World War II, the Republicans gathered in the liberal-conservative National Centre of Independents and Peasants, from which the conservative-liberal Independent Republicans was formed in 1962. The originally centre-left Radical Party was a declining force and joined the centre-right in 1972, causing the split of the left-wing faction and the foundation of the Radical Party of the Left, closely associated to the Socialist Party. The former was later associated with the Union for a Popular Movement. In 1978 both the Republican Party (successor of the Independent Republicans) and the Radical Party were founding components, along with the Christian-democratic Centre of Social Democrats, of the Union for French Democracy, an alliance of non-Gaullist centre-right forces. The Republican Party, re-founded as Liberal Democracy and re-shaped as an economic liberal party, left the federation in 1998 and was later merged, along with the Radical Party, into the liberal-conservative Union for a Popular Movement (later The Republicans) in 2002. The Radicals and several former Republicans launched the Union of Democrats and Independents in 2012. In 2016 Emmanuel Macron, a former member of the Socialist Party, launched La République En Marche!, a liberal party, and was elected President of France in the 2017 presidential election. The party formed an alliance with the Democratic Movement, established in 2017 as a successor of the Union for French Democracy, stripped of most former Republicans, who joined the Union for a Popular Movement (later The Republicans) or the Union of Democrats and Independents. Timeline of parties 19th Century 1815: The Doctrinaires were formed. 1817: Former Feuillants re-united in the Democrats, also known as Liberals. 1848: A radical faction forms the Radicals, supporting the Second Republic in opposition to the Orléanists and the Moderate Republicans emerge 1870: The Third Republic is formed. 1871: The Moderate Republicans split into the Opportunist Republicans, whose official name was Republican Left (GR), and the Republican Union (UR) 1885: The GR and the UR are united in the Democratic Union (UD). 1889: The Progressive Republicans, whose official name was Liberal Republican Union (ULR), are formed. The remaining Opportunist Republicans formed the National Republican Association (ANR). 1894: The Progressive Union (UR) is formed. The Republican tradition 1901: The centre-right liberal Democratic Republican Alliance (ARD) and the Popular Liberal Action (ALP) are formed. 1902: The Progressive Union (UR) is merged into the ARD. 1903: The more conservative Republican Federation (FR) is founded and the Liberal Republican Union (ULR)