An offshoot of Changer c'est possible (2008) and Action Île-de-France (2011), Soyons libres was created on September 10, 2017 by Valérie Pécresse. The media launch takes place at a meeting attended by some 2,000 people in Argenteuil in October 2017.[5][6] Soyons libres is recognized as a movement associated with LR by Laurent Wauquiez in January 2018, at an LR national council meeting [ref. needed].
Valérie Pécresse positions herself as an opponent of Laurent Wauquiez within LR.[7] A proponent of a more liberal[ref needed], center-right and Europhile line, she denounces the party's shrinking electoral base and the existence of "two rightists that need to be reconciled" within the party.[8] Her initiative aims to unite all the way to the center and tackle new themes such as ecology and digital.[9]
In 2018, she supports the Philippe government on the law on student orientation and success[10] and SNCF reform.[11] However, she believes that the government is not going far enough with its reforms and declares her opposition to a rapprochement of the right and center in both La République en marche (LREM) and Rassemblement national (RN): she wants to create a "third way", as advocated by Gérard Larcher's initiative following the 2019 European elections.
Valérie Pécresse leaves Les Républicains on June 5, 2019, following the poor score obtained by the Les Républicains-Les Centristes list in the European elections and before the holding of an election for the party presidency for which she was given as a possible candidate.[12][13] She cited the impossibility of forming a broader political organization, claiming that "the party is locked from the inside, in its organization and in its ideas".[14] In her wake, several people close to her left the party, including Robin Reda and Florence Portelli.[15]
