Union of Democrats and Independents in the context of "French liberalism"

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).

The Radical Party (French: Parti radical, pronounced [paʁti ʁadikal]), officially the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party (Parti républicain, radical et radical-socialiste [paʁti ʁepyblikɛ̃ ʁadikal e ʁadikal sɔsjalist]), is a liberal and social-liberal political party in France. Since 1971, to prevent confusion with the Radical Party of the Left (PRG), it has also been referred to as Parti radical valoisien, after its headquarters on the rue de Valois. The party's name has been variously abbreviated to PRRRS, Rad, PR and PRV. Founded in 1901, the PR is the oldest active political party in France.

Coming from the Radical Republican tradition, the PR upheld the principles of private property, social justice and secularism. The Radicals were originally a left-wing group, but, starting with the emergence of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) in 1905, they shifted gradually towards the centre. In 1926, its right-wing split off to form the Unionist (or National) Radicals. In 1971 the party's left-wing split off to form the PRG. The PR then affiliated with the centre-right, becoming one of the founder parties of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) in 1978. The party split from the UDF in 2002 in order to become an associate party of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). It was later represented on the Liaison Committee for the Presidential Majority prior to launching The Alliance (ARES) in 2011 and the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) in 2012. After the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, negotiations to merge the PR and the PRG began. The refounding congress to reunite the parties into the Radical Movement was held in December 2017. However, the union proved short-lived and, by 2021, both the PR and PRG returned to be independent parties. The PR has then been part of the Ensemble coalition.

The UDI and Independent deputies (French: Députés UDI & indépendants) was a parliamentary group in the National Assembly of France including members of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), Agir (2017–2020), and some dissidents of The Republicans (LR) after the 2017 legislative election. It was formed in 2012 and dissolved in 2022.

The Democratic European Force (Force européenne démocrate, FED) is a centre-right political party in France founded in July 2012 by Jean-Christophe Lagarde and other dissidents of the New Centre who opposed Hervé Morin's leadership. It is a member of the Union of Democrats and Independents.

Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in April 2022. They have been described as the most indecisive legislative elections since the establishment of the five-year presidential term in 2000 and subsequent change of the electoral calendar in 2002. The governing Ensemble coalition remained the largest bloc in the National Assembly but substantially lost its ruling majority, resulting in the formation of France's first minority government since 1993; for the first time since 1997, the incumbent president of France did not have an absolute majority in Parliament. As no alliance won a majority, it resulted in a hung parliament for the first time since 1988.

The legislative elections were contested between four principal blocs: the centrist presidential majority Ensemble coalition, including Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance, the Democratic Movement, Horizons, as well as their allies; the left-wing New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES), encompassing La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, Ecologist Pole and the French Communist Party; the centre-right Union of the Right and Centre (UDC), including The Republicans, the Union of Democrats and Independents, as well as their allies; and the far-right National Rally (RN). The NUPES alliance was formed in the two months following the presidential election, in which the left-wing vote had been fragmented; it consisted of the first French Left alliance since the Plural Left in 1997.