Republican Party (France)
The Republican Party (, PR) was a conservative-liberal political party in France founded in 1977. It replaced the National Federation of the Independent Republicans that was founded in 1966. It was created by future President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. It was known to be conservative in domestic, social and economic policies, pro-NATO, and pro-European.
Union for a Popular Movement
Critics of Sarkozy claimed it was illegal for him to name the party "Republicans" because every French person is a republican in that they support the values and ideals of the French Republic that emanated from the French Revolution, and as such the term is above party politics. The new name was adopted by the bureau on 5 May 2015 and approved by the party membership on 28 May by an online yes vote of 83.28% on a 45.74% participation after a court ruling in favor of Sarkozy. Similarly the new party statutes are adopted by 96.34% of voters and the composition of the new party's political bureau by 94.77%.
The Republicans thus became the legal successor of the UMP as the leading centre-right party in France.