Citizen and Republican Movement
The Citizen and Republican Movement is a political party in France. The party replaced, in 2002, the Citizens' Movement founded by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who left the Socialist Party in 1993 due to his opposition to the Persian Gulf War and to the Maastricht Treaty. It is a Eurosceptic party with leftist aspirations.
Chevènement led the list l'autre politique for 1994 European Parliament election. It included members of left-wing opposition to Maastricht Treaty, feminists, radicals and Gaullists.
The MDC supported the Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin for the 1995 presidential election, then integrated the Gauche plurielle coalition. From 1997 to 2000, it was represented in the government by Chevènement as Interior Minister. In order to prepare the 2002 presidential election, Chevènement created the Pôle républicain, which included a wide range of politicians: radicals, Gaullists, souverainists, socialists. He won over 5% and is sometimes blamed for Jospin's elimination. Its lack of success in the legislative election prompted Chevènement to rename his party the Citizen and Republican Movement. Chevènement was defeated in his seat in Territoire-de-Belfort.
The foundation of the MRC meant a realignment to the left. Indeed, the Pôle républicain was supposed to gather "the Republicans of the left and the right".
Chevènement and the MRC supported the Socialist Ségolène Royal's candidacy in the 2007 presidential election, to prevent a new 21 April 2002 shock. The MRC fielded candidates in the 2007 French legislative election, including Chevènement in Territoire-de-Belfort, seat he had lost in 2002 to the Union for a Popular Movement. He failed to win back his seat, but a former Gaullist of the left, Christian Hutin was elected in the Nord département.
The party has one Senator, Chevènement, who sits in the European Democratic and Social Rally group, which is the most Europhile group. It also has 19 regional councillors and 8 general councillors.
In the 2009 European Parliament election and the 2014 European Parliament election, the party did not run or support any list. Negotiations with the Socialist Party and the new Left Front failed.
In October 2018, PS MEP Emmanuel Maurel and senator Marie-Noëlle Lienemann announced that they would leave the Socialists to ally with the MRC in a new party called "Gauche républicaine et socialiste". On 12 November 2018, a group presided over by Jean-Marie Alexandre announced the reconstitution of the MDC as a party.
