[1] It existed from 1976 to 1995 and was based both directly and indirectly on the tradition of the Popular Republican Movement (MRP).

It supported the UDF candidates in presidential elections: the incumbent president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1981 and the former Prime Minister Raymond Barre in 1988.

Within the UDF, the CDS was the component which was the less enthusiastic about the alliance with the Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) and after 1988, its leader Pierre Méhaignerie negotiated with the Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard to form a governmental coalition with the Socialist Party, which failed.

In 1993, Gaullist Prime Minister Edouard Balladur gave CDS politicians numerous positions in his cabinet.

In return, and in due to the incapacity of the UDF confederation to nominate a candidate in the 1995 presidential election, the most part of the CDS politicians supported the candidacy of Balladur.