Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale
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Rally for National Independence
Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale |
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|---|---|
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| Founded | 1960 |
| Dissolved | 1968 |
| Merged into | Parti Québécois |
| Ideology |
Quebec sovereigntism Social democracy |
| Colours | Varied |
The Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale (RIN, in English: Rally for National Independence) was a political organization dedicated to the promotion of Quebec national independence from Canada.
It was founded on September 10, 1960, by about 30 people at the very beginning of the Quiet Revolution. The founders included many of former Alliance Laurentienne members. (The Alliance Laurentienne was dissolved after the creation of the RIN.) The founding members included André D'Allemagne, Jacques Bellemare and Marcel Chaput. Other prominent members included Andrée Ferretti, Hubert Aquin and Raymond Villeneuve. D'Allemagne, having participated in the Alliance Laurentienne, said that he had found the Alliance's right-wing tendencies quite unpleasant. This was a factor leading to the creation of an officially neutral organisation. However, as the RIN attracted many new young members it quickly became associated with more radical left-wing ideas.
In October 1960, the first general assembly of the organization published its manifesto calling for the independence of Quebec. Pierre Bourgault, who had joined shortly after foundation, became its president in 1964. Following the wish of the members as expressed in a resolution in 1963, the RIN was turned into a political party. Bourgault and his impassioned, fiery speeches contributed largely to the popularity of the RIN, and is often wrongly believed to be the founder of the movement.
In the 1966 Quebec general election, the RIN, along with the Ralliement National (RN) won about 8.8% of the popular vote and no seats. Bourgault lost the northern Duplessis riding by a very small margin, a great accomplishment for such a third party. Although it never gathered a high number of votes Quebec-wide, it played an important role in the birth of the modern "indépendantiste" movement in Quebec and was very active in public demonstrations. Famous protests of the RIN include a 1964 demonstration disapproving the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Quebec, and a 1968 protest about the presence of Pierre Trudeau on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day that turned to riot. Their members and supporters were also present in the Montreal crowd and their symbols visible when French President Charles de Gaulle shouted his famed "Vive le Québec Libre" (Long live free Quebec).
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