Gaullism

[goh-liz-uhm, gaw-]

Gaullism (Gaullisme) is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Charles de Gaulle.

Doctrine

The main doctrinal component of Gaullism is a desire for France's independence from foreign power, but there are also social and economic components in some forms of the philosophy.

Foreign policy

The main theme of de Gaulle's foreign policy was of national independence, with, as some practical consequences, some degree of opposition to international organizations such as NATO or the European Economic Community. The basic tenets were that France should not have to rely on any foreign country for its survival (thus the creation of the French nuclear deterrent) and that France should refuse subservience to any foreign power, be it the United States or the Soviet Union. One can also cite what foreign obeservers dubbed the policies of grandeur, that is, the insistence that France is a major power in the world scene and the establishment of military and economic forces to back this claim. In that respect, Gaullism significantly influenced the foreign policy of France in the following decades, even though Gaullists were nominally no longer in power.

Foreign critics, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States, derided and resented de Gaulle's policies of independence they called "of grandeur". A major point of friction was de Gaulle's decision to withdraw France from the integrated military command of NATO (but not from NATO itself) and to expel NATO from its headquarters at Fontainebleau. De Gaulle refused to allow foreign troops on French soil if these troops were not under French command, a move that greatly angered the United States, which had troops in France at the time and expected French military and foreign policies to be aligned with its own.

Home policies

One may also cite social conservatism, and economic dirigisme and volontarisme as parts of the Gaullist ideology, but these are not necessarily accepted by all who called themselves Gaullists. Gaullism is generally considered a right-wing ideology, but there have also been left-wing Gaullists, the differences between the two consisting of differing social and economic policies.

Gaullism has sometimes been characterized as a form of populism, since de Gaulle relied heavily on his personal charisma. That is, de Gaulle preferred a direct relationship with the people to parliamentary politics; to some extent, he was scornful of politicians and political games. He resigned after failing to obtain a majority in a referendum on a reform of the French Senate.

Political group

The "Gaullists" as a political group used to refer to the Union of Democrats for the Republic.

Since de Gaulle's death, and the break-up of the UDR, the exact meaning of Gaullism has become somewhat unclear. In 1980s-1990s usage, "Gaullism", or "Neo-Gaullism", referred to the Rally for the Republic (now integrated into the Union for a Popular Movement), Jacques Chirac's center-right party. Chirac has, in the past, adopted both dirigiste and laissez-faire approaches to economics; he now has a pro-European stance after famously denouncing Europeanism in the Call of Cochin. For these reasons, some on the right, such as Charles Pasqua, denounce Chirac and his party as not being "true Gaullists".

There are people on the political left who also call themselves Gaullists. Even Socialist president François Mitterrand, who denounced de Gaulle's way of ruling as a permanent coup d'état, was very intent on keeping the nuclear deterrent and asserting France's independence.