Union of Democrats and Independents
Union of Democrats and Independents | |
---|---|
Union des Démocrates et Indépendants | |
President | Jean-Christophe Lagarde |
General Secretary |
Brigitte Fouré, Michel Zumkeller |
Spokespersons |
Chantal Jouanno, Jean-Marie Bockel |
Honorary President | Jean-Louis Borloo |
Founded | September 18, 2012 |
Headquarters | 22 bis, rue des Volontaires, Paris |
Ideology |
Centrism Social liberalism Environmentalism Christian democracy |
Political position | Centre-right |
International affiliation | None |
European affiliation | European Democratic Party |
European Parliament group | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
Colours | Light blue |
National Assembly |
30 / 577 |
Senate |
43 / 348 |
European Parliament |
3 / 74 |
Regional Councils |
120 / 1,880 |
Website | |
www | |
Politics of France Political parties Elections |
The Union of Democrats and Independents (French: Union des démocrates et indépendants, UDI) is a centrist political party in France founded on 18 September 2012 on the basis of the parliamentary group of the same name. The party is composed of eight separate political parties who retain their independence. The former UDI's president and leader Jean-Louis Borloo claims to have 50,000 members.[1] The current president is Yves Jégo since the resignation of Jean-Louis Borloo on 6 April 2014 for health reasons, to the congress party on 15 November 2014.[2]
History
On 9 October 2012, the leaderships of the parties making up the UDI parliamentary group announced the creation of a new political party and set up a temporary office in Paris. On 21 October, a founding assembly was convened at the Maison de la Mutualité in Paris, which marked the official foundation of the movement.[3]
Following the congress of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) on 18 November 2012 and the ensuing tensions between the two rival candidates for the party's presidency, a number of leading figures of the UMP announced that they were joining the UDI; including former cabinet minister and deputy Pierre Méhaignerie and Mayenne deputy Yannick Favennec. However, during a legislative by-election on December 9 and 16, 2012 in the Val-de-Marne's 1st constituency, UDI incumbent Henri Plagnol - a former member of the UMP who had joined the UDI in June - was defeated by a right-wing dissident, Sylvain Berrios.[4]
On 9 June 2013, the UDI gained a deputy (Meyer Habib) at the by-election in the Eighth constituency for French residents overseas,[5] but this contribution was found cancelled with Gilles Bourdouleix resignation to UDI after the controversy for allegedly saying Adolf Hitler had not killed enough Romani people.[6]
Organization
Composition
The UDI is made up of nine political parties:
- Radical Party (PR; leader: Jean-Louis Borloo; ideology: Liberalism; 6 deputies, 5 senators, 3 MEPs) ;
- New Centre (NC; leader: Hervé Morin; ideology: Centrism, Social liberalism; 8 deputies, 8 senators, 1 MEP);
- Centrist Alliance (AC; leader: Jean Arthuis; Ideology: Centrism; 2 deputies, 8 senators);
- Democratic European Force (FED; leader: Jean-Christophe Lagarde; Ideology: Christian democracy; 4 deputies, 4 senators, 1 MEP);
- Modern Left (LGM; leader: Jean-Marie Bockel; ideology: Social liberalism; 1 senator and 2 MEPs);
- Territories in Movement (TeM; leader: Jean-Christophe Fromantin; Ideology: Liberalism; 1 deputy);
- National Centre of Independents and Peasants (CNIP; leader: Gilles Bourdouleix; Ideology: Liberal conservatism; 1 deputy);[7]
- Liberal Democratic Party (PLD; leader: Aurélien Véron; Ideology: Libertarianism; 0 deputy).[8]
- New Democrat Ecology (NED; leader: Éric Delhaye; Ideology: Ecologism; 0 deputy).[9]
Leadership
Temporary structure
Pending the founding congress, a temporary leadership structure ensures the drafting of the party's statutes.[10][11]
- President: Jean-Louis Borloo (PR)
- General-delegate: Yves Jégo (PR)
- Vice-president (European project): Jean Arthuis (AC)
- Vice-president (Political project): Jean-Christophe Fromantin (TeM)
- Vice-president (Feminization and rejuvenation): Sophie Auconie (NC)
- Vice-president: Chantal Jouanno (ex-UMP)
- Vice-president: Gilles Bourdouleix (CNIP)
- National delegate: Alain Dolium (MoDem)
- President of the national council: Hervé Morin (NC)
- President of the nominations commission: Rama Yade (PR)
- Institutional spokespersons: Maurice Leroy (NC) and Philippe Vigier (NC)
- Secretaries general: Jean-Christophe Lagarde (FED) and Laurent Hénart (PR)
- Deputy secretaries general : Florent Montillot and Hervé Marseille (FED)
- President of the arbitration and control commission: Hervé Maurey (NC)
- General director: Éric Azière (ex-MoDem)
Current leadership
- President : Jean-Christophe Lagarde
- Vice-president : Yves Jégo
- Vice-president : Valérie Létard
- Vice-president : Philippe Folliot
- Vice-president : Catherine Morin-Desailly
- Vice-president : Jean-Marie Bockel
- Vice-president : Sophie Auconie
- Vice-president : François Sauvadet
- Vice-president : Louis Giscard d'Estaing
- Vice-president : Arnaud Richard
- Vice-president : Bertrand Pancher
- Vice-president : Yannick Favennec
- National Council president : Laurent Hénart
- General delegate : Franck Reynier
- General secretaries : Brigitte Fouré, Michel Zumkeller
- Spokespersons : Chantal Jouanno, Jean-Marie Bockel, Laurent Degallaix, Daniel Leca
Elected officials
- Deputies: The UDI parliamentary group is made up of 30 deputies:
- Laurent Degallaix, Yves Jégo, Bertrand Pancher, Franck Reynier, Arnaud Richard and Michel Zumkeller (PR)
- Charles de Courson, Stéphane Demilly, Francis Hillmeyer, Hervé Morin, Rudy Salles, Francis Vercamer and Philippe Vigier (NC)
- Jean-Christophe Lagarde, François Rochebloine, André Santini and François Sauvadet (FED)
- Maina Sage, Jonas Tahuaitu and Jean-Paul Tuaiva (Tahoera'a Huiraatira)
- Thierry Benoit and Philippe Folliot (Centrist Alliance)
- Sonia Lagarde and Philippe Gomès (Caledonia Together)
- Jean-Christophe Fromantin (TeM)
- Yannick Favennec, Meyer Habib, Maurice Leroy, Michel Piron, François-Xavier Villain (directs)
ex deputies: Jean-Louis Borloo, Gilles Bourdouleix, Édouard Fritch
- Senators: 29 of the 32 members of the Union of Democrats and Independents group are members of the party and 2 are members of Union for a Popular Movement Group:
- Jean Arthuis, Yves Détraigne, Muguette Dini, Françoise Férat, Nathalie Goulet, Jean-Claude Merceron, Henri Tandonnet and François Zocchetto (AC)
- Jean-Paul Amoudry, Jean Boyer, Daniel Dubois, Jean-Léonce Dupont, Joël Guerriau, Valérie Létard, Hervé Maurey and Catherine Morin-Desailly (NC)
- Vincent Delahaye, Sylvie Goy-Chavent, Pierre Jarlier, Aymeri de Montesquiou and Christian Namy (PR)
- Vincent Capo-Canellas, Hervé Marseille, Michel Mercier and Yves Pozzo di Borgo (FED)
- Jean-Marie Bockel (GM)
- Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe (ex-MoDem)
- Gérard Roche (DVD)
- Chantal Jouanno (ex-UMP)
- Sophie Joissains and Alain Chatillon
- MEPs: Jean Arthuis (AC) Jean-Marie Cavada (NC), Dominique Riquet (PR)
- Presidents of General Councils: Jean-Léonce Dupont (Calvados, NC), François Sauvadet (Côte-d'Or, FED), Maurice Leroy (Loir-et-Cher), Gérard Roche (Haute-Loire), Jean Arthuis (Mayenne, AC), Christian Namy (Meuse, PR), Patrick Weiten (Moselle), Nassimah Dindar (La Réunion), Danielle Chuzeville (Rhône, FED), André Villiers (Yonne, NC), Jean-Claude Luche (Aveyron).
Prominent members
- Gilles Artigues, former deputy (ex-MoDem)
- Jean-Louis Bourlanges, former MEP
- Jacques Le Nay, former deputy (ex-UMP)
- Pierre Méhaignerie, former cabinet minister and deputy, mayor of Vitré (ex-UMP)
- Simone Veil, member of the Académie française, former cabinet minister (ex-UMP), and former president of the European Parliament.
- Dominique Caillaud, former deputy
- André Rossinot, mayor of Nancy
- Louis Giscard d'Estaing, former deputy (ex-UMP)
References
- ↑ http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2012/10/21/borloo-veut-faire-de-l-udi-le-premier-parti-de-france_1778718_823448.html
- ↑ http://www.20minutes.fr/politique/1407430-yves-jego-et-chantal-jouanno-veulent-prendre-la-tete-d-el-udi
- ↑ Le premier pari réussi de Borloo et de l'UDI , Le Monde, October 22, 2012.
- ↑ Défaite de l'UDI Henri Plagnol
- ↑ Official 2013 by-election
- ↑ Gilles Bourdouleix resigned to UDI
- ↑ Le CNI rejoint l'UDI de Borloo, Le Figaro, September 19, 2012.
- ↑ Un petit parti libéral rejoint l'UDI, Le Figaro, January 15, 2013.
- ↑ Clivage à CAP21 : Création de Nouvelle Ecologie Démocrate
- ↑ Borloo jette les fondations de son nouveau parti, September 18, 2012.
- ↑ Le Pacte fondateur de l'UDI, October 23, 2012.
External links
|