Republican Federation
Fédération républicaine |
|
---|---|
President | Philippe Henriot (last) |
Founder | Jules Méline |
Founded | November 1, 1903 |
Dissolved | 1945 |
Merger of | National Republican Association, Liberal Republican Union |
Succeeded by |
Republican Party of Liberty (Not legal successor) |
Headquarters | Paris |
Membership (1926) | 30,000 |
Ideology |
National conservatism Liberal conservatism Republicanism |
Political position | Right-wing |
National affiliation |
National Bloc (1919–1924) Freedom Front (1937–1940) |
International affiliation | None |
Colours | Blue |
The Republican Federation (French: Fédération républicaine, FR) was the largest conservative party during the French Third Republic, gathering together the liberal Orleanists rallied to the Republic. Founded in November 1903, it competed with the more secular and centrist Alliance démocratique (Democratic Alliance). Later, most deputies of the Fédération républicaine and of Action libérale (which included Catholics rallied to the Republic) joined the Entente républicaine démocratique right-wing parliamentary group.
The Republican Federation was founded in November 1903 to gather the right-wing of the moderate Republicans (aka Opportunists) who opposed both Waldeck Rousseau's Bloc des gauches (Left-wing Block), his alliance with the Radical-Socialist Party and, for some of them, the defense of the Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus. These conservative Republicans were ideologically indebted to Jules Méline, Alexandre Ribot, Jean Casimir-Perier or Charles Dupuy. They represented the Republican bourgeoisie, closely connected to business circles and opposed to social reform. Furthermore, they were fond of a relative decentralisation, thus enrolling themselves in the legacy of the Girondins of the French Revolution.