in 1958 and served as president of the newly formed from 1959 until his resignation in 1969."[1]
Fifth Republic
Berstein writes that Gaullism has progressed in multiple stages:
De Gaulle's political legacy has been profound in France and has gradually influenced the entirety of the political spectrum.[1][7] His successor as president, Georges Pompidou, consolidated Gaullism during his term from 1969 to 1974. Once-controversial Gaullist ideas have become accepted as part of the French political consensus and "are no longer the focus of political controversy." For instance, the strong presidency was maintained by all of de Gaulle's successors, including the socialistFrançois Mitterrand (1981–1995). French independent nuclear capability and a foreign policy influenced by Gaullism–although expressed "in more flexible terms"–remains "the guiding force of French international relations."[1] During the 2017 presidential election, de Gaulle's legacy was claimed by candidates ranging from the radical left to the radical right, including Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Benoît Hamon, Emmanuel Macron, François Fillon and Marine Le Pen.[7]
According to Berstein, "It is no exaggeration to say that Gaullism has molded post-war France. At the same time, considering that the essence of Gaullist ideas are now accepted by everyone, those who wish to be the legitimate heirs of de Gaulle (e.g., Jacques Chirac of the RPR) now have an identity crisis. It is difficult for them to distinguish themselves from other political perspectives."[1] Not all Gaullist ideas have endured, however. Between the mid-1980s and the early 2000s, there have been several periods of cohabitation (1986–1988, 1993–1995, 1997–2002), in which the president and prime minister have been from different parties, a marked shift from the "imperial presidency" of de Gaulle. De Gaulle's economic policy, based on the idea of dirigisme (state stewardship of the economy), has also weakened. Although the major French banks, as well as insurance, telecommunications, steel, oil and pharmaceutical companies, were state-owned as recently as the mid-1980s, the French government has since then privatized many state assets.[8]
1947–1955: (RPF)
Rally of the French People
1954–1958: (RS)
National Centre of Social Republicans
1958–1962: (UNR)
Union for the New Republic
1958–1962: Democratic Union of Labour (UDT)
1962–1967: – Democratic Union of Labour (UNR – UDT)
Union for the New Republic
1967–1976: (UDR)
Union of Democrats for the Republic
1974-1980's: Democrats Movement (MDD)
1976–2002: (RPR)
Rally for the Republic
1993-2003: (MDC)
Citizen Movement
1994-2018: (MPF)
Movement for France
1999–2011: Rally for France (RPF)
2002–2015: (UMP): Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France in 2007. During his leadership, the gaullist party shifted to the right with more conservative policies. Sarkozy was defeated in 2012. Despite his defeat, Sarkozy remained influential in the party politics. He became then President of the UMP in 2014 and renamed the gaullist party into Republicans in 2015.
Union for a Popular Movement
2003–present: (MRC)
Citizen and Republican Movement
2008–2014: (DLR)
Debout la République
2014–present: (DLF)
Debout la France
2015–present: (LR): In 2016, Sarkozy was defeated in the presidential primaries. Laurent Wauquiez was selected as leader in 2017. Since then the party has moved to further right.
Berstein, Serge, Histoire du gaullisme, Perrin, Paris, 2001.
Choisel, Francis, Bonapartisme et gaullisme, Paris, Albatros, 1987.
Choisel, Francis, Comprendre le gaullisme, L'Harmattan, 2016.
Gordon, Philip H. A Certain Idea of France: French Security Policy and the Gaullist Legacy (1993)
online edition
Grosser, Alfred. French foreign policy under De Gaulle (1977)
Jackson, Julian. De Gaulle (2018) 887pp; the most recent major biography.
Kritzman, Lawrence D; Reilly, Brian J (2006). "Gaullism". . Columbia University Press. ISBN0-231-10791-9.
The Columbia History of Twentieth-century French Thought
Kulski, W. W. De Gaulle and the World: The Foreign Policy of the Fifth French Republic (1966)
online free to borrow
Touchard, Jean, Le gaullisme (1940–1969), Paris, Seuil, coll. Points Histoire.1978.
Berstein, Serge (2001b). "Gaullism". The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World second edition ed. Joel Krieger. Oxford University Press. 0-195-11739-5.
