France has a multi-party political system, that is to say one in which the number of competing political parties is sufficiently large as to make it almost inevitable that in order to participate in the exercise of power any single party must be prepared to negotiate with one or more others with a view to forming electoral alliances and/or coalition agreements.
The dominant French political parties are also characterized by a noticeable degree of intra-party factionalism, making each of them effectively a coalition in itself.
Since the 1980s, the government of France has alternated between two rather stable coalitions:
on the centre-left, one led by the Socialist Party and with minor partners such as Europe Ecology – The Greens, the Left Party, and the Radical Party of the Left.
on the centre-right, one led by The Republicans (and previously its predecessors, the Union for a Popular Movement, Rally for the Republic) and the Union for French Democracy, with support from the New Centre.
It is difficult for parties outside these two major coalitions to make significant inroads, although the National Front has had sizable successes.
Since 2014, the FN has established itself as the third sizable party, finishing in 1st place in the 2014 European elections as well as in the 2015 local elections, although it still didn't manage to win any executives mostly due to the last-ditch alliance between the center-left and the center-right coalitions in Hauts-de-France region as well as in the South of France. Now many political observers talk about the "tripartisme" (English: tripartism) of the French political landscape.
(with past or present representation in at least a regional council)
Abertzaleen Batasuna (Basque Country, nationalist separatist): largest Basque nationalist party of the Northern Basque Country
Alsace d'abord (Alsace, far-right regionalist): had 3 seats in the Alsace Regional Council in 1998
Ligue savoisienne (Savoie, liberal separatist): had 1 seat in the Rhône-Alpes Regional Council in 1998
Breton Democratic Union (Brittany, ecologist and left-wing autonomist): 4 seats in the Regional Council of Brittany since 2004.
Party of the Corsican Nation (Corsica, nationalist autonomist): 11 seats in the Corsican Assembly and 1 in the European Parliament.
Corsica Libera (Corsica, nationalist separatist): 4 seats in the Corsican Assembly.
Jacobin Club
Girondist - Right-wing
Maraisards - Centrism
Montagnards - Left-wing
Cordeliers Club
Feuillants Club
Red Republicans
Note: Many of the parties in French oversea possessions have strong ties to counterparts in Metropolitan France.
United Guadeloupe, Socialism and Realities (Guadeloupe: Guadeloupe unie, socialisme et réalités)
Martinican Progressive Party (Martinique: Parti Progressiste Martiniquais)
Martinican Independence Movement (Martinique: Mouvement Indépendantiste Martiniquais)
Walwari (French Guiana: Walwari)
Guianese Socialist Party (French Guiana: Parti socialiste guyanais, or PSG)
Communist Party of Réunion (Réunion: Parti communiste réunionnais, or PCR)
Tahoera'a Huiraatira (French Polynesia, local UMP)
Mahoré Departementalist Movement (Mayotte, Mouvement départementaliste mahorais, or MDM)
List of political parties in French Guiana
List of political parties in French Polynesia
List of political parties in Guadeloupe
List of political parties in Martinique
List of political parties in Mayotte
List of political parties in New Caledonia
List of political parties in Reunion
List of political parties in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
List of political parties in Wallis and Futuna
