List of political parties in France

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France has a multi-party political system, that is to say one in which the number of competing political parties is sufficiently large as to make it almost inevitable that in order to participate in the exercise of power any single party must be prepared to negotiate with one or more others with a view to forming electoral alliances and/or coalition agreements.

The dominant French political parties are also characterized by a noticeable degree of intra-party factionalism, making each of them effectively a coalition in itself.

Since the 1980s, the government of France has alternated between two rather stable coalitions:

It is difficult for parties outside these two major coalitions to make significant inroads, although the National Front has had sizable successes.

Since 2014, the FN has established itself as the third sizable party, finishing in 1st place in the 2014 European elections as well as in the 2015 local elections,[1] although it still didn't manage to win any executives mostly due to the last-ditch alliance between the center-left and the center-right coalitions in Hauts-de-France region as well as in the South of France.[2] Now many political observers talk about the "tripartisme" (English: tripartism) of the French political landscape.[3][4][5]

Nationwide political parties and leaders

Major nationwide represented parties

Acronym and NameNational coalitionLeader or ChairmanPosition toward the CabinetPeople's RepresentativesPolitical Position & ideologyEuropean Affiliation
PS: Socialist Party (Parti socialiste)NoneJean-Christophe Cambadélis, Interim First SecretaryLeading the majority government.
Manuel Valls, Prime Minister
Ministers:
15 / 17

Secretaries of State:
6 / 14
Head of State:
1 / 1
MEP:
12 / 74
senators:
112 / 348
national deputies:
274 / 577
Heads of Regions:
4 / 13
Heads of Departments:
35 / 101
Heads of Metropolis
7 / 12
Heads of Urban communities
5 / 8
Centre-left party divided in motions:
Mobilise the French People for a Successful Change: Social democracy, social liberalism, pro-Europeanism;
Now the Left: Democratic socialism, social democracy, Pro-Europeanism.
Party of European Socialists
MEP:
12 / 754
LR: The Republicans (Les Républicains)NoneNicolas Sarkozy, PresidentLeading the parliamentary opposition
Gilles Carrez, president of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly
Gerard Larcher, President of Senate
Head of State:
0 / 1
MEP:
19 / 74
senators:
143 / 348
national deputies:
199 / 577
Heads of Regions:
3 / 27
Heads of Departments:
25 / 101
Heads of Metropolis
3 / 12
Heads of Urban communities
2 / 8
Right-wing party divided in motions:
The Strong Right: Sarkozysm, Liberal conservatism, social conservatism, Christian democracy;
The Social Right: Social liberalism, Gaullism, Pro-Europeanism;
Modern and Humanist France: Economic liberalism, Christian democracy, Pro-Europeanism;
Gaullism, a way forward for France: Gaullism, Souverainism, Christian democracy;
The Popular Right: Souverainism, protectionism, Euroscepticism, economic liberalism, social conservatism, liberal conservatism.
European People's Party
MEP:
19 / 754

Others nationwide represented parties

NameAcronymNational coalitionLeader or ChairmanRemarksParliamentariesPolitical PositionEuropean Affiliation
National Front (Front national)FNMarine Le Pen,presidentright-wing parliamentary oppositionMEP:
23 / 74

senators:
2 / 348

national deputies:
2 / 577
Euroscepticism, French nationalism, right-wing populism, anti-immigrationMovement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom MEP:
23 / 754
France Arise (Debout la France,
formerly Debout la République)
DLF
(DLR)
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, presidentCentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Euroscepticism, Social-Gaullism, republicanism, economic interventionism,EUDemocrats
Centrist Alliance (Alliance centriste)AlliUnion of Democrats and IndependentsJean Arthuis, presidentCentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
1 / 74

senators:
10 / 348

national deputies:
3 / 577
Christian democracy, liberalism
Christian Democratic Party (Parti chrétien-démocrate)PCDLiaison Committee for the Presidential MajorityChristine Boutin, presidentCentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Christian democracy, social conservatism
Citizen and Republican Movement (Mouvement républicain et citoyen)MRCJean-Luc Laurent, president;
Jean-Pierre Chevènement, honorary president
left-wing parliamentary majorityMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
1 / 348

national deputies:
3 / 577
democratic socialism, républicanisme, souverainism, patriotism
Citizenship, Action, Participation for the 21st Century (Citoyenneté, action, participation pour le xxie siècle)CAP21Corinne Lepage, presidentcentrist green parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
0 / 577
Green liberalism, Participatory democracy, Centrism
Democratic Movement (Mouvement démocrate)MoDemFrançois Bayrou, presidentcentrist parliamentary oppositionMEP:
5 / 74

senators:
6 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Centrism, social liberalism, liberalismEuropean Democratic Party MEP:
9 / 754
Europe Ecology – The Greens (Europe Écologie Les Verts)EELVEmmanuelle Cosse, national secretaryCentre-left government member ministers:
2 / 39
MEP:
14 / 74

senators:
10 / 348

national deputies:
17 / 577
Green politics, alter-mondialism, regionalismEuropean Green Party MEP:
47 / 754
Federation for a social and ecologist alternative (Fédération pour une alternative sociale et écologique)FASELeft Frontcollegialityleft-wing parliamentary critical majorityMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
2 / 577
altermondialism, communism, eco-socialism
French Communist Party (Parti communiste français)PCFLeft FrontPierre Laurent, national secretaryleft-wing parliamentary critical majorityMEP:
2 / 74

senators:
19 / 348

national deputies:
7 / 577
Marxism, environmentalism, feminism, alter-europeanismParty of the European Left MEP:
22 / 754
Left Party (Parti de gauche)PGLeft FrontJean-Luc Mélenchon &
Martine Billard, co-presidents
left-wing parliamentary critical majorityMEP:
1 / 74

senators:
3 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Democratic socialism, eco-socialism, républicanisme, alter-europeanismParty of the European Left MEP:
22 / 754
Modern Left (La Gauche moderne)LGMUnion of Democrats and IndependentsJean-Marie Bockel, presidentcentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
2 / 74

senators:
2 / 348

national deputies:
0 / 577
liberal, social liberalism, Third Way
Movement for France (Mouvement pour la France)MPFLiaison Committee for the Presidential MajorityPhilippe de Villiers, presidentright-wing parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Conservatism, strong law enforcement, anti-immigration, EuroscepticismLibertas.eu MEP:
1 / 754
National Center of Independents and Peasants (Centre national des indépendants et paysans)CNI, CNIPUnion of Democrats and IndependentsGilles Bourdouleix, presidentcentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Conservatism
New Centre (Nouveau Centre)PSLE or NCUnion of Democrats and IndependentsHervé Morin, presidentcentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
3 / 74

senators:
12 / 348

national deputies:
12 / 577
Liberalism, Christian democracy
Progressive Unitary Movement (Mouvement unitaire progressiste)MUPRobert Huecentre-left parliamentary majorityMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
1 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Democratic socialism, social democracy
Radical Party of the Left (Parti radical de gauche)PRGRadical and ecologist poleJean-Michel Baylet, presidentcentre-left government member ministers:
3 / 39
MEP:
0 / 74

senators:
12 / 348

national deputies:
12 / 577
Social liberalism, radicalism, euro-federalism
Radical Party (Parti radical)RadUnion of Democrats and IndependentsJean-Louis Borloo, president & spokesmancentrist parliamentary oppositionMEP:
3 / 74

senators:
6 / 348

national deputies:
12 / 577
Liberalism, Republicanism
Territories in Movement (Territoires en mouvement)TeMJean-Christophe Fromantincentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Liberalism
United Republic (République solidaire)RSJean-Pierre Grand, presidentcentre-right parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
1 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Gaullism, Centrism, Liberal conservatism
New Deal (Political party of France) (Nouvelle Donne)NDPierre Larrouturrou, co-president;
Isabelle Attard, co-president
Left parliamentary oppositionMEP:
0 / 74

senators:
0 / 348

national deputies:
1 / 577
Progressivism, political ecology, humanism, democratic socialism, economic interventionism, participative democracy

Locally represented parties

NameAcronymNational coalitionLeader or ChairmanRemarksTerritorial councillorsPolitical PositionEuropean Affiliation
Hunt, Fish, Nature, Traditions (Chasse, pêche, nature et traditions)CPNTLiaison Committee for the Presidential MajorityFrédéric Nihous, presidentright-wing government alliedregional:
6 / 1,880
traditional rural values; refusal of environmental legislation and regulations restricting the right to hunt and fish, conservative, EuroscepticLibertas.eu
Independent Ecological Movement (Mouvement écologiste indépendant)MEIAntoine Waechter, presidentclose with EELVregional:
3 / 1,880
Green politics, Centrism, anti-nuclear
New Anticapitalist Party (Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste)NPAChristine Poupin, spokeswomanfar left protesterregional:
2 / 1,880
internationalism, eco-socialism, feminismEuropean Anticapitalist Left
Unitarian Left (Gauche unitaire)GUthe Left FrontChristian Picquet, spokesmanleft protesterregional:
7 / 1,880
anti-capitalism, democratic socialism, internationalismParty of the European Left

Minor parties

NameAcronymNational coalitionLeader or ChairmanRemarksPeople's RepresentativesPolitical PositionEuropean Affiliation
France awakens (Le Réveil de la France)LRFNicolas Taupin, Sébastien Taupinindependent party cartesianism, rationalism, pragmatism, Enlightenment Age
French Action (Action Française)AFStéphane Blanchonnetfar right protesterNationalism, Monarchism, Conservatism, Euroscepticism
Royal Alliance (Alliance Royale)ARPierre Bernardright protesterMonarchism, Conservatism, Euroscepticism
Ecology Generation (Génération Écologie)GEYves PiétrasantaClose with Radical Party of the LeftGreen politics, Green conservatism, Centre-right
Revolutionary Left (Gauche révolutionnaire)GRCollectivefar-left protesterDemocratic socialism, anti-austerity, revolutionary socialism, Marxism, Trotskyism, anti-racism, anti-war
Workers' Struggle (Lutte Ouvrière)LONathalie Arthaud, spokeswomanfar left protestertrotskyism, internationalism, feminism
New Royalist Action (Nouvelle Action royaliste)NARBertrand Renouvinleft wing government alliedMonarchism, Conservatism, Euroscepticism, gaulism
Workers' Communist Party of France (Parti Communiste des Ouvriers de France)PCOFthe Left Frontleft wing government alliedMarxist, Leninist, communism, collectivism
Liberal Democratic Party (Parti libéral démocrate)PLDAurélien Véronclose with MoDemClassical liberalism
Independent Workers' Party (Parti ouvrier indépendant)POIDaniel Gluckstein, Claude Jenet, Jean Markun, Gérard Schivardifar-left protesterInternationalism, Marxism, Trotskism, Socialism, Communism, Anarcho-syndicalism, Euroscepticism
Pirate Party (Parti Pirate)PPMaxime Rouquet, Guillaume Lecoquierreneither right nor left protesterintellectual property reform, protection of privacy and individual liberty
Democratic Rally (Rassemblement démocrate)RDPhilippe Cartelliercenter-left protesterMonarchism, Conservatism, gaulism
Pole of Communist Rebirth in France (Pôle de Renaissance Communiste en France)PRCFLéon Landinifar-left protesterMarxism, leninism, Communism, Anticapitalism, Nationalism
Marxist–Leninist Communist Organization – Proletarian Way (Organisation Communiste Marxiste-Léniniste Voie Prolétarienne)OCML-VPCollectivefar-left protesterMarxism, leninism, maoism, Communism
Popular Republican Union (Union Populaire Républicaine)UPRFrançois Asselineauneither right nor left protester euroscepticism
French Nationalist Party (Parti Nationaliste Français) PNFJean-François Simonfar right, right wing, nationalist protestereuroscepticism, nationalism, conservatism, patriotism

Major regionalist parties

(with past or present representation in at least a regional council)

French Revolution

Historical parties

Political parties in French overseas possessions

Note: Many of the parties in French oversea possessions have strong ties to counterparts in Metropolitan France.

Overseas departmental parties represented in the National Assembly

Lists

See also

References

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