Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullist politics.

Chirac resigned in August 1976 and in December 1976 the RPR was created in order to restore the Gaullist domination over the institutions of the French republic.

Its first master stroke was in March 1977 the election of Chirac as Mayor of Paris against Michel d'Ornano, a close friend of President Giscard d'Estaing.

Nevertheless, it was faced with the creation of the Union for French Democracy (UDF), a confederation of the parties supporting the presidential policies and which competed for the leadership over the right.

In December 1978, six months before the European Parliament election, the Call of Cochin signed by Chirac denounced the appropriation of France by "the foreign party," which sacrificed the national interests and the independence of the country in order to build a federal Europe.

As RPR candidate at the 1981 presidential election, Chirac formulated vigorous condemnations of President Giscard d'Estaing, who ran for a second term.

In 1986, being the leader of the main party of the new parliamentary majority and accepting the principle of the "cohabitation" with President Mitterrand (contrary to Barre), Chirac became again prime minister.

He led a liberal economic policy inspired by Anglo-Saxon examples, selling many public companies, and abolishing the wealth tax.

In November 1995, Prime Minister Alain Juppé announced a plan to reform the French welfare state which sparked wide social conflict.

He resigned during the 1999 European campaign while Pasqua presented a dissident list to advocate the Gaullist idea of a "Europe of nations".

Pasqua founded the Rally for France (RPF) and obtained more votes than the RPR official list led by Nicolas Sarkozy.

Michèle Alliot-Marie, former Minister of Youth and sports, was elected RPR leader, against the will of President Chirac who supported covertly an unfamous candidate Jean-Paul Delevoye.

Prior to its replacement by the UMP, the RPR had been increasingly embroiled in judicial proceedings following from the corruption scandals in the Paris region.