Droite, la

   Generic term used to refer to the political right, or conservatives. French conservatism has in recent decades been rather different from conservatism in the UK and most other parts of Europe. Anchored in a patrician, nationalistic and litterally 'conservative' mode, France's political right has long had a very ambivalent attitude to economic liberalism. Following in the tradition of General de Gaulle, who remains the point of reference for right-wing politicians in France to this day, la Droite, which has been in power for all but thirteen of the last fifty years, has stressed an attachment to existing traditions and institutions, and in so doing failed (along with left-wing counterparts) to modernise the nation and its economy.

   Most significantly, many French conservatives have frequently taken pains to distance themselves from economic liberalism (See libéralisme). As recently as 2007, Jacques Chirac wrote, 'Liberalism will lead to the same failures and to the same excesses as Communism'