Media: Macron’s party considers fourth name change in decade

France’s ruling centrist party, founded by President Emmanuel Macron in 2016, is set to change its name for the fourth time in less than a decade, according to sources cited by RTL.

After taking leadership of the party “Renaissance” just over a year ago, former prime minister Gabriel Attal is reportedly considering renaming it “New Republic” (“Nouvelle République”). The move is widely seen as part of preparations for the next presidential election, for which Attal has increasingly signalled his ambitions.

Attal said on RTL that a party’s name was primarily a public-facing element and that the priority was to first define a political project. Once that work was completed, he explained, the name could then be adjusted to better reflect the party’s ideology.

The rebranding is not expected to take effect until the spring, following municipal elections. However, party officials have been working on the new identity behind the scenes for several months. One of the figures involved in the process said the current name, Renaissance, was either poorly recognised by voters or carried negative associations.

According to RTL, the proposed name “Nouvelle République” has already been reviewed by legal experts to ensure it would not conflict with the regional French daily newspaper La Nouvelle République.

Macron’s party was originally launched in 2016 as “En Marche” (“On the Move”), later renamed “La République en Marche,” before adopting the name “Renaissance” in 2022.

By Sabina Mammadli