1.
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet
–
Nathalie Geneviève Marie Kosciusko-Morizet, often referred to by her initials NKM, is a French politician and the current deputy of the 4th electoral constituency of Essonne. She was mayor of Longjumeau from 2008-2013 and was a mayoral candidate for Paris in the local elections in 2014. She has previously held the positions of Regional Councillor for Île-de-France, Secretary of State for Ecology and she was also Assistant General Secretary of the UMP and spokesperson to Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. Since standing for the Paris mayoralty in March 2014, she has been leader of the opposition of the Council of Paris, from December 2014 to December 2015 she was Vice President of the UMP. Kosciusko-Morizet was born on 14 May 1973 and she comes from a political family, the Kosciusko-Morizets. Her father François Kosciusko-Morizet was the mayor of Sèvres and she is also the sister of Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, one of the founders of Priceminister. com, the third ranked e-commerce site in France. According to genealogists, she is related to Lucrezia Borgia from her mothers side. She graduated from the École Polytechnique and the Collège des Ingénieurs and she was reelected in 2007 and 2012. She was elected mayor of Longjumeau in March 2008, in 2007, she became a state secretary in the French government responsible for the environment. In 2012, she left her position as minister to become spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy during his reelection campaign. In February 2013, she announced she would be a candidate for the Mayor of Paris in the 2014 local elections and she faced among others Rachida Dati in the UMP primary election. The polls had Kosciusko-Morizet as a favourite to win the primary and she was endorsed by François Fillon. On June 3,2013 she won UMPs primaries for the office of Mayor of Paris with 58. 16% of the vote. The Socialist, Green and Communist parties created a coalition with 91 councillors, while the UMP, after the 2015 regional elections, during which Wauquiez successfully ran in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, she has been ousted by Sarkozy after criticizing his strategy and was replaced by Wauquiez. Then, she announced her candidacy for the primary, despite some difficulties, she got the sufficient number of supports to run. She finished fourth with only 2. 6% of the vote and she endorsed Alain Juppé for the second round. Although close to Jacques Chirac throughout his presidency, she is an advocate of green issues. In an interview to the Daily Telegraph in March 2013, she said she held a lot of admiration for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and she is married to Jean-Pierre Philippe and has two sons, born in 2005 and 2009
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet
–
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet
2.
Laurent Wauquiez
–
Laurent Wauquiez is a French politician and was the Secretary of State for European Affairs under the Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Alain Juppé. He was previously Secretary of State for Employment under the Minister of the Economy, Industry and he also has been Government Spokesman since June 2007, until March 2008 as Minister of State under the Prime Minister. He was elected as 2nd Vice President of ORU Fogar at the organizations General Assembly held in Quito on 16 October 2016, governmental functions Minister of Higher Education and Research, 2011-2012. Secretary of State with the Prime Minister, Government Spokesman, 2007-2008, Secretary of State for Employment, 2008-2010. Electoral mandates National Assembly of France Member of the National Assembly of France for Haute-Loire, elected in 2004, reelected in 2007 and 2012. Regional Council President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, since 2016, municipal Council Mayor of Le Puy-en-Velay, 2008-2016. Municipal councillor of Le Puy-en-Velay, 2008-2016
Laurent Wauquiez
–
Laurent Wauquiez
3.
Rally for the Republic
–
The Rally for the Republic, was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic, it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976, on 21 September 2002, the RPR was merged into the Union for the Presidential Majority, later renamed the Union for a Popular Movement. In 1974, the divisions in the Gaullist movement permitted the election of Valéry Giscard dEstaing to the Presidency of the French Republic. Representing the pro-European and Orleanist centre-right, he was the first non-Gaullist rising to the head of the state since the beginning of the Fifth Republic in 1958, however, the Gaullist Party remained the main force in parliament and Jacques Chirac was appointed Prime Minister. Chirac resigned in August 1976 and in December 1976 the RPR was created in order to restore the Gaullist domination over the republican institutions, though retaining its support for the presidents government, the RPR criticized the executive duo composed of President Giscard dEstaing and Prime Minister Raymond Barre. Its first master stroke was in March 1977 the election of Chirac as Mayor of Paris against Michel dOrnano, a close friend of President Giscard dEstaing. Consequently, the stake of the 1978 legislative election was not only the victory of the right over the left, given the increasing unpopularity of the executive duo, and with a view to the next presidential election, the RPR became more and more critical. This accusation clearly targeted Giscard dEstaing, RPR leaders contrasted this as coming from the social doctrine of Gaullism as opposed to a perceived liberalism on the part of the President. As RPR candidate at the 1981 presidential election, Chirac formulated vigorous condemnations of President Giscard dEstaing, eliminated in the first round, Chirac refused to give an endorsement for the second round, though he did say privately that he would vote for Giscard dEstaing. In fact, the RPR was expected to work for the defeat of the incumbent president, after 1981, the RPR opposed with energy the policy of the Socialist Party President François Mitterrand and the left-wing governments. The RPR denounced the plan of nationalizations as the setting up of a collectivist society, during its 1983 congress, it advocated a liberal economic programme and the pursuit of the European construction, accepting the supranationality. This new political line contributed to the reconciliation between the RPR and the UDF, in this, they presented a common list at the 1984 European Parliament election and a platform to prepare the winning 1986 legislative election. However, a rivalry appeared between Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre who competed for the leadership with a view to the next presidential election. Furthermore, if the right-wing coalition benefited from the failures of the Socialist power, the RPR was divided about the possibility of alliance with this party. In 1986, being the leader of the party of the new parliamentary majority and accepting the principle of the cohabitation with President Mitterrand. He led an economic policy inspired by Anglo-Saxon examples, selling a lot of public companies. His Interior Minister Charles Pasqua led a policy of restriction of immigration, if Chirac acceded in the second round of the 1988 presidential election despite Raymond Barres candidacy, he was defeated by Mitterrand. While the RPR returned in the opposition, the leadership of Chirac was challenged by younger politicians who wished to renew the right, furthermore, the abandonment of the Gaullist doctrine was criticized by Charles Pasqua and Philippe Séguin
Rally for the Republic
–
The first logo of the RPR recalls the Gaullist inheritance with the
Cross of Lorraine, symbol of the
Free French, drawn on top of the
phrygian cap (normally worn by
Marianne).
4.
Liberal Democracy (France)
–
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
Liberal Democracy (France)
–
The
classical liberal platform adopted by Liberal Democracy mirrored the personal views of its founder and President, Alain Madelin.
Liberal Democracy (France)
–
Liberal Democracy Démocratie libérale
5.
The Republicans (France)
–
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
The Republicans (France)
–
The Republicans Les Républicains
6.
Gaullism
–
Serge Berstein writes that Gaullism is neither a doctrine nor a political ideology and cannot be considered either left or right. Gaullism is a peculiarly French phenomenon, without doubt the quintessential French political phenomenon of the twentieth century, lawrence D. Kritzman writes that Gaullism may be seen as a form of French patriotism in the tradition of Jules Michelet. Berstein writes that Gaullism has progressed in stages, The first phase occurred during World War II. In the second phase, Gaullism was a type of opposition to the Fourth French Republic, Gaullists in this period challenged the unstable parliamentary government of the Fourth Republic and advocated its replacement with a president of the republic with preeminent constitutional powers. Since 1969, Gaullism is used to describe those identified as heirs to de Gaulles ideas, the fundamental principle of Gaullism is a certain idea of France as a strong state. This idea appears in de Gaulles War Memoirs, in which he describes France as an indomitable entity, accordingly, de Gaulle urged French unity over divisive partisan quarrels and emphasized French heritage, including both the Ancien Régime and the Revolution. In order to strengthen France, Gaullists also emphasize the need for a strong economy, Gaullism believes, according to Berstein, that it is the imperative of the state, as guardian of the national interest, to give impetus to economic growth and to guide it. Liberal opinion is accepted if it promises more efficiency than planning, as for social justice, so long as its natural distrust of big business can be allayed, it is less a matter of doctrine than a means of upholding stability. To put an end to class struggle, Gaullists hope to use of participation, a nineteenth-century concept of which the general spoke frequently. As part of a state, de Gaulle emphasized the need to base state institutions on a strong executive. This was a departure from the French republican tradition, which emphasized the role of the elected assembly, de Gaulle, during his time in office, sought to establish authority by holding direct universal votes and popular referenda and by directly engaging with the nation. In foreign policy, Gaullists are identified with realism and French exceptionalism, and de Gaulle sought to impose French influence on the global order. Gaullists supported decolonization, which freed France from the burden of empire and this was reflected in de Gaulles resolution of the Algeria crisis, which was strongly influenced by de Gaulles realpolitik, or keen sense of political expediency. De Gaulle realized that decolonization was inevitable, and that a crisis and extended Algerian War would harm the French economy. Accordingly, de Gaulle felt that it was in Frances best interests to grant independence and desist from military engagement, thereby preserving French unity, Gaullists emphasize the need for France to guarantee its national independence without resorting to allies whose interests might not coincide with those of France. Kritzman writes, Gaullist foreign policy was motivated by its need to distinguish itself from … the two great superpowers, paradoxically, desired to be part of the Western alliance and be critical of it at the same time on key issues such as defense. Gaullists were also critical of the economic influence of the U. S. De Gaulles hopes to advance this sort of union largely failed, however, de Gaulles political legacy has been profound in France
Gaullism
–
Charles de Gaulle, in his general's uniform
7.
Liberal conservatism
–
It is a political position which incorporates support for civil liberties and capitalism, along with some social-conservative positions. As both conservatism and liberalism have had different meanings over time and across countries, the liberal conservatism has been used in quite different ways. It usually contrasts with aristocratic conservatism, which rejects the principle of equality as something in discordance with human nature, consequently, in the United States the term liberal conservatism is not used and American modern liberalism happens to be quite different from the European brand. The opposite is true in Latin America, where economically liberal conservatism is often labelled under the rubric of neoliberalism both in culture and academic discourse. In much of central and northwestern Europe, especially in Germanic and traditionally Protestant countries, often this involves stressing free-market economics and the belief in individual responsibility together with the defense of civil rights, and support for a limited welfare state. In the modern European discourse, liberal conservatism usually encompasses centre-right political outlooks that reject, at least to some extent and this position is also associated with support for moderate forms of social safety net and environmentalism. Historically, in the 18th and 19th centuries, conservatism comprised a set of principles based on concern for established tradition, respect for authority, and religious values. This form of traditionalist or classical conservatism is often considered to be exemplified by the writings of Joseph de Maistre, contemporaneous liberalism – now recalled as classical liberalism – advocated both political freedom for individuals and a free market in the economic sphere. The maxim of liberal conservatism, according to scholar Andrew Vincent, is economics is prior to politics, nonetheless, in most countries the term liberal is used to describe those with free-market economic views. This is the case, for example, in continental Europe, Australia and Latin America
Liberal conservatism
–
Edmund Burke was considered an exemplary proponent of "classical conservatism," respecting tradition, authority and religious values.
Liberal conservatism
–
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 5th Earl of Shaftesbury was a prominent proponent of liberal conservatism.
8.
Political spectrum
–
A political spectrum is a system of classifying different political positions upon one or more geometric axes that symbolize independent political dimensions. Most long-standing spectra include a wing and left wing, which originally referred to seating arrangements in the French parliament after the Revolution. According to the simplest left–right axis, communism and socialism are usually regarded internationally as being on the left, liberalism can mean different things in different contexts, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. Those with an intermediate outlook are classified as centrists or moderates, politics that rejects the conventional left–right spectrum is known as syncretic politics. Political scientists have noted that a single left–right axis is insufficient for describing the existing variation in political beliefs. As seen from the Speakers seat at the front of the Assembly, the aristocracy sat on the right, originally, the defining point on the ideological spectrum was the Ancien Régime. The Right thus implied support for aristocratic or royal interests, and the church, while The Left implied support for republicanism, secularism, and civil liberties. Because the political franchise at the start of the revolution was relatively narrow, the original Left represented mainly the interests of the bourgeoisie and their political interests in the French Revolution lay with opposition to the aristocracy, and so they found themselves allied with the early capitalists. However, this did not mean that their interests lay with the laissez-faire policies of those representing them politically. As capitalist economies developed, the aristocracy became less relevant and were replaced by capitalist representatives. This evolution has often pulled parliamentary politicians away from laissez-faire economic policies, for almost a century, social scientists have considered the problem of how best to describe political variation. In 1950, Leonard W. Submitting the results to factor analysis and this system was derived empirically, rather than devising a political model on purely theoretical grounds and testing it, Fergusons research was exploratory. As a result of method, care must be taken in the interpretation of Fergusons three factors, as factor analysis will output an abstract factor whether an objectively real factor exists or not. Although replication of the Nationalism factor was inconsistent, the finding of Religionism and Humanitarianism had a number of replications by Ferguson, shortly afterward, Hans Eysenck began researching political attitudes in Great Britain. He believed that there was something similar about the National Socialists on the one hand. Submitting this value questionnaire to the process of factor analysis used by Ferguson. Such analysis produces a factor whether or not it corresponds to a real-world phenomenon, Eysencks dimensions of R and T were found by factor analyses of values in Germany and Sweden, France, and Japan. According to Eysenck, members of both ideologies were tough-minded, in this context, Eysenck carried out studies on nazism and communist groups, claiming to find members of both groups to be more dominant and more aggressive than control groups
Political spectrum
–
A multi-axis political chart, contrasting between libertarian and authoritarian socialism.
9.
European political party
–
A European political party is a type of political party organisation operating transnationally in Europe and in the institutions of the European Union. They are regulated and funded by the European Union and are made up of national parties. Europarties have the right to campaign during the European elections and express themselves within the European Parliament by their affiliated political groups. Europarties, through meetings with their affiliated heads of state and government. The term political party in the EU can mean three different types of entities, domestic political parties, political groups in the European Parliament, and European political parties. As of January 2016, there are 15 recognised Europarties, Section 41 of the Treaty of Maastricht added Article 138a to the Treaty of Rome, Article 138a stated that Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union, so the concept of a political party at European level was born. Article J.18 and Article K.13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam established who should pay for expenditure authorised by Article 138/191 within certain areas. This provided a mechanism whereby Europarties could be paid for out of the European budget, such expenditure included funding national parties, an outcome not originally intended. Article 2, section 19 of the Treaty of Nice added a paragraph to Article 191 of the Treaty of Rome. The reference to Article 251 refers to co-decision, which meant the European Parliament had to be involved, so Europarty funding had to be regulated by the Council and the European Parliament, acting together. This meant that the Europarties can set up and fund legally separate affiliated think-tanks to aid them, the revised regulation also gives Europarties the exclusive responsibility to campaign for the European elections and can use their funds for this purpose. The Authority will be a body of the European Union and this regulation repealed Regulation No 2004/2003, however the provisions of that regulation shall continue to apply for the 2014,2015,2016 and 2017 budget years. Although it came into force on 24 November 2014, the regulations only apply from 1 January 2017. The Authority shall however be set up by 1 September 2016, the Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe, a loose association of Eurosceptics and nationalists, met the recognition threshold from 2006 to 2008. The heterogeneous Alliance for Europe of the Nations, which included moderate nationalists, national conservatives and Eurosceptics, the eurosceptic, national conservative, right populist Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy was recognized from 2012 to 2016. On 1 November 2008 Declan Ganley had registered a company in Dublin called the Libertas Party Ltd, Libertas applied for Europarty recognition which was briefly granted but then suspended following the disavowal of two of its candidates. As of 1 November 2008, the regulation governing Europarties is Regulation No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003, as later amended under codecision
European political party
–
ESCB
10.
Political groups of the European Parliament
–
The political groups of the European Parliament are the parliamentary groups of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is unique among supranational assemblies in that its members organise themselves into groups like in traditional national legislatures. The members of other supranational assemblies form national groups, the political groups of the European Parliament are sometimes the formal representation of a European political party in the Parliament. In other cases, they are political coalitions of a number of European parties, national parties and these groups are not parties, but looser coalitions. They are strictly forbidden to campaign during the European elections since this is the responsibility of the Europarties. Each political group is assumed to have a set of core principles, further incentives for co-operating in Groups include financial subsidies from the Parliament and guaranteed seats on committees which are not afforded to Independent MEPs. For a Group to be recognised in the Parliament, it must fulfil the conditions laid down in the relevant European Parliament Rule of Procedure. That Rule lays down the criteria a Group must meet to qualify as a Group. Provided those criteria are met, MEPs can theoretically create any Group they like and this was put to the test when MEPs attempted to create a far-right Group called Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty. This generated controversy and there were concerns about public funds going towards a far-right Group, attempts to block the formation of ITS were unsuccessful, but ITS were blocked from leading positions on committees, a privilege usually afforded to all Groups. Groups may be based around a single European political party or they can more than one European party as well as national parties. Each Group appoints a leader, referred to as a president, co-ordinator or chair, the chairs of each Group meet in the Conference of Presidents to decide what issues will be dealt with at the plenary session of the European Parliament. Groups can table motions for resolutions and table amendments to reports and this is a summary of the standing of existing European Parliament groups, although these are subject to change. The first sitting of the new parliament was on 1 July 2014, major changes compared to the period 2004–2009 are, The formation of a new political group, the European Conservatives and Reformists. This conservative, Eurosceptic group is headed by 26 MEPs from the UKs Conservative Party, the Eurosceptic Independence/Democracy and Union for Europe of the Nations groups suffered heavy losses in the election. On their own they no longer had enough MEPs to form a separate group, MEPs formerly from these groups formed the Europe of Freedom and Democracy group on 1 July 2009. The centre-right European Peoples Party now formed its own group in its entirety. The Democratic Party did not become member of the Party of European Socialists until February 2014, the mandate of previous European Parliament ran from 2004 and 2009
Political groups of the European Parliament
–
ESCB
11.
Politics of France
–
The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an indivisible, secular, democratic, the constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims Frances attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789. The political system of France consists of a branch, a legislative branch. Executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government, the Government consists of the Prime Minister and ministers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, and is responsible to Parliament, Parliament comprises the National Assembly and the Senate. It passes statutes and votes on the budget, it controls the action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament, former presidents of the Republic also are members of the Council. The independent judiciary is based upon civil law system which evolved from the Napoleonic codes, the French government includes various bodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies. However, its administrative subdivisions—regions, departments and communes—have various legal functions, France was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community, later the European Union. As such, France has transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions, the French government therefore has to abide by European treaties, directives and regulations. A popular referendum approved the constitution of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, greatly strengthening the authority of the presidency, France has a semi-presidential system of government. As a consequence, the President is the pre-eminent figure in French politics and he appoints the Prime Minister, though he may not de jure dismiss him, if the Prime Minister is from the same political side, he can, in practice, have him resign on demand. He appoints the ministers, ministers-delegate and secretaries, when parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum control parliament and the presidency, the power-sharing arrangement is known as cohabitation. Before 2002, Cohabitation was more common, because the term of the President was seven years, now that the term of the President has been shortened to five years, and that the elections are separated by only a few months, this is less likely to happen. Nicolas Sarkozy became President on 16 May 2007, succeeding Jacques Chirac, francois Hollande became President in 2012, succeeding Nicolas Sarkozy. The government is led by the Prime Minister, and is made up of junior and senior ministers and it has at its disposal the civil service, government agencies, and the armed forces. The government is responsible to Parliament, and the National Assembly may pass a motion of censure and this, in practice, forces the government to be from the same political party or coalition as the majority in the Assembly. Ministers have to answer questions from members of Parliament, both written and oral, this is known as the questions au gouvernement, in addition, ministers attend meetings of the houses of Parliament when laws pertaining to their areas of responsibility are being discussed. Ministers, however, can propose legislation to Parliament, since the Assembly is usually politically allied to the ministers, such legislation is, in general, the Prime Minister can engage the responsibility of his government on a law, under article 49-3 of the Constitution
Politics of France
–
The National Assembly sits in the
Palais Bourbon, by the
Seine.
Politics of France
–
France
Politics of France
–
The Senate's amphitheater.
Politics of France
–
The
Conseil d'État sits in the Palais Royal.
12.
List of political parties in France
–
The dominant French political parties are also characterized by a noticeable degree of intra-party factionalism, making each of them effectively a coalition in itself. On the centre-right, one led by The Republicans and the Union for French Democracy and it is difficult for parties outside these two major coalitions to make significant inroads, although the National Front has had sizable successes. Now many political observers talk about the tripartisme of the French political landscape, party of the Corsican Nation,11 seats in the Corsican Assembly and 1 in the European Parliament. Corsica Libera,4 seats in the Corsican Assembly
List of political parties in France
–
France
13.
Elections in France
–
Public officials in the legislative and executive branches are either elected by the citizens or appointed by elected officials. Referendums may also be called to consult the French citizenry directly on a particular question, France elects on its national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature The president is elected for a five-year term, directly by the citizens. The National Assembly has 577 members, elected for a term in single seat-constituencies directly by the citizens. The Senate has 348 members, elected for six-year terms, see Government of France for more details about these political structures. In addition, French citizens elect a variety of local governments, France does not have a full-fledged two-party system, that is, a system where, though many political parties may exist, only two parties are relevant to the dynamics of power. See politics of France for more details, Elections are conducted according to rules set in the Constitution of France, organisational laws, and the electoral code. The campaigns end at midnight the Friday before the election, then, on election Sunday, by law, no polls can be published, no electoral publication and broadcasts can be made. The voting stations open at 8 am and close at 6 pm in small towns or at 8 pm in cities and it has been alleged that this discourages voting in these places. For this reason, since the 2000s, elections in French possessions in the Americas, as well as embassies and consulates there, are held on Saturdays as a special exemption. With the exception of senatorial election, for there is an electoral college. For municipal and European elections, citizens aged 18 or older of other European Union countries may decide to vote in France, registration is not compulsory, but the absence of registration precludes the possibility of voting. Currently, all reaching the age of 18 are automatically registered. Citizens may register either in their place of residence or in a place where they have been on the roll of taxpayers for local taxes for at least 5 years, a citizen may not be legally registered in more than one place. Citizens living abroad may register at the responsible for the region in which they live. Only citizens legally registered as voters can run for public office, there are exceptions to the above rules. Convicted criminals may be deprived of their rights, which include the right to vote. In particular, elected officials who have abused public funds may be deprived of the right to run for public office for as long as 10 years. The application of rules in the case of certain politicians has been controversial
Elections in France
–
Scene inside a polling station during the
French presidential election of 2007: election officials and a standard transparent
ballot box.
Elections in France
–
Some French cities use
voting machines.
Elections in France
–
Isolation booth
14.
Socialist Party (France)
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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
Socialist Party (France)
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From left to right:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn,
Bertrand Delanoë and
Ségolène Royal sitting in the front row at a meeting held on 6 Feb 2007 by the French Socialist Party at the Carpentier Hall in Paris.
Socialist Party (France)
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Socialist Party Parti socialiste
15.
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
Jacques Chirac
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Chirac at the
Élysée Palace in June 1999
Jacques Chirac
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Chirac during his second term as Prime Minister
Jacques Chirac
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Chirac with
Bill Clinton outside the
Élysée Palace in Paris, June 1999
Jacques Chirac
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Chirac with German Federal Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder.
16.
President of France
–
The President of the French Republic, is the executive head of state of the French Fifth Republic. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister, the current President of France is François Hollande, who took office on 15 May 2012. Hollande has announced that he stand down in the upcoming 2017 French presidential election. President Chirac was first elected in 1995 and again in 2002, at that time, there was no limit on the number of terms, so Chirac could have run again, but chose not to. He was succeeded by Nicolas Sarkozy on 16 May 2007, following a further change, the Constitutional law on the Modernisation of the Institutions of the Fifth Republic,2008, a president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac are the only Presidents to date who have served a two terms. In order to be admitted as a candidate, potential candidates must receive signed nominations from more than 500 elected officials. These officials must be from at least 30 départements or overseas collectivities, furthermore, each official may nominate only one candidate. There are exactly 45,543 elected officials, including 33,872 mayors, spending and financing of campaigns and political parties are highly regulated. There is a cap on spending, at approximately 20 million euros, if the candidate receives less than 5% of the vote, the government funds €8,000,000 to the party. Advertising on TV is forbidden but official time is given to candidates on public TV, an independent agency regulates election and party financing. After the president is elected, he or she goes through an investiture ceremony called a passation des pouvoirs. The French Fifth Republic is a semi-presidential system, unlike many other European presidents, the French President is quite powerful. The president holds the nations most senior office, and outranks all other politicians, the presidents greatest power is his/her ability to choose the prime minister. When the majority of the Assembly has opposite political views to that of the president, when the majority of the Assembly sides with them, the President can take a more active role and may, in effect, direct government policy. The prime minister is then the choice of the President. This device has been used in recent years by François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, since 2002, the mandate of the president and the Assembly are both 5 years and the two elections are close to each other. Therefore, the likelihood of a cohabitation is lower, among the powers of the government, The president promulgates laws
President of France
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Presidential emblem
President of France
President of France
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Incumbent
François Hollande since 15 May 2012
17.
French presidential election, 2007
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The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term. The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy, the first round of voting took place on Saturday,21 April 2007 and Sunday,22 April 2007. As no candidate obtained a majority, a second round between the two leading candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal, took place on Saturday,5 May and Sunday,6 May 2007, Sarkozy and Royal both represented a generational change. Both main candidates were born after World War II, along with the first to have seen adulthood under the Fifth Republic, and the first not to have been in politics under Charles de Gaulle. The first round saw a high turnout of 83. 8% –36.7 million of the 44.5 million electorate voted from a population of 64.1 million. The results of that round saw Sarkozy and Royal qualify for the round with Sarkozy getting 31%. François Bayrou came third and Jean-Marie Le Pen fourth, unlike in 2002 when Le Pen got a surprising 16. 9% and this was the first time since 1981 that Laguiller had endorsed the Socialist Partys candidate. Olivier Besancenot called his supporters to vote against Sarkozy, frédéric Nihous and Gérard Schivardi never officially supported either Royal or Sarkozy. Philippe de Villiers called for a vote for Sarkozy, Le Pen told his voters to abstain massively in the second round. On 25 April, Bayrou declared he would not support either candidate in the runoff and he criticised both major candidates, and offered to debate them. Royal agreed to hold a debate, while Sarkozy offered to have a private discussion. The final CSA estimate showed him winning with 53% of the votes cast, Royal conceded defeat to Sarkozy that evening. Nationwide, Nicolas Sarkozy obtained 31% and Ségolène Royal 26% – while in 2002, Jacques Chirac had obtained 20%, the right-of-centre François Bayrou obtained 18. 6% this time, nearly tripling his 2002 result. National Front candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, made only 10. 4%, along with the April–May shift to the far right made by Sarkozy, this has led many commentators to allege that traditional voters of the FN had been tempted by Sarkozy. On a global scale, the left-wing reached 36% of the votes, against 19% for the centre, 33% for the right wing and 11% for the far right. Other candidates received a lower share of the vote than they had in 2002. Besancenot received 4. 1%, compared to 4. 3% in 2002. 3%. With an overall turnout of 83. 8%, a level not achieved since the 1965 presidential election when turnout was 84. 8%
French presidential election, 2007
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Nominee
French presidential election, 2007
French presidential election, 2007
French presidential election, 2007
18.
French presidential election, 2012
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A presidential election was held in France on 22 April 2012, with a second round run-off held on 6 May to elect the President of France. The incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy was running for a successive and, under the terms of the constitution. The first round ended with the selection of François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy as second round participants, Hollande won the runoff with 51. 64% of the vote to Sarkozys 48. 36%. The presidential election was followed by an election in June. More than 46 million people were eligible to vote, François Hollande received 51. 64% of the votes, while Nicolas Sarkozy secured 48. 36% of the votes in the second round. Sarkozy became the first one-term president since Valéry Giscard dEstaing lost to François Mitterrand in 1981, voters had to donate at least one Euro and sign a pledge to the values of the Left to be eligible. The filing deadline for nomination papers was fixed on 13 July 2011. The idea for holding a primary to choose the Socialist Party candidate was originally suggested in 2008 by the left-leaning think tank Terra Nova. Europe Écologie–The Greens held a primary to choose its candidate, the vote was open to all members of the party and of the Independent Ecological Movement. The first round was held on 29 June 2011, Eva Joly, a member of EELV and a former examining magistrate, obtained 49. 75% of the vote, ahead of independent candidate and environmental campaigner Nicolas Hulot. The other two candidates, Henri Stoll and Stéphane Lhomme, obtained 5. 02% and 4. 44% respectively, the second round was held on 12 July, with Eva Joly obtaining 13,223 votes to Hulots 9,399. The number of signatures per candidate is not released, but five hundred signatories for each candidate are chosen randomly, although Jean-Luc Mélenchon argued that to continue with the campaign was an act of moral, emotional and intellectual resistance. In some parts of the media, Sarkozy and Le Pen were also criticised for misusing the Midi-Pyrénées shootings as campaign fodder against radical Islam, the following is a brief overview of the campaign adapted from information in Le Monde. François Hollande, the candidate of the Socialist Party and the Radical Party of the Left and he emphasised his promise to be a normal president, in contrast to Nicolas Sarkozys sometimes controversial presidential style. He aims to resorb Frances national debt by 2017, notably by cancelling tax cuts for the wealthy, homosexual couples would have the right to marry and adopt. Residents without European Union passports would be given the right to vote in elections after five years of legal residency. Nicolas Sarkozy, the incumbent president and candidate of the Union for a Popular Movement, was aiming for a second and he was consistently second in opinion polls throughout the campaign, behind François Hollande. He argued that his reforms had helped steer France through a period of economic crisis and his campaign pledges for his potential second term are described by Le Monde as anchored on the right
French presidential election, 2012
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Nominee
French presidential election, 2012
French presidential election, 2012
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National Front: Party president and
MEP Marine Le Pen was selected on 16 May 2011.
19.
French National Assembly
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The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate, the National Assemblys members are known as députés. There are 577 députés, each elected by a constituency through a two-round voting system. Thus,289 seats are required for a majority, the assembly is presided over by a president, normally from the largest party represented, assisted by vice-presidents from across the represented political spectrum. The term of the National Assembly is five years, however and it is guarded by Republican Guards. The Constitution of the French Fifth Republic greatly increased the power of the executive at the expense of Parliament, the President of the Republic can decide to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new legislative elections. This is meant as a way to resolve stalemates where the Assembly cannot decide on a political direction. The National Assembly can overthrow the government by a vote of no confidence. For this reason, the minister and his cabinet are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the assembly. The Government used to set the priorities of the agenda for the Assemblys sessions and this, however, was amended on 23 July 2008. Under the amended constitution, the Government sets the priorities for two weeks in a month, another week is designated for the Assemblys control prerogatives. And the fourth one is set by the Assembly, also, one day per month is set by a minority or opposition group. Members of the assembly can ask written or oral questions to ministers, the Wednesday afternoon 3 p. m. session of questions to the Government is broadcast live on television. Like Prime Ministers Questions in Britain, it is largely a show for the viewers, with members of the majority asking flattering questions, while the opposition tries to embarrass the government. Since 1988, the 577 deputies are elected by universal suffrage with a two-round system by constituency, for a five-year mandate. The constituencies each have approximately 100,000 inhabitants, however, districts were not redrawn between 1982 and 2009. As a result of population movements over that period, there were inequalities between the less populous rural districts and the urban districts, the constituencies were redrawn in 2009, but this redistribution was controversial. Among other controversial measures, it created eleven constituencies and seats for French residents overseas, albeit without increasing the overall number of seats beyond 577
French National Assembly
French National Assembly
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National Assembly Assemblée Nationale
French National Assembly
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Jacques Chaban-Delmas was three times President of the Assembly between 1958 and 1988.
French National Assembly
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The
Palais Bourbon, where the National Assembly meets
20.
European integration
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European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic, social and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its policies, one of the first to conceive of a union of European nations was Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, who wrote the Pan-Europa manifesto in 1923. In a speech delivered on 19 September 1946 at the University of Zürich, Switzerland, France and Germany must take the lead together. The question of how to avoid wars between the nation-states was essential for the first theories, federalism and Functionalism proposed the containment of the nation-state, while Transactionalism sought to theorise the conditions for the stabilisation of the nation-state system. One of the most influential theories of European integration is neofunctionalism, haas and further investigated by Leon Lindberg. The important debate between neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism still remains central in understanding the development and setbacks of the European Union, but as the empirical world has changed, so have the theories and thus the understanding of European Integration. Today there is a new focus on the complex policy-making in the EU and multi-level governance trying to produce a theory of the workings. Various federalist organisations have created over time supporting the idea of a federal Europe. These include the Union of European Federalists, the European Movement International, the Union of European Federalists is a European non-governmental organisation, campaigning for a Federal Europe. It consists of 20 constituent organisations and it has been active at the European, the European Federalist Party is the pro-European, pan-European and federalist political party which advocates further integration of the EU and the establishment of a Federal Europe. Its aim is to gather all Europeans to promote European federalism and it has national sections in 15 countries. There are various agreements with overlapping membership, several countries take part in a larger number of agreements than others. e. The German-speaking Community of Belgium is not included and these are Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia are not part of European Organization for Nuclear Research, Slovenia has formally confirmed its wish to become a member. Some agreements that are related to countries of the European continent, are also valid in territories outside the continent. g. Other initiatives have removed barriers to trade in European regions, and increased the free movement of people, labour, goods. It includes the states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the Nordic Passport Union, created in 1954 but implemented on 1 May 1958, establishes free movement across borders without passports for the countries citizens. The organisation was planned in Vilnius on 1 December 1990, the Baltic Free Trade Area was a trade agreement between Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia
European integration
21.
French legislative election, 1981
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French legislative elections took place on 14 June and 21 June 1981 to elect the seventh National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. On 10 May 1981 François Mitterrand was elected President of France and he became the first Socialist to win this post under universal suffrage. It was also the first occasion of alternance in government during the Fifth Republic, the new head of state nominated Pierre Mauroy to lead a Socialist cabinet. Then, he dissolved the National Assembly so that he could rely on a parliamentary majority, indeed, the left had lost the 1978 legislative election and the full term of the National Assembly would have expired in 1983. Knocked out after its defeat in the recent presidential election, the right campaigned against the concentration of the powers and the possible nomination of Communist ministers. Yet, it suffered from the crisis, the will for change amongst the electorate. The formation of the Union for a New Majority appeared as a false reconciliation, furthermore, as the French Communist Party had been declining, and was no longer the dominant party of the Left, it did not seem to be a real danger. The Communist leaders were disappointed by the result of their candidate, Georges Marchais, in the presidential election. During the presidential campaign, the PCF had denounced the turn towards the right of the Socialist Party and it understood that Mitterrand was ready to win his bet, expressed in the 1972 Congress of the Socialist International, to capture 3 of the 5 millions of PCF voters. Perceiving the great hope of the voters after Mitterrands election. The Socialists achieved the biggest electoral success of their history and this result marked the triumph of Mitterrands strategy. Like the Gaullist UDR in 1968, the PS obtained a parliamentary majority. The Communist decline noted at the election was confirmed. The PCF obtained its poorest result since 1936 and lost the half of its MPs, however, four Communists became members of Pierre Mauroys government. This was the first PCF governmental participation since 1947, the two right-wing parliamentary parties lost the half of their seats too. This result earned the nickname the pink wave from the press
French legislative election, 1981
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All 491 seats to the
French National Assembly 246 seats were needed for a majority
French legislative election, 1981
French legislative election, 1981
22.
French legislative election, 1988
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In 1986, the Socialist Party of President Mitterrand lost the legislative election. For the first time under the Fifth Republic, the President was forced to cohabit with a parliamentary majority. He chose the RPR leader Jacques Chirac as Prime Minister, the two heads of the executive power were rivals for the 1988 presidential election. Inspired by the example of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Chirac campaigned on an aggressively right-wing set of policies, for his part, Mitterrand presented himself as the protector of national unity. He campaigned for a united France and warned against the appropriation of the state by a clan, targeting Chirac, an alliance between the Socialists and the center-right UDF was evoked. Some politicians and commentators suggested not dissolving the National Assembly and instead nominating a UDF Prime minister, indeed, the polls indicated a pink surge if new legislative elections were organized. However, he nominated the moderate Socialist Michel Rocard to lead the cabinet, in spite of a very good result in the first round, the Presidential Majority obtained only a small parliamentary majority after the second round. Indeed, the PS and its allies won 276 seats against 271 for the Republican right-wing coalition and 27 Communists, the re-establishment of the majoritarian two-ballot system resulted in the National Front, which had held 35 seats during the previous term, dropping to only one seat. Some personalities from civil society and four UDF politicians participated in the government and they were supported by a minority of their party, which created a new parliamentary group, the Union of Centre. The executive power relied on the Presidential Majority which widened towards the Union of Centre or the French Communist Party depending on the policy being advocated by the government, notes,2 vacant seats due to the cancellation of elections in the first and second constituencies of the Oise department. A Communist group was created on 15 July 1988 following the lowering of the threshold to form a group from 30 to 20
French legislative election, 1988
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All 577 seats to the
French National Assembly 289 seats were needed for a majority
French legislative election, 1988
French legislative election, 1988
French legislative election, 1988
23.
French legislative election, 1993
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French legislative elections took place on 21 and 28 March 1993 to elect the tenth National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Since 1988, President François Mitterrand and his Socialist cabinets had relied on a parliamentary majority. In an attempt to avoid having to work with the Communists, after the UDF withdrew its support for the government in 1991, Rocard and the UDF ministers resigned. The UDF then became allied with the Gaullist Rally for the Republic, the Socialist Party was further weakened by scandals and an intense rivalry between François Mitterrands potential successors. In March 1992, the Socialists were punished at the local elections, Prime Minister Édith Cresson was replaced by Pierre Bérégovoy. The latter promised to struggle against economic recession and corruption, but he was suspected to have received a loan from a controversial businessman. The election was a victory for the RPR-UDF alliance, while the PS. The PS lost nearly 80% of the seats they had held at the time of the chambers dissolution and this caused a crisis within the PS, Fabius lost his position as First Secretary in favour of Rocard, who claimed that a political big bang was needed. Jospin announced his retirement after he was defeated in his Haute-Garonne constituency. Depressed by the defeat and the accusations about the loan from Pelat, some traditional PS voters had voted for the Greens in the first round. These ecologists obtained a total of 10. 84%, making this the best total score for French Green parties in legislative elections, however, only two ecologists qualified for the runoff, including Dominique Voynet in her constituency in the Doubs département. Both of these candidates were eventually defeated, lack of major political allies for these ecologists explained this failure to take any seats. The RPR-UDF coalition formed the largest parliamentary majority since 1958, taking a total of 485 seats or 84% of the 577 seats, the RPR leader Jacques Chirac demanded President Mitterrands resignation and refused to be Prime Minister in a new cohabitation government. Finally, he suggested the nomination of his former RPR Finance Minister Edouard Balladur at the head of the government, Balladur promised publicly that he would not run against Chirac for the next presidential election. The second cohabitation finished with the 1995 presidential election
French legislative election, 1993
French legislative election, 1993
–
All 577 seats to the
French National Assembly 289 seats were needed for a majority
French legislative election, 1993
French legislative election, 1993
24.
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
Union for French Democracy
–
Union for French Democracy Union pour la Démocratie Française
25.
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
French presidential election, 1995
French presidential election, 1995
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Nominee
26.
French legislative election, 1997
–
A French legislative election took place on 25 May and 1 June 1997 to elect the 11th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. It was the consequence of President Jacques Chiracs decision to call the election one year before the deadline. In March 1993, the right won a victory in the legislative election. Two years later, the RPR leader Jacques Chirac was elected President of France promising to reduce the social fracture, however, the programme of welfare reforms proposed by his Prime Minister Alain Juppé caused a social crisis in November and December 1995. The popularity of the executive duo decreased, in spring 1997, President Chirac tried to take the left-wing opposition by surprise by dissolving the National Assembly. The first opinion polls indicated a re-election of the right-wing majority, Prime Minister Juppés unpopularity may have made the lefts win easier. In the first round, the coalition obtained more votes than the incumbent parliamentary majority. After he was blamed for the situation, Juppé announced he would even if the right kept their majority in the runoff vote. For all that, the Plural left obtained the majority of the seats, however the Socialist Party needed its allies to form a majority. For the first time, the ecologists were represented in the Parliament, the participation of the National Fronts candidates in the second round increased the defeat of the Presidential majority. This was the first time since 1877 that a President of France lost an election which he had called. The Socialist leader Lionel Jospin became Prime Minister of the third cohabitation and it finished with the 2002 French presidential election
French legislative election, 1997
–
All 577 seats to the
French National Assembly 289 seats were needed for a majority
French legislative election, 1997
French legislative election, 1997
French legislative election, 1997
27.
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
French presidential election, 2002
French presidential election, 2002
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Nominee
French presidential election, 2002
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French presidential election, 2002
French presidential election, 2002
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A response to the first round of elections, this spray-painted sign was seen on the streets of Paris. Translation: "APRIL 21: I FEEL SICK".
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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
French legislative election, 2002
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All 577 seats to the
French National Assembly 289 seats were needed for a majority
French legislative election, 2002
French legislative election, 2002
French legislative election, 2002
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