Several historical Macronistes requested on Monday, March 30, 2026, the boss of Renaissance Gabriel Attal to rename the presidential party with its original name: En Marche. In a letter dated Monday addressed to the movement’s general secretary, former ministers Marc Ferracci, Stéphane Travert, and Thani Mohamed Soilih, Senator François Patriat, as well as a dozen deputies, consider it “essential to have a debate on the name of the party itself, and not only on the principle of a change” and they find “meaning to return to the original name of the movement: En Marche, or La République en Marche”.
Recovering the original name would demonstrate “a form of coherence, contrasting with the incessant changes that have caused confusion in the minds of voters, reducing the readability of our political identity, and therefore of our action” and “of 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) the day after the 2017 presidential election, and in 2022 “Renaissance”, while the group of deputies was renamed in 2022 “Together for the Republic” (EPR). “This would show that we have not given up on the original principles of overcoming, empowerment, and fighting against assignments,” added the signatories, emphasizing “the need to create wealth before sharing it”.
“A party that has no history can hardly claim to have a future”
“So let’s own our history. By being clear about what we have not succeeded in, but also by being proud of what has been achieved,” complete the authors of the letter, who also say they are “convinced that such a change would send a rallying signal” to the party’s approximately 33,000 members. “A party that has no history can hardly claim to have a future,” they insist.
Gabriel Attal, who has distanced himself from Emmanuel Macron since taking over the party leadership at the end of 2024, advocates for a “Nouvelle République”, a name that is displayed on the party’s headquarters, raising the possibility that it could become the new name of the party.
