Democratic Movement (France) in the context of "2019 European Parliament election in France"

The departmental councils (French: conseils départementaux [kɔ̃sɛj depaʁtəmɑ̃to]; singular, conseil départemental [kɔ̃sɛj depaʁtəmɑ̃tal]) of France are representative assemblies elected by universal suffrage in 98 of the country's 101 departments. Prior to the 2015 French departmental elections they were known as general councils (conseils généraux; singular, conseil général).

Legislative elections were held in France on 11 and 18 June 2017 (with different dates for voters overseas) to elect the 577 members of the 15th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. They followed the two-round presidential election won by Emmanuel Macron. The centrist party he founded in 2016, La République En Marche! (LREM), led an alliance with the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem); together, the two parties won 350 of the 577 seats—a substantial majority—in the National Assembly, including an outright majority of 308 seats for LREM. The Socialist Party (PS) was reduced to 30 seats and the Republicans (LR) reduced to 112 seats, and both parties' allies also suffered from a marked drop in support; these were the lowest-ever scores for the centre-left and centre-right in the legislative elections. The movement founded by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, la France Insoumise (FI), secured 17 seats, enough for a group in the National Assembly. Among other major parties, the French Communist Party (PCF) secured ten and the National Front (FN) obtained eight seats. Both rounds of the legislative election were marked by record low turnout.

In total, 206 MPs lost reelection, and 424 (75%) elected MPs were new members. There was a record number of women elected. The average age of parliamentarians decreased from 54 to 48. Ludovic Pajot from the National Rally became the new Baby of the House, being elected at the age of 23. Édouard Philippe, appointed as Prime Minister by Macron following his victory in the presidential election, was reappointed following the second round of the legislative elections and presented his second government by 21 June. The 15th legislature of the French Fifth Republic commenced on 27 June.

The 15th legislature of the French Fifth Republic (French: XV législature de la Cinquième République française) was the French Parliament that was in office from 27 June 2017 (following the legislative elections on 11 and 18 June 2017) until 21 June 2022. The party of President Emmanuel Macron, La République En Marche! (LREM), obtained an absolute majority of 308 deputies, alongside its ally, the Democratic Movement (MoDem), which secured 42 seats. The newly installed deputies elected François de Rugy as President of the National Assembly when the National Assembly first convened on 27 June. The legislative election saw a record level of renewal, with only a quarter of the deputies elected in 2012 also elected in 2017, as well as a significant increase in the representation of women and youth. With seven planned parliamentary groups, it would be the most fragmented National Assembly since 1958.

The second Philippe government (French: gouvernement Édouard Philippe II) was the forty-first government of the French Fifth Republic. It was the second government formed by Édouard Philippe under President Emmanuel Macron, following the 2017 legislative election and the dissolution of the first Philippe government on 19 June 2017.

The second Philippe government was formed following scandal among ministers during the first Philippe government. La République En Marche! (REM) allies Democratic Movement (MoDem) were facing scandal following allegations that the party used EU funds to pay party workers. Armed Forces Minister Sylvie Goulard was the first to step down, resigning on 20 June 2017. The following day, Minister of Justice François Bayrou and European Affairs Minister, Marielle de Sarnez stepped down. Richard Ferrand, Minister of Territorial Cohesion, stepped down on 19 June 2017 following Le Canard Enchaîné publishing allegations of nepotism on 24 May 2017. Macron defended Ferrand despite the allegations and public polling showing that 70% of respondents wanted Ferrand to step down. On 1 July 2017, a regional prosecutor announced that authorities had launched a preliminary investigation into Ferrand. Ferrand responded to the allegations saying everything was "legal, public and transparent". He was one of the founding members of La République En Marche! and served as President of the National Assembly until losing his parliamentary seat in the 2022 elections.

Ensemble (lit. 'Together', stylised in all caps), known in full as Ensemble pour la République (Together for the Republic), is a liberal political coalition in France created by Emmanuel Macron. Formed in November 2021 as Ensemble Citoyens, it makes up the presidential majority and includes Renaissance (RE, formerly known as En Marche and La République En Marche!), Democratic Movement (MoDem), Horizons, En commun, and the Progressive Federation. The coalition included the parties Agir and Territories of Progress (TDP) until they were merged into the rebranded Renaissance. Ensemble has mainly been described as being centrist and sometimes as centre-right on the political spectrum.

After the 2022 French legislative election, the coalition won a plurality of seats but lost its majority in the National Assembly. In 2024, they were reduced further into third place in terms of votes but second in seats.

The Centrists (French: Les Centristes, pronounced [le sɑ̃tʁist], LC), known as The Centrists – New Centre (Les Centristes – Nouveau Centre [le sɑ̃tʁist nuvo sɑ̃tʁ], LC-NC) since 2018, formerly known as New Centre (Nouveau Centre, NC) and European Social Liberal Party (Parti Social Libéral Européen [paʁti sɔsjal libeʁal øʁɔpeɛ̃], PSLE), is a centre-right political party in France formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) – including 18 of the 29 members of the UDF in the National Assembly) – who did not agree with François Bayrou's decision to found the Democratic Movement (MoDem) and wanted to support the newly-elected president Nicolas Sarkozy, continuing the UDF–Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) alliance.

The party was founded on 29 May 2007 during a press conference and renamed on 11 December 2016.

François Bayrou (French: [fʁɑ̃swa bajʁu] ; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from December 2024 to September 2025. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections.

From 1993 to 1997, Bayrou was Minister of National Education in three successive governments. He was also a member of the National Assembly for a seat in Pyrénées-Atlantiques from 1986 to 2012 with brief interruptions and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2002. He has been mayor of Pau since 2014.

The Union for French Democracy (French: Union pour la démocratie française [ynjɔ̃ puʁ la demɔkʁasi fʁɑ̃sɛːz]; UDF) was a centre-right political party in France. The UDF was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the French centre-right. The UDF took its name from Giscard's 1976 book, Démocratie française.

The founding parties of the UDF were Giscard's Republican Party (PR), the Centre of Social Democrats (CDS), the Radical Party (Rad), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Perspectives and Realities Clubs (CPR). The UDF was most frequently a junior partner in coalitions with the neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR). In 1998 the UDF became a single entity, causing the defection of Liberal Democracy (DL), PR's successor. In 2002 the RPR, DL and most of the remaining UDF members joined the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), which aimed to unite the entire centre-right. The UDF effectively ceased to exist by the end of 2007 and its membership and assets were transferred to its successor, the Democratic Movement (MoDem). The UDF's last president and MoDem's founding leader was François Bayrou.