Several historical Macron supporters demanded on Monday, March 30, 2026, that the head of Renaissance, Gabriel Attal, rename the presidential party with its original name: En Marche. In a letter dated Monday addressed to the movement’s secretary-general, former ministers Marc Ferracci, Stéphane Travert, and Thani Mohamed Soilih, senator François Patriat, and about a dozen deputies, deemed it “essential to have a debate on the party’s name itself, and not just on the principle of a change” and found it “necessary to return to the original name of the movement: En Marche, or La République en Marche.”
Reverting to the original name would demonstrate “a form of coherence, contrary to the constant changes that have caused confusion in the minds of voters, reducing the readability of our political identity, and therefore our actions” and “our ideological anchoring,” they argue.
“En Marche” then “La République en Marche” and then “Renaissance”
Launched on April 6, 2016, under the banner “En Marche” – following the initials of Emmanuel Macron – the party became “La République en Marche” (LREM) after the 2017 presidential election, and then in 2022 “Renaissance,” while the group of deputies was renamed in 2022 “Ensemble pour la République” (EPR). “This would show that we have not given up on the original principles of transcendence, emancipation, and the fight against assignments,” added the signatories, emphasizing “the need to create wealth before sharing it.”
“A party without a history can hardly claim to have a future”
“So let’s own our history. Being clear about what we have not succeeded in, but also being proud of what has been achieved,” the authors of the letter conclude, who also believe “that such a change would send a rallying signal” to the party’s approximately 33,000 members. “A party without a history can hardly claim to have a future,” they insist.
Gabriel Attal, who has distanced himself from Emmanuel Macron since taking over the party’s leadership in late 2024, advocates for a “New Republic,” an appellation displayed on the facade of the party headquarters, hinting that it could become the new name of the party.
