Post-election, the UDF joined the victorious centre-right grouping as a partner in the cabinet of prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Despite this, the UDF sometimes criticised the policies of the French government, although it did not wish to quit the majority coalition and enter the opposition, which was made up mostly of centre-left and left-wing parties. Subsequently, the UDF quit the cabinet (except for Gilles de Robien), after a cabinet reshuffle on 31 March 2004, but still decided to remain in the parliamentary majority coalition.