1.
Prime Minister of France
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The French Prime Minister in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. During the Third and Fourth Republics, the head of government position was called President of the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister proposes a list of ministers to the President of the Republic. Decrees and decisions of the Prime Minister, like almost all decisions, are subject to the oversight of the administrative court system. Few decrees are taken after advice from the Council of State, all prime ministers defend the programs of their ministry, and make budgetary choices. The extent to which those decisions lie with the Prime Minister or President depends upon whether they are of the same party, manuel Valls was appointed to lead the government in a cabinet reshuffle in March 2014, after the ruling Socialists suffered a bruising defeat in local elections. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic, the President can choose whomever they want. On the other hand, because the National Assembly does have the power to force the resignation of the government, for example, right after the legislative election of 1986, President François Mitterrand appointed Jacques Chirac prime minister. Chirac was a member of the RPR and an opponent of Mitterrand. Despite the fact that Mitterrands own Socialist Party was the largest party in the Assembly, the RPR had an alliance with the UDF, which gave them a majority. Such a situation, where the President is forced to work with a minister who is an opponent, is called a cohabitation. So far, Édith Cresson is the woman to have ever held the position of prime minister. Aristide Briand holds the record for most nomination as Prime Minister with 11 between 1909 and 1929 with some terms as short as 26 days, other members of Government are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can engage the responsibility of his or her Government before the National Assembly and this process consists of placing a bill before the Assembly, and either the Assembly overthrows the Government, or the bill is passed automatically. In addition to ensuring that the Government still has support in the House, the Prime Minister may also submit a bill that has not been yet signed into law to the Constitutional Council. Before he is allowed to dissolve the Assembly, the President has to consult the Prime Minister, the office of the prime minister, in its current form, dates from the formation of the French Third Republic. Under the French Constitutional Laws of 1875, he was imbued with the powers as his British counterpart. In practice, however, the minister was a fairly weak figure. Most notably, the legislature had the power to force the cabinet out of office by a vote of censure
2.
Jacques Chirac
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Jacques René Chirac is a French politician, who served as the President of France and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra from 1995 to 2007. Chirac served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976, from 1986 to 1988, Chirac occupied various senior positions, including Minister of Agriculture, Minister of the Interior, Prime Minister, Mayor of Paris, and President of the French Republic. Chiracs internal policies initially included lower tax rates, the removal of controls, strong punishment for crime and terrorism. After pursuing these policies as Prime Minister, Chirac changed his method, Jacques Chirac has emerged as an improbable icon of retro taste and a figure of public affection. On 15 December 2011, the Paris court declared him guilty of diverting public funds and abusing public confidence, and gave Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence. Chirac, born in the Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire clinic, is the son of Abel François Marie Chirac, an executive for an aircraft company, and Marie-Louise Valette. His great grandparents on both sides were peasants, but his two grandfathers were teachers from Sainte-Féréole in Corrèze, according to Chirac, his name originates from the langue doc, that of the troubadours, therefore that of poetry. He was educated in Paris at the Cours Hattemer, a private school and he then attended the Lycée Carnot and at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. After his baccalauréat, he served for three months as a sailor on a coal-transporter, Chirac played rugby union for Brives youth team, and also played at university level. He played no.8 and second row, in 1956, he married Bernadette Chodron de Courcel, with whom he had two daughters, Laurence and Claude. Chirac is the grandfather of Martin Rey-Chirac by the relationship of Claude with French judoka Thierry Rey, Jacques and Bernadette Chirac also have a foster daughter, Anh Dao Traxel. Inspired by General Charles de Gaulle, Chirac started to pursue a civil career in the 1950s. During this period, he joined the French Communist Party, sold copies of LHumanité, in 1950, he signed the Soviet-inspired Stockholm Appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons – which led him to be questioned when he applied for his first visa to the United States. Chirac trained as a military officer in armoured cavalry at Saumur. He then volunteered to fight in the Algerian War, using connections to be sent despite the reservations of his superiors. His superiors did not want to make him an officer because they suspected he had communist leanings, after leaving the ENA in 1959, he became a civil servant in the Court of Auditors. In April 1962, Chirac was appointed head of the staff of Prime Minister Georges Pompidou. This appointment launched Chiracs political career, Pompidou considered Chirac his protégé, and referred to him as my bulldozer for his skill at getting things done
3.
Lionel Jospin
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Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002 and he was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995. Lionel Jospin was born to a Protestant family in Meudon, a suburb of Paris and he is the son of Robert Jospin. He attended the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly before studying at the Institut détudes politiques de Paris and he was active in the UNEF students union, protesting against the war in Algeria. He completed his service as an officer in charge of armoured training in Trier. After his graduation from the ENA in 1965, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as secretary of Foreign Affairs and he became in charge of economic cooperation there, and worked with Ernest-Antoine Seillière, future leader of the MEDEF employers union. Integrating François Mitterrands circle, he became the second highest-ranking member of the party in 1979, in 1984, when Laurent Fabius was chosen as Prime minister, a rivalry appeared between these two political heirs of Mitterrand. It broke out when they competed for the leadership of the 1986 legislative campaign, in 1988, after Mitterrands re-election, he left the PS leadership, and, though the President considered naming him Prime Minister, he was nominated Minister of Education. His rivalry with Fabius intensified and caused a crisis, notably during the Rennes Congress. Indeed, the mitterrandist group in the party split because Jospin followers allied with the factions to prevent the election of Fabius as First Secretary. As a member of the National Assembly, Jospin served first as a representative of Paris, Jospin lost his seat in the National Assembly in the Socialists landslide defeat in the 1993 legislative election and announced his political retirement. In 1993, Lionel Jospin was appointed ministre plénipotentiaire, 2nd class and he was, however, not appointed to any embassy. Finally, he came back and claimed the necessity to take stock of the mitterrandist inheritance so as to restore the credibility of the Socialist Party, in this, he was selected to be the Socialist candidate for President in 1995, against the PS leader Henri Emmanuelli. Following the Socialists landslide defeats of 1992–1994, Jospin was considered to have little chance of victory, but he did surprisingly well, leading the first round and losing only very narrowly to Jacques Chirac in the final runnoff election. Despite defeat, his performance was seen to mark a revival of the Socialists as a force in French politics. He built a new coalition with the other left-wing parties, the French Communist Party, the Greens, the Left Radical Party, two years later, Chirac decided to call an early election for the National Assembly, hoping for a personal endorsement. But the move backfired as the Plural Left obtained a parliamentary majority, Jospin is a Member of the Club of Madrid. Jospin served as Prime Minister during Frances third cohabitation government under President Jacques Chirac from 1997 to 2002, despite his previous image as a rigid socialist, Jospin went on selling state-owned enterprises, lowered the VAT rate, income tax and company tax
4.
Dominique de Villepin
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Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin is a French politician who served as the Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007. A career diplomat, Villepin rose through the ranks of the French right as one of Jacques Chiracs protégés and he came into the international spotlight as foreign minister with his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which culminated with a speech to the UN. Villepin has enjoyed a modest return to public favour for his critique of President Sarkozys style of imperial rule. He has written poetry, a book about poetry, and several historical and political essays, Villepin is an honorary member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Villepin was born in Rabat, Morocco, and spent some time in Venezuela and he graduated from the Lycée Français de New York in 1971. He has three children, Marie, Arthur, and Victoire, contrary to what his surname suggests, Villepin is not from an aristocratic background but from a middle class family. His ancestors added the particle de to the family name and his great-grandfather was a colonel in the French army, his grandfather was a board member for several companies, and his father Xavier de Villepin was a diplomat and a member of the Senate. Villepin speaks French, English and Spanish, Villepin studied at the Institut dÉtudes Politiques de Paris and went on to the École nationale dadministration, Frances highly selective post-graduate school which trains its top civil servants. Villepin also holds degrees in Civil law and French literature from the universities of Panthéon-Assas, at the end of his studies he completed his military service as a naval officer on board the Aircraft Carrier Clemenceau, Villepin then entered a career in diplomacy. His assignments were, Advising Committee on African affairs The French embassy in Washington, in 1993 he became chief of staff of Alain Juppé, the Foreign Minister in Édouard Balladurs cabinet, who was Chiracs political heir apparent. He advised the president to hold a general election in 1997. This was a gamble, and Chiracs party went on to lose the elections. Villepin offered Chirac his resignation afterwards, but it was turned down, Villepin has had an uneasy relationship with the members of his own political side. He has in the past made a number of demeaning remarks about members of parliament from his own party, in addition, the mutual distaste between Villepin and Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the Union for a Popular Movement majority party, is well known. He was appointed minister by Chirac in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin at the beginning of Chiracs second term in 2002. During the 2004 coup détat in Haiti, Villepin obtained the backing of the United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, the speech he gave to the UN to block a second resolution allowing the use of force against Saddam Husseins regime received loud applause. During mid-2003 Villepin organized the Opération 14 juillet that attempted to rescue his former student, Ingrid Betancourt, the operation failed, and because he had neither informed Colombia, Brazil, nor President Chirac of the mission, it resulted in a political scandal. During the cabinet reshuffle that made Nicolas Sarkozy Finance Minister, Villepin was appointed to him as interior minister on 31 March 2004
5.
Senate (France)
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The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. Indirectly elected by elected officials, it represents territorial collectivities of the Republic, the Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly, debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally receive less media coverage. Frances first experience with a house was under the Directory from 1795 to 1799. With the Restoration in 1814, a new Chamber of Peers was created, at first it contained hereditary peers, but following the July Revolution of 1830, it became a body to which one was appointed for life. The Second Republic returned to a system after 1848, but soon after the establishment of the Second French Empire in 1852. In the Fourth Republic, the Senate was replaced by the Council of the Republic, with the new constitution of the Fifth Republic enforced on 4 October 1958, the older name of Senate was restored. In 2011, the Socialist Party won control of the French Senate for the first time since the foundation of the French Fifth Republic, in 2014, the centre-right Gaullists and its allies won back the control of the Senate. Until September 2004, the Senate had 321 senators, each elected to a nine-year term and that month, the term was reduced to six years, while the number of senators progressively increased to 348 in 2011, in order to reflect the countrys population growth. Senators were elected in every three years, this was also changed to one-half of their number every three years. Senators are elected indirectly by approximately 150,000 officials, including regional councilors, department councilors, mayors, city councilors in large towns, however, 90% of the electors are delegates appointed by councilors. This system introduces a bias in the composition of the Senate favoring rural areas, the Senate has also been accused of being a refuge for politicians that have lost their seats in the National Assembly. The senators elect a President from among their members, the current incumbent is Gérard Larcher. This happened twice for Alain Poher—once at the resignation of Charles de Gaulle, under the Constitution, the Senate has nearly the same powers as the National Assembly. Bills may be submitted by the administration or by either house of Parliament, because both houses may amend the bill, it may take several readings to reach an agreement between the National Assembly and the Senate. This does not happen frequently, usually the two eventually agree on the bill, or the administration decides to withdraw it. The power to pass a vote of censure, or vote of no confidence, is limited, as was the case in the Fourth Republics constitution, new cabinets do not have to receive a vote of confidence. Also, a vote of censure can occur only after 10 percent of the sign a petition, if rejected. If the petition gets the support, a vote of censure must gain an absolute majority of all members
6.
Vienne
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Vienne is a department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne, established on March 4,1790 during the French Revolution, Vienne is one of the original 83 departments. It was created from parts of the provinces of Poitou, Touraine, and Berry. The original Acadians, who settled in and around what is now Nova Scotia, kennedy argues that the emigrants carried to Canada their customs and social structure. They were frontier peoples, who dispersed their settlements based on kinship and they optimized use of farmland and emphasized trading for a profit. They were hierarchical and politically active, Édith Cresson, Frances first woman Prime Minister from 1991-1992, was a deputy for the department. It has three arrondissements, Poitiers, the prefecture, and the subprefectures Châtellerault and Montmorillon, the capital Poitiers is the see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers, which pastorally serves the department. Goat cheese making is an important industry of Vienne
7.
Alain Madelin
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Alain Madelin is a French politician and a former minister of that country. Following the election, he became a member of the Union for a Popular Movement and he resigned after only four months, citing economic policy differences with Alain Juppé. He was a member of the National Assembly from 1978 to 2007 as representative for Ille-et-Vilaines fourth circumscription, the district includes the town of Redon, where he was mayor from 1995 until 2001. Madelin unsuccessfully ran in 1996 for president of the Union for French Democracy and he was elected as leader of the Parti Républicain, a part of the UDF coalition, which he renamed Démocratie Libérale. In 1998, Démocratie Libérale split from the UDF, Madelins obtained slightly less than 4% of the vote in the 2002 presidential election and merged his party into the UMP. After 2002, although his former supporter Jean-Pierre Raffarin became Prime minister, Madelin is the French major politician the most in favor of the international policies of the United States, and supported the United States-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Because of this, he has, in the past, generally been considered with favor by the US press. In July 2005, Alain Madelin rumors reported in the Canard Enchaîné stated that he would run for the OCDE and he did not run and Angel Gurria of Mexico was chosen. Alain Madelin did not seek reelection in the 2007 elections, ending his involvement in partisan politics, governmental functions Minister of Industry and Tourism, 1986–1988. Minister of Enterprise and Economic Development, small and medium enterprises, Trade and Crafts, Minister of Economy and Finance, May–August 1995. Electoral mandates European Parliament Member of European Parliament, June–November 1989 / 1999–2002, elected in 1989, reelected in 1999. National Assembly of France Member of the National Assembly of France for Ille-et-Vilaine, elected in 1978, reelected in 1981,1986,1988,1993,1997,2002. Regional Council Vice-president of the Regional Council of Brittany, 1992–1998, General Council General councillor of Ille-et-Vilaine, 1994–1995. Municipal Council Mayor of Redon, 1995–2001, political functions President of Liberal Democracy, 1997–2002. Vice-president of the Union for French Democracy, 1991–1996, Vice-president of the Republican Party, 1986–1997. Politics of France Alain Madelin official site
8.
Marylise Lebranchu
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Marylise Lebranchu is a French politician. She serves as Minister of the Reform of the State and of Decentralisation under Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and she is a member of the Socialist Party and of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche parliamentary group. She served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002, from 2000 to 2002, she served as Minister of Justice. She then served as a member of the National Assembly of France of the Finistère department
9.
Member of the European Parliament
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A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament was first established, MEPs were directly appointed by the governments of states from among those already sitting in their own national parliaments. Since 1979, however, MEPs have been elected by universal suffrage. Each member state establishes its own method for electing MEPs – and in some states this has changed over time –, in some member states the MEPs are elected to represent a single national constituency, in others they are elected from sub-national regions. For a list of current MEPs, see Members of the European Parliament 2014–2019, from 1 January 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, there were 785 MEPs, but their number was reduced to 736 at the elections in 2009. With effect from the elections held in May 2014 the number has risen again and now stands at 751, with member state having at least six. Elections are held every five years, on the basis of universal adult suffrage. The electoral area may be subdivided if this will not generally affect the nature of the voting system. Any election threshold on the level must not exceed five percent. As the number of MEPs granted to each state has arisen from treaty negotiations. No change in this configuration can occur without the consent of all national governments. The most recent elections to the European Parliament were the European elections of 2014 and they were the largest simultaneous transnational elections ever held anywhere in the world, since nearly 500 million citizens were eligible to vote. The European Parliament has a turnover of members compared to some national parliaments. For instance, after the 2004 elections, the majority of elected members had not been members in the parliamentary session. Only one has served continuously since the first elections in 1979, MEPs are organised into seven different cross-nationality political groups, except the 15 non-attached members known as non-inscrits. The two largest groups are the European Peoples Party and the Socialists & Democrats and these two groups have dominated the Parliament for much of its life, continuously holding between 50 and 70 percent of the seats together. No single group has held a majority in Parliament. Although, the European groups, between 2004 and 2009, were more cohesive than their US counterparts
10.
Poitou-Charentes
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Poitou-Charentes is a former administrative region in south-western France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine and it comprises four departments, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. Historical provinces are Angoumois, Aunis, Saintonge and Poitou, other important cities are La Rochelle, Niort, Angoulême, Châtellerault, Saintes, Rochefort and Royan. The regional council is composed of 56 members, the region is the home of Frances losing presidential candidate Socialist Ségolène Royal in the election of 2007. In French its residents are known as Picto-Charentais, in 2003, the region ranked 15th out of 26 in population. In area it ranked 12th in size, three regional languages, Poitevin, Saintongeais and Occitan are spoken by a minority of people in the region. Poitou is believed to be the region of origin of most of the Acadian and their ancestors emigrated from the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. At first, these French immigrants from Poitou settled in eastern Canada and this area of the New World was dubbed Acadia by the French, after the Greek Arcadia - the idyllic part of the Peloponnesian peninsula in Greece. It was renamed Nova Scotia in the aftermath of the 1755 expulsion of most of the Acadians by the English, Poitou is a historic region in west central France. Poitiers, the capital of the region, is its city, although the port of La Rochelle, capital of the province of Aunis. Farming is important to the economy, wheat, corn and cattle are farmed, industries produce machinery, chemicals and dairy products. The regions first known inhabitants, the Pictavi, a Gallic tribe, were conquered in 56 BC by the Romans, the Visigoths seized the region in 418 AD, but it passed to the Franks in 507. In 732 or 733, Charles Martel brought the Muslim invasion of Western Europe to a standstill by his victory in the Battle of Poitiers. From the 10th to the century, the counts of Poitou were also the dukes of Aquitaine. In 1152, Poitou came under English control through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II. The region was reunited with the French crown in 1416 and was a province of France until the Revolution, françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan was born in the area in 1640. She was the mistress to Louis XIV, Some of their descendants are still alive today
11.
Poitiers
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Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department, Poitiers is a major university centre. The centre of town is picturesque and its streets include predominant historical architecture, especially religious architecture and this battles consequences partly provoked the Jacquerie. The city of Poitiers is strategically situated on the Seuil du Poitou, the Seuil du Poitou connects the Aquitaine Basin to the South to the Paris Basin to the North. This area is an important geographic crossroads in France and Western Europe, poitierss primary site sits on a vast promontory between the valleys of the Boivre and the Clain. The old town occupies the slopes and the summit of a plateau which rises 130 feet above the streams which surround it on three sides, thus Poitiers benefits from a very strong tactical situation. This was an important factor before and throughout the Middle Ages. Inhabitants of Poitiers are referred to as Poitevins or Poitevines, although this denomination can be used for anyone from the Poitou province, as of 2015, the population of Poitiers was 298,339. One out of three people in Poitiers is under the age of 30 and one out of four residents in Poitiers is a student, the climate in the Poitiers area is mild with mild temperature amplitudes, and adequate rainfall throughout the year. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this type of climate is Cfb, Poitiers was founded by the Celtic tribe of the Pictones and was known as the oppidum Lemonum before Roman influence. The name is said to have come from the Celtic word for elm, after Roman influence took over, the town became known as Pictavium, or later Pictavis, after the original Pictones inhabitants themselves. There is a history of archeological finds from the Roman era in Poitiers. In fact until 1857 Poitiers hosted the ruins of a vast Roman amphitheatre, remains of Roman baths, built in the 1st century and demolished in the 3rd century, were uncovered in 1877. In 1879 a burial-place and tombs of a number of Christian martyrs were discovered on the heights to the south-east of the town, the names of some of the Christians had been preserved in paintings and inscriptions. Not far from these tombs is a dolmen, which is 6.7 metres long,4.9 metres broad and 2.1 metres high. The Romans also built at least three aqueducts and this extensive ensemble of Roman constructions suggests Poitiers was a town of first importance, possibly even the capital of the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania during the 2nd century. The first foundations of the Baptistère Saint-Jean can be traced to that era of open Christian evangelization and he was named Doctor of The Church by Pope Pius IX. In the 4th century, a thick wall 6m wide and 10m high was built around the town and it was 2.5 km long and stood lower on the naturally defended east side and at the top of the promontory
12.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
13.
Liberal Democracy (France)
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Liberal Democracy was a conservative-liberal political party in France existing between 1997 and 2002. Headed by Alain Madelin, the party replaced the Republican Party, after Madelin won the leadership of the Republican Party on 24 June 1997 with 59. 9% of the vote, he renamed the organisation Liberal Democracy, and moved the party further towards economic liberalism. This followed the formation of the Democratic Force by the centrist, Christian democratic component of the Union for French Democracy, Liberal Democracy became independent in 1998, after a split from the UDF. The immediate cause of departure was Liberal Democracys refusal to condemn the election of four UDF president of Regional Councils with the votes of the National Front. However, the party had already feared that a tighter UDF would be dominated by economic centrists, thus, Liberal Democracy voted on 16 May 1998 to become a separate party, with Madelin launching the Ten Tough Choices programme advocating transforming the political debate in France. The economic liberals that refused to break ranks with the UDF launched the Independent Republican and Liberal Pole, which merged with FD. In the 1999 EU elections DL ran with the RPR list led by Nicolas Sarkozy, however, the pro-European tone of the RPR-DL campaign deceived and the list was placed in third, behind the eurosceptic RPF list led by Charles Pasqua and Philippe de Villiers. DL obtained four MEPs, Alain Madelin, Françoise Grossetête, Thierry Jean-Pierre, in the 2002 presidential election, the party split, while Alain Madelin obtained only 3. 91% of the votes, partys Vice-President Jean-Pierre Raffarin endorsed incumbent Jacques Chirac. After Chirac won, he appointed Raffarin as Prime Minister on 6 May 2002, at the June 2002 legislative election, DL competed in alliance with the Rally for the Republic and other Chirac supporters as the Union for the Presidential Majority. On 21 September 2002, DL voted by 15,770 votes to 2,930 to merge with the RPR, the merger was completed on 17 November 2002, creating the Union for a Popular Movement. The party advocated liberalism, promoting less government intervention as the solution to both economic and social problems. In René Rémonds schematic of the French right, it represented the Orléanist strain, in contrast to the advanced liberalism of Valéry Giscard dEstaing, which still involved social conservatism, Madelins was more consistently classical liberal and economically similar to Thatcherism. On economics, DL was systematically more free-market than the UDF, in 1998, the party advocated cutting spending from 50% to 45% within five years, along with reducing the top income tax rate to 35%. Madelin had been fired as Minister of the Economy and Finances in Alain Juppés government for proposing cutting public sector pay, as a presidential candidate in 2002, he renewed these calls, along with widespread public sector competition and privatisation. It was also more secular than the UDFs centrist, Christian democratic elements from which it split, reflecting this Catholicism, the party was morally conservative, if not always conservative in social policy, and also emphasised anti-corruption, thanks particularly to judge Thierry Jean-Pierre. The party strongly opposed the dominance of École nationale dadministration in public life, in foreign policy, Liberal Democracy was strongly pro-American. Madelin set himself apart from the rest of the right after September 11 attacks by advocating total support for the United States, after its split, Liberal Democracy gained about one-third of the UDFs supporters. The party had significant support in rural areas, DLs supporters were overall wealthy, highly educated, and from a high socio-economic class, even compared to the New UDF. 42% of DL voters earned over €22,500 a year, compared to 33% of New UDF
14.
Union for a Popular Movement
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The Union for a Popular Movement was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Socialist Party. The UMP was formed in 2002 as a merger of several parties under the leadership of President Jacques Chirac. In May 2015, the party was renamed and succeeded by the Republicans, Nicolas Sarkozy, then the president of the UMP, was elected President of France in the 2007 presidential election, but was defeated by PS candidate François Hollande in a run-off five years later. After the November 2012 party congress, the UMP experienced internal fractioning and was plagued by scandals which forced its president, Jean-François Copé. After his re-election as UMP president in November 2014, Sarkozy put forward an amendment to change the name of the party into The Republicans, since the 1980s, the political groups of the parliamentary right have joined forces around the values of economic liberalism and the building of Europe. Their rivalries had contributed to their defeat in the 1981 and 1988 legislative elections, before the 1993 legislative election, the Gaullist Rally for the Republic and the centrist Union for French Democracy formed an electoral alliance, the Union for France. However, in the 1995 presidential campaign they were divided between followers of Jacques Chirac, who was eventually elected, and supporters of Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. After their defeat in the 1997 legislative election, the RPR, before the 2002 presidential campaign, the supporters of President Jacques Chirac, divided in three centre-right parliamentary parties, founded an association named Union on the Move. After Chiracs re-election, in order to contest the election jointly. It was renamed Union for a Popular Movement and as established as a permanent organisation. In the UMP four major French political families were represented, Gaullism, republicanism, Christian democracy. Chiracs close ally Alain Juppé became the partys first president at the founding congress at the Bourget in November 2002. Juppé won 79. 42% of the vote, defeating Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the leader of the partys Eurosceptic Arise the Republic faction, and three other candidates. During the partys earlier years, it was marked by tensions, in the 2004 European Parliament election on 13 June 2004, the UMP also suffered another heavy blow, winning 16. 6% of the vote, far behind the Socialist Party, and only 16 seats. Juppé resigned the presidency on 15 July 2004 after being found guilty in a corruption scandal in January of the same year. Nicolas Sarkozy rapidly announced that he would take over the presidency of the UMP and resign his position as finance minister, ending months of speculation. On 28 November 2004, Sarkozy was elected to the presidency with 85. 09% of the votes against 9. 1% for Dupont-Aignan and 5. 82% for Christine Boutin. Having gained control of what had been Chiracs party, Sarkozy focused the party machinery, however, during this time, the UMP under Sarkozy gained a record number of new members and rejuvenated itself in preparation of the 2007 election
15.
The Republicans (France)
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The Republicans is a centre-right political party in France. The party was formed on 30 May 2015 by renaming the Union for a Popular Movement party, the party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Socialist Party. The Republicans are a member of the European Peoples Party, Centrist Democrat International, with the name already chosen, vice-president of the UMP Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet presented Sarkozy and the partys political bureau the proposed new statutes. The new name was adopted by the party bureau on 5 May 2015, the new party statutes were adopted by 96. 3% of voters and the composition of the new political bureau by 94. 8%. The change to the name The Republicans was confirmed at the founding congress on 30 May 2015 at the Paris Event Centre in Paris. Angela Merkel, chairwoman of the conservative CDU, sent a message to the congress. The Republicans thus became the successor of the UMP and the leading centre-right party in France. The organisation has been declared in the préfecture de Saône-et-Loire on 9 April 2015 and this party foundation was published in the Journal officiel de la République française on 25 April 2015. On 3 July 2016, Sarkozy announced that he would resign as leader that year in order to compete to be the candidate in the 2017 presidential election. On 27 November 2016, Francois Fillon, the former Prime Minister of France, politics of France List of political parties in France Official web site of Les Républicains
16.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
17.
ESCP Europe
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ESCP Europe is a pan-European business school which has campuses in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Turin, and Warsaw. ESCP Europe is one of the most selective French Grandes écoles and it is highly selective and aims to prepare high-level students for top executive functions. The ESCP Master in Management is consistently regarded by the Financial Times as one of the best in the world, in addition, the Financial Times rankings placed ESCPs Master in Finance 2nd and its Executive MBA 12th worldwide. Accredited by the Paris Chamber of Commerce, ESCP Europe is one of the 64 schools in the world that has the accreditation of AACSB, EQUIS. It gradually gained in stature and importance during the 19th century, in 1828, the project to put the school under the authority of the French Ministry of Commerce and Industry failed. The school remained independent by the intervention of Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui who took it over, from 1838, the French state began to give scholarships to ESCP Europes students and in 1852 it accredited ESCP Europes programs. Finally, in 1869 the Paris Chamber of Commerce bought the school to train future leaders to modern commercial methods. It is worth noting that until 1870 there was one business school in France. In 1892, ESCP Europe set up selective admission processes which take the form of competitive exams. On April 5,1973 the concept of a business school was founded with the consecutive inaugurations of campuses in the United Kingdom. In 1988, a campus is opened in Madrid. In 1999, ESCP merges with its sister school EAP, in 2001, the Master in Management programme of ESCP Europe is validated by City University London. In 2004, a campus in Torino, Italy is founded. Validated by the University of Turin, Master in Management students can obtain the Italian degree Laurea Magistrale, in 2005, the School inaugurates its London campus having moved from Oxford. In 2015, the School establishes its sixth European campus via an alliance with the Warsaw-based Kozminski University. In 2016, the School decides to strengthen its footprint in Paris by adding a second located in the Montparnasse quarter. ESCP Europe students have the opportunity to study in campuses in France, in the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy and they can spend either 6 months or 1 year on each campus according to their study choices. Each campus has its own specificities and develops programs with academic institutions
18.
French European Constitution referendum, 2005
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The French referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held on 29 May 2005 to decide whether France should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union. The result was a victory for the No campaign, with 55% of voters rejecting the treaty on a turnout of 69%, the question put to voters was, Approuvez-vous le projet de loi qui autorise la ratification du traité établissant une Constitution pour lEurope. Do you approve the bill authorising the ratification of the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Frances rejection of the Constitution left the treaty with an uncertain future, with other EU member states pledging to continue with their own arrangements for ratification. Moreover, it would do much to cement his legacy as a French statesman and it would also have a divisive effect on the opposition Socialist Party. The date was announced on 4 March 2005, opinion polling had shown the Yes and No campaigns in the lead at various times, but in the weeks leading up the referendum the No campaign consistently held the lead. This led many, even some on the Yes side, to predict openly that France would reject the Constitution, on 1 December 2004, the opposition Socialist Party held a vote among its members to determine the stance it would take. The Yes side was led by party leader François Hollande while the No side was led by deputy leader Laurent Fabius. A former prime minister of France, Laurent Fabius traditionally on the right of the Socialist Party opted for the No to the Constitution. For many commentators, this move was a gamble to get the upper hand within the party before the next presidential elections. Within the Socialist Party, out of 127,027 members eligible to vote, 59% voted Yes, out of 102 Socialist Party regional federations,26 voted No. The Constitutional Council of France ruled that the European Constitution could not legally coexist with the current Constitution of France, for that reason, a vote was taken to amend the Constitution of France to make the two documents compatible. This amendment passed in a joint session of deputies and senators at the Palace of Versailles on 28 February 2005, with 730 votes in favour and 66 votes against. Both the ruling party and the Socialists supported the constitutional amendment, communist Party members were the only ones to vote against it. Initial opinion polls showed a majority in favour of the Constitution. By May, the Yes campaigns lead was smaller than the opinion pollsters margin of error, the three major political forces in France supported the proposed Constitution, as did president Chirac. Supporters of the Constitution from the left sought to emphasise that the treaty incorporates a Charter of Fundamental Rights, somewhat surprisingly considering his usual political orientation, Jacques Chirac defended it as a possible barrier against neoliberal economic policies. Objections to the Constitution in France can be divided into two camps. On the left, many expressed the view that the Constitution would enforce an economic model
19.
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
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The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union. The Treaty was signed on 29 October 2004 by representatives of the then 25 member states of the European Union and it was later ratified by 18 member states, which included referendums endorsing it in Spain and Luxembourg. However the rejection of the document by French and Dutch voters in May, following a period of reflection, the Treaty of Lisbon was created to replace the Constitutional Treaty. This contained many of the changes that were placed in the Constitutional Treaty but was formulated as amendments to the existing treaties. Signed on 13 December 2007, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009, the drafting for European Constitution began in a call for a new debate on the future of Europe at the Laeken European Council in December 2001. Giscard dEstaing proposed to draft a Constitution, romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission backed a draft text, called the Penelope Project, which contained a deeper integration of the countries and a clearer institutional model. The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 by 53 senior political figures from the 25 member states of the European Union. In most cases heads of state designated plenipotentiaries to sign the treaty, most designated plenipotentiaries were prime ministers and foreign ministers. On 12 January 2005 the European Parliament voted a legally non-binding resolution in support of the Constitution by 500 votes in favour to 137 votes against, before an EU treaty can enter into force, it must be ratified by all member states. Ratification takes different forms in each country, depending on its traditions, constitutional arrangements, most member states ratify EU treaties following parliamentary votes, while some — notably Ireland and Denmark — sometimes hold referendums. As a reaction to what was seen as the nature of the Constitution, many advocates. On 20 April 2004 then British prime minister Tony Blair unexpectedly announced an intention to hold a referendum, Spain was the first country to hold a referendum on the Constitution. On 20 February 2005, Spanish voters backed the treaty with 76% voting in favour to 24% against, on 29 May 2005 the French public rejected the Constitution by margin of 55% to 45% on a turnout of 69%. Just three days later, the Dutch rejected the constitution by a margin of 61% to 39% on a turnout of 62%, notwithstanding the rejection in France and the Netherlands, Luxembourg held a referendum on 10 July 2005 approving the Constitution by 57% to 43%. It was the last referendum to be held on the Constitution as all of the member states that had proposed to hold referendums cancelled them. After the French and Dutch referendum results European leaders decided to hold a period of reflection on what to do next, as part of this reflection period a group of wise men was set up to consider possible courses of action. This group of high-level European politicians – former prime ministers, ministers and members of the European Commission – first met on 30 September 2006 in Rome, on 4 June 2007, this group, known as the Amato Group, presented its report. The new treaty would be based on the first and fourth parts of the Constitution, in the June 2007 European summit meeting, Member States agreed to abandon the constitution and to amend the existing treaties, which would remain in force
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French Fifth Republic
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Alsace-Lorraine would be restored at the end of World War I. Unlike other European countries France did not experience a population growth in the mid and late 19th century. From a population of around 39 million in 1880, France still had only a population of 40 million in 1945, the post-war years would bring a massive baby boom, and with immigration, France reached 50 million in 1968. This growth slowed down in 1974, since 1999, France has seen an unprecedented growth in population. In 2004, population growth was 0. 68%, almost reaching North American levels, France is now well ahead of all other European countries in population growth and in 2003, Frances natural population growth was responsible for almost all the natural growth in European population. Today, France, with a population of 62 and a million, or 65 million including overseas territories, is the third most populous country of Europe, behind Russia. Immigration in the 20th century differed significantly from that of the previous century, the 1920s saw great influxes from Italy and Poland, in the 1930-50s immigrants came from Spain and Portugal. Since the 1960s however, the greatest waves of immigrants have been from former French colonies, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Mali, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam. Much of this recent immigration was initially economical, but many of these immigrants have remained in France, gained citizenship, estimates vary, but of the 60 million people living in France today, close to 4 million claim foreign origin. Eastern-European and North-African Jewish immigration to France largely began in the mid to late 19th century, in 1872, there was an estimated 86,000 Jews living in France, and by 1945 this would increase to 300,000. Many Jews integrated into French society, although French nationalism led to anti-Semitism in many quarters, since the 1960s, France has experienced a great deal of Jewish immigration from the Mediterranean and North Africa, and the Jewish population in France is estimated at around 600,000 today. By far the largest of these is Paris, at 2.1 million inhabitants, followed by Lille, Lyon, much of this urbanization takes place not in the traditional center of the cities, but in the suburbs that surround them. With immigration from countries, these cités have been the center of racial. Compounding the loss of regionalism is the role of the French capital, the post-war years saw the state take control of a number of French industries. The modern political climate has however been for increasing regional power, many French intellectuals welcomed the war to avenge the humiliation of defeat and loss of territory to Germany following the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. A pacifist, was assassinated at the start of the war, Prime Minister Rene Viviani called for unity—for a Union sacrée --Which was a wartime truce between the right and left factions that had been fighting bitterly. However, war-weariness was a factor by 1917, even reaching the army. The soldiers were reluctant to attack, Mutiny was a factor as soldiers said it was best to wait for the arrival of millions of Americans, the economy was hurt by the German invasion of major industrial areas in the northeast
21.
Union for French Democracy
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The Union for French Democracy was a centrist political party in France. It was founded in 1978 as an alliance to support President Valéry Giscard dEstaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the political right in France. This name was due to the title of Giscard dEstaings 1976 book. The UDF effectively ceased to exist by the end of 2007, and its membership and assets were transferred to its successor party, the Democratic Movement. The founding parties of the UDF were Giscards Republican Party, the Centre of Social Democrats, the Radical Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Perspectives and Realities Clubs. The UDF was most frequently a junior partner in coalitions with the Gaullist Rally for the Republic and its successor party, the Union for a Popular Movement. Prior to its dissolution, the UDF became an entity, due to the defection of Republicans, Radicals and most Christian Democrats to the UMP. The partys last leader was François Bayrou, who transferred his leadership to MoDem, in 1974, Valéry Giscard dEstaing was elected President of France. Two years later, his Gaullist Prime Minister Jacques Chirac resigned and created the Rally for the Republic in order to restore the Gaullist domination over the republican institutions and he therefore sought to formally organise a political grouping which would represent the position of his followers. Consequently, the UDF confederation was born, indeed, RPR leader Jacques Chirac criticized the market-oriented and pro-European policy of the executive duo. During the 1979 European electoral campaign, Chirac published the Call of Cochin where the UDF was accused of being the foreign party, after the election of François Mitterrand as president, the two centre-right parliamentary parties reconciled. Little by little, the RPR abandoned Gaullist doctrine and joined the market-oriented, although, they presented a common list at the 1984 European Parliament election, their leaders Chirac and Barre competed for the leadership of the French centre-right. Focused on winning the 1986 legislative election, Chirac, unlike Barre, furthermore, some UDF politicians covertly supported Chirac. Consequently, he became Prime Minister, from 1986 to 1988, Barre was a candidate in the 1988 presidential election, yet, despite his popularity, he was not supported by all UDF personalities. Giscard dEstaing himself refused to choose clearly and publicly between his two former Prime Ministers, eliminated in the first round, Barre called on his supporters to vote for Chirac in the second round, but despite this, Chirac was defeated by Mitterrand. After the re-election of Mitterrand, some UDF members participated as ministers in the cabinets of Prime Minister Michel Rocard. Others created a new group, the Centrist Union, which occasionally voted with the Socialist Party or with the RPR. For Giscard dEstaing, Barres failure to strengthen the UDF, allowed him retake the leadership of the UDF, in 1991, the dismissal of Rocard caused the departure of the centrist ministers from the government
22.
European Parliament
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The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, the Parliament is composed of 751 members, who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world. It has been elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, voter turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, voter turnout in 2014 stood at 42. 54% of all European voters. The Parliament is the first institution of the EU, and shares equal legislative and it likewise has equal control over the EU budget. Finally, the European Commission, the body of the EU, is accountable to Parliament. In particular, Parliament elects the President of the Commission, and it can subsequently force the Commission as a body to resign by adopting a motion of censure. The President of the European Parliament is Antonio Tajani, elected in January 2017 and he presides over a multi-party chamber, the two largest groups being the Group of the European Peoples Party and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The last union-wide elections were the 2014 elections, the European Parliament has three places of work – Brussels, the city of Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices, meetings of the whole Parliament take place in Strasbourg and in Brussels. Committee meetings are held in Brussels, the Parliament, like the other institutions, was not designed in its current form when it first met on 10 September 1952. One of the oldest common institutions, it began as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and it was a consultative assembly of 78 appointed parliamentarians drawn from the national parliaments of member states, having no legislative powers. Its development since its foundation shows how the European Unions structures have evolved without a master plan. Some, such as Tom Reid of the Washington Post, said of the union, nobody would have designed a government as complex. Even the Parliaments two seats, which have switched several times, are a result of various agreements or lack of agreements, the body was not mentioned in the original Schuman Declaration. It was assumed or hoped that difficulties with the British would be resolved to allow the Council of Europes Assembly to perform the task, a separate Assembly was introduced during negotiations on the Treaty as an institution which would counterbalance and monitor the executive while providing democratic legitimacy. The wording of the ECSC Treaty demonstrated the desire for more than a normal consultative assembly by using the term representatives of the people. Its early importance was highlighted when the Assembly was given the task of drawing up the treaty to establish a European Political Community
23.
Chasseneuil-du-Poitou
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Chasseneuil-du-Poitou is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. It lies 7 km north of the centre of Poitiers and its inhabitants are called the Chasseneuillais. Chasseneuil-du-Poitou is the home of the Parc du Futuroscope, and the Technopole du Futuroscope, the American company SAFT has a factory in the town, which furnishes a large part of the European battery market. Because of the presence of the park and technopole, a new TGV station and it is served by up to 40 trains per day. The town, then simply the villa Cassinogilum, was a residence of first the Merovingian. The town has a 27-member town council, led by Mayor Claude Eidelstein, the town is part of Viennes 1st constituency, and is represented in the National Assembly by Alain Claeys
24.
French presidential election, 1995
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Presidential elections took place in France on 23 April and 7 May 1995, to elect the fifth president of the Fifth Republic. The Socialist incumbent president, François Mitterrand, who had been in office since 1981 and he was 78, had terminal cancer, and his party had lost the 1993 legislative election in a landslide defeat. Since then, he had been cohabiting with a cabinet led by Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. The competition within the right between Balladur and Chirac was a feature of the campaign. Meanwhile, the left was weakened by scandals and disappointments regarding Mitterrands presidency along with the Unemployment rate hovering around 10%, in June 1994, former Prime Minister Michel Rocard was dismissed as leader of the Socialist Party after the partys poor showing in the European Parliament elections. Then, Jacques Delors decided not to stand as a candidate because he disagreed with the re-alignment on the left orchestrated by new party leader Henri Emmanuelli. Former party leader and education minister Lionel Jospin was chosen by PS members as the candidate in a primary election pitting him against Emmanuelli. He promised to restore the credibility and moral reputation of his party, the economy was also still struggling with a depression which began in mid-1990, and the governments policies were widely blamed for both the recession and its slow recovery. The French Communist Party tried to stop its electoral decline and its new leader Robert Hue campaigned against king money and wanted to represent a renewed communism. He was faced with competition for the far left vote by the Trotskyist candidacy of Arlette Laguiller, both of these candidates had a better result than their parties had in 1988, but came nowhere near being able to participate in the next round. In choosing Dominique Voynet, the Greens opted for their integration with the left, on the far-right, Jean-Marie Le Pen tried to repeat his surprising result that he obtained in the 1988 presidential election. His main rival for the vote was Philippe de Villiers. Both candidates primarily focused over the financial situation, in January 1995, when he announced his candidacy, Balladur was the favourite of the political right. According to the SOFRES polls institute, he held an advantage of 14 points over Chirac and he took advantage of his positive assessment as Prime Minister and advocated a moderately liberal economic policy. Chirac denounced the social fracture and criticised the dominant thought, targeting Balladur, Chirac argued that the pay slip is not the enemy of employment. Indeed, unemployment was the theme of the campaign. From the start of March, Chirac gained ground on Balladur in the polls, another factor that contributed to Balladurs fall in popularity was the revelation of a bugging scandal which had implicated Balladur. Chiracs campaign slogan was La France pour tous, Balladurs Believe in France, Lionel Jospin won the first round, in what appeared to be an electoral recovery for the Socialist Party
25.
Silvio Berlusconi
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Silvio Berlusconi is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments. Berlusconi is the controlling shareholder of Mediaset and has owned the Italian football club A. C. Milan since 1986 and he is nicknamed Il Cavaliere for his Order of Merit for Labour, although he voluntarily resigned from this order in March 2014. In 2016, Forbes magazine ranked him as the 188th richest man in the world with a net worth of US$7.1 billion, in 2009, Forbes ranked him 12th in the List of The Worlds Most Powerful People due to his domination in Italian politics. He was the leader of the centre-right party Forza Italia from 1994 to 2009, since November 2013, he has led a revived Forza Italia. Berlusconi was the senior G8 leader from 2009 until 2011 and he holds the record of G8 Summit hosting. After serving nearly 19 years as member of the Chamber of Deputies, Italys lower house, on 1 August 2013, he was convicted of tax-fraud by the final appeal instance, Court of Cassation along with a public office ban for two years. As his age exceeded 70 years, he was exempted from direct imprisonment, because of being sentenced to a gross imprisonment for more than two years, a new Italian anticorruption law made the Senate expel and bar him from serving any legislative office for six years. Berlusconi has pledged to stay leader of Forza Italia throughout the period where he serves his imprisonment sentence, Berlusconi is famous for his populist political style and brash, overbearing personality. Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936, where he was raised in a middle-class family and his father, Luigi Berlusconi, was a bank employee, and his mother, Rosa Bossi, a housewife. Silvio was the first of three children, he had a sister, Maria Francesca Antonietta Berlusconi, and has a brother, Paolo Berlusconi. After completing his school education at a Salesian college, he studied law at the Università Statale in Milan, graduating in 1961. Berlusconi was not required to serve the standard one-year stint in the Italian army which was compulsory at the time, in later life, he wrote AC Milans anthem with the Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis and Forza Italias anthem with the opera director Renato Serio. With the Neapolitan singer Mariano Apicella, he wrote two Neapolitan song albums, Meglio na canzone in 2003 and Lultimo amore in 2006, in 1965, he married Carla Elvira DallOglio, and they had two children, Maria Elvira, better known as Marina, and Pier Silvio. By 1980, Berlusconi had established a relationship with the actress Veronica Lario and he was divorced from DallOglio in 1985, and married Lario in 1990. By this time, Berlusconi was an entrepreneur, and his wedding was a notable social event. One of his best men was Bettino Craxi, a prime minister and leader of the Italian Socialist Party. In May 2009, Lario announced that she was to file for divorce, in addition to his five children, Berlusconi has ten grandchildren. Berlusconis business career began in construction, in the late 1960s, he built Milano Due,4,000 residential apartments east of Milan
26.
French presidential election, 2002
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The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates on 5 May 2002. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of attention because of far-right candidate Le Pens unexpected appearance in the runoff election. Chirac ran for a term, emphasising a strong economy. However, Jospin unexpectedly finished in place behind Le Pen. This led to discussions about polling techniques and the climate of French politics. Although Le Pens political party National Front described itself as mainstream conservative, as a result, almost all French political parties called for their supporters to vote against Le Pen, including the Socialists and many that had previously been opposed to Chirac. Chirac thus went on to win the biggest landslide in a French presidential election, the average in the graph below is a smoothed 14-day weighted moving average, using only the most recent poll conducted by any given pollster within that range. The 2002 election was the first for which the President would be elected to a five-year, instead of a seven-year, lionel Jospin was, at the time, Prime Minister of France, the Jospin government was criticised for its softness on crime by its political opponents. Alarmist reporting on the TF1 and France2 television channel and other media also overemphasised the alleged crime wave and they cumulatively took enough votes away from Jospin to prevent him from reaching the second round, which he could have won. Instead Jean-Marie Le Pen faced Chirac in the second ballot, there was a widespread stirring of national public opinion, and more than one million people in France took part in street rallies, in an expression of fierce opposition to Le Pens ideas. Some held up protest signs stating Im ashamed to be French, between 900,000 and 1,300,000 people turned up to the Labor Day demonstrations and against the National Front. Hundreds of thousands of people who normally did not take part in such demonstrations came, in another unusual sight for 1 May demonstrations, French tricolour flags were commonplace. In the days before the ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan Vote for the Crook. Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide, President of France French presidential election,2017 Miguet, A. The French Elections of 2002, After the Earthquake, the Deluge, official results from the Constitutional Council of France, 1st round, 2nd round 2002 Presidential Vote Results by Commune, Politiquemania. Commentary on the 2002 French Presidential Elections Philosophical considerations of the very singular custom of voting, an analysis based on recent ballots in France
27.
French legislative election, 2002
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The French legislative elections took place on 9 June and 16 June 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, in a context of political crisis. The Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced his retirement after his elimination at the first round of the 2002 French presidential election. President Jacques Chirac was easily reelected, all the Republican parties having called to block far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, chiracs conservative supporters created the Union for the Presidential Majority to prepare for the legislative elections. The first round of the election was a shock for the two main coalitions. The candidates of the parliamentary right obtained 32% of votes, in the first polls, for the legislative elections, they were equal. The UMP campaigned against cohabitation, which is blamed for causing confusion profitable to the far-right, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a relatively low-profile politician who said he would listen to France at the bottom, was chosen as the partys candidate for Prime Minister. Without a real leader, and staggered by the results of 21 April, the Socialist chairman François Hollande tried to revive the Plural Left under the name of United Left, but the effort was undermined by the fact that it didnt have a real programme. Furthermore, the parties could not motivate their voters against an unrecognized. In addition part of the left-wing electorate did not want a new cohabitation, finally, the polls indicated a growing advantage for the Presidential Majority. The right won the elections and the UMP obtained a parliamentary majority of 394 seats. For the third time under the Fifth Republic, a party acquired an absolute majority, five months later, it became the Union for a Popular Movement. On the left, the Socialist Party achieved a result than at the winning 1997 elections. The far-left returned towards its usual level, in far-right, the National Front lost the half of its 5 May voters
28.
Decentralization
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Decentralization is the process of redistributing or dispersing functions, powers, people or things away from a central location or authority. While centralization, especially in the sphere, is widely studied and practiced. The meaning of decentralization may vary in part because of the different ways it is applied, the word centralization came into use in France in 1794 as the post-French Revolution French Directory leadership created a new government structure. The word decentralization came into usage in the 1820s, centralization entered written English in the first third of the 1800s, mentions of decentralization also first appear during those years. In the mid-1800s Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that the French Revolution began with a push towards decentralization. in the end, pierre-Joseph Proudhon, influential anarchist theorist wrote, All my economic ideas as developed over twenty-five years can be summed up in the words, agricultural-industrial federation. All my political ideas boil down to a formula, political federation or decentralization. In early twentieth century America a response to the centralization of economic wealth and it blamed large-scale industrial production for destroying middle class shop keepers and small manufacturers and promoted increased property ownership and a return to small scale living. The decentralist movement attracted Southern Agrarians like Robert Penn Warren, as well as journalist Herbert Agar, hatfield, Mildred J. Loomis and Bill Kauffman. In the next few years a number of best-selling books promoted decentralization. ”Alvin Toffler published Future Shock, naisbitt’s book outlines 10 “megatrends”, the fifth of which is from centralization to decentralization. In 1996 David Osborne and Ted Gaebler had a best selling book Reinventing Government proposing decentralist public administration theories which became labeled the New Public Management, stephen Cummings wrote that decentralization became a revolutionary megatrend in the 1980s. In 1983 Diana Conyers asked if decentralization was the latest fashion in development administration, Cornell Universitys project on Restructuring Local Government states that decentralization refers to the global trend of devolving responsibilities to regional or local governments. In 1983, Decentralization was identified as one of the Ten Key Values of the Green Movement in the United States, according to a 1999 United Nations Development Programme report, A large number of developing and transitional countries have embarked on some form of decentralization programmes. The movement toward local accountability and greater control over ones destiny is, however, not solely the result of the negative attitude towards central government. Rather, these developments, as we have noted, are principally being driven by a strong desire for greater participation of citizens and private sector organizations in governance. ”Those studying the goals and processes of implementing decentralization often use a systems theory approach. ”However. Norman Johnson of Los Alamos National Laboratory wrote in a 1999 paper, an important property of agent systems is the degree of connectivity or connectedness between the agents, a measure global flow of information or influence. If each agent is connected to all agents, then the system is highly connected. Instead each party, also called a peer, makes local autonomous decisions towards its goals which may possibly conflict with those of other peers. Peers directly interact with other and share information or provide service to other peers
29.
2003 European heat wave
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The 2003 European heat wave led to the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540. The heat wave led to crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. Peer-reviewed analysis places the European death toll at more than 70,000, in France,14,802 heat-related deaths occurred during the heat wave, according to the French National Institute of Health. Furthermore, while plans were made for a variety of natural and man-made catastrophes. The catastrophe occurred in August, a month in many people, including government ministers. Many bodies were not claimed for many weeks because relatives were on holiday, a refrigerated warehouse outside Paris was used by undertakers as they did not have enough space in their own facilities. On 3 September 2003,57 bodies were left unclaimed in the Paris area. The high number of deaths can be explained by the conjunction of seemingly unrelated events, most nights in France are cool, even in summer. As a consequence, houses do not warm too much during the daytime and radiate heat at night. During the heat wave, temperatures remained at record highs even at night, elderly persons with family support or those residing in nursing homes were more likely to have others who could make the adjustments for them. That shortcomings of the health system could allow such a death toll is a matter of controversy in France. Many companies traditionally closed in August, so people had no choice about when to vacation, family doctors were still in the habit of vacationing at the same time. It is not clear that more physicians would have helped, as the limitation was not the health system. The opposition, as well as many of the editorials of the press, have blamed the administration. Many blamed Health Minister Jean-François Mattei for failing to return from his vacation when the wave became serious. Mattei lost his ministerial post in a reshuffle on 31 March 2004. Moreover, the French episode of heat wave in 2003 shows how heat wave dangers result from the association of natural and social factors. Although research established that heat waves represent a threat for public health
30.
French regional elections, 2004
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Regional elections in were held in France on 21 and 28 March 2004. At stake were the presidencies of each of Frances 26 regions which, although they do not have legislative powers, manage sizeable budgets. The results were a triumph for the parties of the left, led by the French Socialist Party in alliance with minor parties including the French Communist Party, the Left Radical Party and The Greens. The left has usually fared moderately well in elections. The results were seen as a setback for the then President Jacques Chirac. The first round was held on 21 March, since no candidate gained a majority in any region, a second round was held on 28 March, in which only candidates who polled more than 10% in the first round were eligible to run. The UMP seat numbers are compared to those of the RPR and RPR dissidents together in 1998, see Alsace Regional Council Conservative Alsace is one of only two regions retained by the right. Aquitaine is a stronghold of the left. The former President of France, Valéry Giscard dEstaing, was seeking a term as President of Auvergne. Normally conservative Brittany is captured by the left, burgundy returned to its usual left-wing loyalty. It is suspected that the incumbent Jean-Pierre Soisson was punished for his coalition with the National Front, the left retains control of this region. Sapin replaces the retiring incumbent Alain Rafesthain, the left captures usually conservative Champagne-Ardenne. Conservative Corsica is the only success apart from Alsace. The left retains control of Île-de-France, the region surrounding Paris, huchon previously could not rely on a majority. The left re-establishes its usual dominance of Languedoc-Roussillon, the left retains control of Limousin, with Denanot succeeding the retiring incumbent Robert Savy. The left retains its dominance of Midi-Pyrénées. Nord-Pas-de-Calais is also a stronghold of the left, the left had never before won control of Lower Normandy. The left retained its hold on Upper Normandy
31.
French Socialist Party
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The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France, and the largest party of the French centre-left. The PS is one of the two major political parties in France, along with the Republicans. The Socialist Party replaced the earlier French Section of the Workers International in 1969, the PS is a member of the Party of European Socialists, the Socialist International and the Progressive Alliance. The PS first won power in 1981, when its candidate François Mitterrand was elected President of France in the 1981 presidential election, under Mitterrand, the party achieved a governing majority in the National Assembly from 1981 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 1993. In 2007, the candidate for the presidential election, Ségolène Royal, was defeated by conservative UMP candidate Nicolas Sarkozy. Then, the Socialist party won most of regional and local elections, in 2016, the party had 42,300 members. In 2014, the party had 60,000 members, in 2012 the party had 173,486 members. The defeat of the Paris commune greatly reduced the power and influence of socialist movements in France and its leaders were killed or exiled. Frances first socialist party, the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France, was founded in 1879 and it was characterised as possibilist because it promoted gradual reforms. Two parties split off from it, in 1882, the French Workers Party of Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, at the same time, the heirs of Louis Auguste Blanqui, a symbol of the French revolutionary tradition, created the Central Revolutionary Committee led by Édouard Vaillant. There were also some declared socialist deputies such as Alexandre Millerand, in 1899, the participation of Millerand in Pierre Waldeck-Rousseaus cabinet caused a debate about socialist participation in a bourgeois government. In 1905, during the Globe Congress, the two merged in the French Section of the Workers International. Leader of the group and director of the party paper LHumanité. The party was hemmed in between the liberals of the Radical Party and the revolutionary syndicalists who dominated the trade unions. Together with the Radicals, who wished to install laicism, the SFIO was a component of the Left Block without to sit in the government, in 1906, the General Confederation of Labour trade union claimed its independence from all political parties. The French socialists were strongly anti-war, but following the assassination of Jaurès in 1914 they were unable to resist the wave of militarism which followed the outbreak of World War I and they suffered a severe split over participation in the wartime government of national unity. In 1919 the anti-war socialists were heavily defeated in elections, the right wing, led by Léon Blum, kept the old house and remained in the SFIO. In 1924 and in 1932, the Socialists joined with the Radicals in the Coalition of the Left, the question of the possibility of a government participation with Radicals caused the split of neosocialists at the beginning of the 1930s
32.
French Communist Party
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The French Communist Party is a communist party in France. Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains an influence in French politics. In 2012, the PCF claimed 138,000 members including 70,000 who have paid their membership fees and this would make it the third largest party in France in terms of membership after the Republicans and the Socialist Party. It was also once the largest French left-wing party in a number of elections, from 1945 to 1960. The PCF has lost further ground to the Socialists since that time, since 2009 the PCF has been a leading member of the Left Front, alongside Jean-Luc Mélenchons Left Party. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, the new SFIC defined itself as revolutionary and democratic centralist. The 1920s saw a number of splits within the party over relations with other left-wing parties, the party entered the French parliament, but also promoted strike action and opposed colonialism. Pierre Sémard, leader from 1924 to 1928, sought party unity and alliances with other parties, with the rise of Fascism after 1934 the PCF supported the Popular Front, which came to power under Léon Blum in 1936. The party supported the Spanish Republicans, and opposed the 1938 Munich agreement with Hitler, PCFs Members of Parliament vote declaration of war against Germany in 1939. But the party was banned after German–Soviet Non-aggression Pact by the government of Édouard Daladier, the leadership, threatened with execution, fled abroad. After the German invasion of 1940 the party began to organise opposition to the occupation, at the same time the PCF began to work with de Gaulles Free France government in exile, and later took part in the National Council of the Resistance. By the time the German occupation ended in 1944, the party had become a force in many parts of France. It was among the parties in elections in 1945 and 1946, and entered into the governing Tripartite alliance. However, amid concerns within France and abroad over the extent of communist influence, under pressure from Moscow, the PCF thereafter distanced itself from other parties and focussed on agitation within its trade union base. For the rest of the Fourth Republic period the PCF, led by Thorez and Jacques Duclos, remained isolated, still taking a Stalinist line. Although the PCF opposed de Gaulles formation of the Fifth Republic in 1958, the years saw a rapprochement with other left-wing forces. With Waldeck Rochet as its new secretary-general, the party supported François Mitterrands unsuccessful presidential bid in 1965, during the student riots and strikes of May 1968, the party supported the strikes while denouncing the revolutionary student movements. Under the Common Programme, however, the PCF steadily lost ground to the PS, initially allotted a minor share in Mitterrands government, the PCF resigned in 1984 as the government turned towards fiscal orthodoxy
33.
Luc Ferry
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Luc Ferry is a French philosopher and a notable proponent of secular humanism. He is a member of the Saint-Simon Foundation think-tank. He received an Agrégation de philosophie, a Doctorat d’Etat en science politique, and he was a professor at Paris Diderot University but did not teach there. From 2002 and until 2004 he served as the Minister of Education on the led by the conservative Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. During his tenure, he was the minister in charge of the implementation of the French law on secularity and he received the award of Docteur honoris causa from the Université de Sherbrooke. He is the 2013 Telesio Galilei Academy of science Laureate for Philosophy and he was created Chevalier De La Dive Bouteille De Gaillac on the 20 March 2012 together with Max Karoubi and Francesco Fucilla. In June 2011, Ferry announced on television that he knew about a government minister who had sexually abused little boys in an orgy in Morocco. According to him, the case was known at the highest levels of the French state, a criminal investigation was then opened and he was asked to cooperate with the prosecutors. In 2011, according to sources, the university is threatening to get him to refund his salary. Editions Grasset & Fasquelle Le religieux après la religion with Marcel Gauchet Apprendre à vivre Vaincre les peurs, La philosophie comme amour de la sagesse, éditions Odile Jacob. Une lecture des trois Critiques, éditions Grasset, familles, je vous aime, Politique et vie privée à lâge de la mondialisation, XO Editions. La tentation du christianisme with Lucien Jerphagnon, éditions Grasset, a Brief History of Thought, A Philosophical Guide to Living The Wisdom of the Myths, How Greek Mythology Can Change Your Life La Révolution Transhumaniste. Comment la technomédecine et luberisation du monde vont bouleverser nos vies, Plon
listen); born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005..jpg)
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