Movement for France
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| Mouvement pour la France | |
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| Leader | Philippe de Villiers |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | 91 ter rue du Cherche-Midi - 75006 PARIS |
| Political Ideology | Conservatism, Souverainism, Euroscepticism |
| European Affiliation | Libertas |
| European Parliament Group | Independence/Democracy |
| International Affiliation | None |
| Colours | Blue |
| Seats in the National Assembly |  |
| Seats in the Senate |  |
| Seats in the European Parliament |  |
| Website | www.pourlafrance.fr |
| See also | Constitution of France France Politics |
The Movement for France (French: Mouvement pour la France), or MPF, is a French conservative and eurosceptic political party, founded on November 20, 1994, with a marked regional stronghold in the Vendée. It is led by Philippe de Villiers, once communications minister under Jacques Chirac.
The party is considered Eurosceptic, though not to the extent of seeking to secede from the Union. In this way it contrasts with some other mainstream eurosceptic parties such as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). The MPF resists increases in European integration and campaigned for a "no" vote in the 2005 referendum on the European constitution.
It is also strongly opposed to the possible admission of Turkey into the European Union and to what it sees as the Islamisation of France.
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[edit] Electoral record
Founded in 1994, the party nominated Philippe de Villiers as candidate in the 1995 presidential election. He obtained over a million votes and 4.74% of the popular vote, but failed to pass 5%.
In the 1997 legislative election, the MPF joined forces with the National Centre of Independents and Peasants as La Droite Indépendante (LDI). Villiers was the only elected LDI deputy.
It contested the 1999 European Parliamentary elections in alliance with the Rassemblement pour la France (RPF) of Charles Pasqua, the combination winning 13 seats, surpassing Nicolas Sarkozy's Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) list. The MPF formed an alliance with the RPF, but Villiers fell out with Pasqua the following year. Standing by itself in the 2004 European elections, the MPF obtained 7.6% of the popular vote and returned three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The party is a member of the Independence and Democracy Group in the European Parliament.
Villiers declared his candidacy for the 2007 presidential election and appointed a secretary-general, Guillaume Peltier, then ranked second in the party. He ranked sixth out of twelve candidates, obtaining 2.23% (818,407 votes), down almost 2% from his previous candidacy in 1995. His best scores came in Pays-de-la-Loire with 4.99% and Poitou-Charentes with 3.58%. Unlike in 1995, he failed to win in his department of Vendée, where he obtained 11.28% (over 20% in 1995).
In the 2007 legislative election, MPF candidates ran nationwide, but only one candidate was elected - Véronique Besse in Vendée by the first round. Former MPF member Joël Sarlot was also elected by the first round in the Vendée (in the 5th constituency). Sarlot subsequently lent support to the victorious Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP). Other candidates, mostly in the south of France obtained important scores. Jacques Bompard, in the 4th constituency of Vaucluse won over 20%. In a by-election in 2008, the MPF member Dominique Souchet was elected deputy for the 5th constituency of Vendée.
In the 2009 European Parliament election, the party will run with Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Tradition under the umbrella of the Libertas political movement led by Irish businessman Declan Ganley. The MPF was the only Libertas affiliated party throughout the whole of the European Union to elect MEPs in 2009.
The MPF currently controls one general council, that of Vendée, where de Villiers serves as President of the general council.
The MPF currently has 20,000 members.
[edit] Public perception
The MPF and Villers, mostly due to their views on Islam and Muslim immigration, have been labeled in world news media such as CNN, Der Spiegel, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and The San Francisco Chronicle as "far right".[1][2][3][4][5]
[edit] European project of the MPF
- Restore the rule of national law over European law. It is a guiding principle: the re-establishment of democracy by subjecting the technocratic body to the elected one.
- Cease negotiations of accession of Turkey to the European Union, and begin a process of privileged partnerships with Turkey and other Mediterranean countries.
- Allow the countries of Europe to form their own, independent foreign policies.
- Follow a policy of respect of national borders and control of immigration.
- Build a Europe of free and selected co-operations.
- Put the national Parliaments in the middle of European construction in their giving a right of veto on the vital interests of the people which they represent.
- Found a right of call in front of the people for the judgments of the Court of Justice, true right of popular opposition.
- Put the European Union and the euro at the service of the growth and employment.
- Found a European preference for industry and the services, as for agriculture.
- Forbiding wearing hijab in public places and at street.
- Establishing a moratorium on constructing mosques in France.
[edit] Elected officials
- Deputies: Véronique Besse, Dominique Souchet
- Senators: Bruno Retailleau, Philippe Darniche
- MEPs: Philippe de Villiers
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 12 candidates in the running for French president. CNN. Published April 9, 2007.
- ^ Paris Airport Bars Muslim Workers. Der Spiegel. Published November 2, 2006.
- ^ Far-right leader decries "Islamisation of France". By Tom Heneghan. The Boston Globe. Published April 23, 2006.
- ^ Philippe de Villiers. By David Marcelis. The Wall Street Journal. Accessed March 4, 2009.
- ^ Paris Shuts Airport Muslim Prayer Rooms. By Elaine Ganley. The San Francisco Chronicle. Published August 2, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Official Movement for France web site
- Official web site of the MPF with the European Parliament
- Sit Web of the JPF
- Article of the Time concerning the book subversive “mosques of Roissy”
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