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|ideology = [[Euroscepticism]], [[souverainism]] |
|ideology = [[Euroscepticism]], [[souverainism]], [[Gaullism]] |
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'''Popular Republican Union''' ({{lang-fr|Union Populaire Républicaine}}), is a [[List of political parties in France|French political party]], founded in 2007 by [[François Asselineau]]. The ideology of the party is Eurosceptic, and seeks the withdrawal of [[France]] from the [[European Union]], the [[euro]] and the [[NATO]]. |
'''Popular Republican Union''' ({{lang-fr|Union Populaire Républicaine}}), is a centrist [[List of political parties in France|French political party]], founded in 2007 by [[François Asselineau]]. The ideology of the party is Eurosceptic, and seeks the withdrawal of [[France]] from the [[European Union]], the [[euro]] and the [[NATO]]. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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After leaving |
After leaving the ''Rally for an Independent and Sovereign France'' (RIF)<ref>De Boissieu, Laurent. [http://www.france-politique.fr/rassemblement-pour-l-independance-et-la-souverainete-de-la-france.htm "Rassemblement pour l'indépendance et la souveraineté de la France (RIF)"], ''France-politique.fr'', 21 October 2011. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.</ref> where Asselineau was a member of the steering committee for 3 months, in 2007, for the 50th anniversary of the [[Rome Treaty]] signature,<ref name=Bondy>Lopez, Julien and Zebaïr, Yannis. [http://yahoo.lyon.bondyblog.fr/news/asselineau-la-dictature-de-l-europe "Asselineau: La dictature de l'Europe"], ''Bondy Blog'', 28 October 2011. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.</ref> he created the Popular Republican Union (UPR).<ref>[http://www.revue-republicaine.fr/spip.php?breve545 "Les souverainistes radicaux créent l’Union populaire républicaine"], ''revue-republicaine'', 28 March 2007. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.france-politique.fr/wiki/Union_Populaire_R%C3%A9publicaine_(UPR) Page of the party on ''France Politique'']</ref> |
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== Ideology == |
== Ideology == |
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UPR runs on a anti-EU platform stating that all French policy decisions are made by an "unelected oligarchy, not French," leading to the political disaffection of the French public, and that the continued rule of the EU over European affairs will lead to a "global apartheid".<ref name=NordEclair>Dupont, Isabelle. [http://www.nordeclair.fr/Locales/Villeneuve-d-Ascq/2012/02/29/un-petit-candidat-contre-la-grande-europ.shtml "Un petit candidat contre la grande Europe"], ''[[Nord éclair]]'', February 29, 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> UPR promotes that withdrawal from the [[European Union]] and the [[euro]] by the usage of [[s:Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union/Title VI: Final Provisions#Article 50|TEU Article 50]]<ref name=lacroix>De Boissieu, Laurent. [http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/S-informer/France/Presidentielle-Ces-petits-candidats-qui-veulent-se-faire-entendre-_EP_-2012-03-15-778791"Ces "petits" candidats qui veulent se faire entendre"], ''[[La croix]]'', March 15, 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> as a first step to get France out of its current crisis by regaining capital, goods and person flow regulation control.<ref name="NordEclair"/> For military sovereignty, UPR advocates France withdrawal from the [[NATO]].<ref name=ladepeche>Schrepf, Jerôme. [http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013/05/24/1633424-l-upr-entre-conquete-et-resistance.html "Villeneuve-sur-lot. L'UPR entre conquête et résistance"], ''LaDépêche.fr'', May 24, 2013. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> |
UPR runs on a centrist<ref name=Dauphine>Moulinier, Ève. "François Asselineau, le candidat qui dit non à l’UE", ''[[Le Dauphiné Libéré]]'' page 4, 12 February 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013 [http://www.u-p-r.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/article-Dauphine.pdf ]</ref><ref name=Lavoixdunord1>[http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Region/actualite/Secteur_Region/2012/02/28/article_de-a-a-z.shtml "LE NORD - PAS-DE-CALAIS DE A À Z"], ''[[La Voix du nord]]'', 28 February 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> anti-EU platform stating that all French policy decisions are made by an "unelected oligarchy, not French," leading to the political disaffection of the French public, and that the continued rule of the EU over European affairs will lead to a "global apartheid".<ref name=NordEclair>Dupont, Isabelle. [http://www.nordeclair.fr/Locales/Villeneuve-d-Ascq/2012/02/29/un-petit-candidat-contre-la-grande-europ.shtml "Un petit candidat contre la grande Europe"], ''[[Nord éclair]]'', February 29, 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> UPR promotes that withdrawal from the [[European Union]] and the [[euro]] by the usage of [[s:Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union/Title VI: Final Provisions#Article 50|TEU Article 50]]<ref name=lacroix>De Boissieu, Laurent. [http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/S-informer/France/Presidentielle-Ces-petits-candidats-qui-veulent-se-faire-entendre-_EP_-2012-03-15-778791"Ces "petits" candidats qui veulent se faire entendre"], ''[[La croix]]'', March 15, 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> as a first step to get France out of its current crisis by regaining capital, goods and person flow regulation control.<ref name="Lavoixdunord1"/><ref name="NordEclair"/> For military sovereignty, UPR advocates France withdrawal from the [[NATO]].<ref name=ladepeche>Schrepf, Jerôme. [http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013/05/24/1633424-l-upr-entre-conquete-et-resistance.html "Villeneuve-sur-lot. L'UPR entre conquête et résistance"], ''LaDépêche.fr'', May 24, 2013. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> |
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UPR also favors [[nationalisation]] of entities such as [[TF1]], [[La Poste (France)|La Poste]], [[Gaz de France]], |
UPR also favors [[nationalisation]] of entities such as [[TF1]], [[La Poste (France)|La Poste]], [[Gaz de France]], highways, water management and troubled banks.<ref name="Dauphine"/><ref name="NordEclair"/> |
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==Leadership== |
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== Relationship with the media and Internet activism == |
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UPR is presided by its founder [[François Asselineau]]. |
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In February 2012, François Asselineau and his party, UPR, claimed they were "barred from the major media" ("''barrés des grands médias''") and "banned from going on the air" ("''interdits d'antenne''") as "[their] ideas are upsetting" ("''[leur] discours dérange''").<ref name="Dauphine"/> In 2014, UPR described itself as being "the most censored party in France".<ref name=francetvinfo>Yann Thompson, [http://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/europeennes/europeennes-la-galere-des-petits-candidats_604655.html Européennes: la galère des petits candidats], [[France Télévisions]], 21 May 2014</ref> |
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On 23 April 2014, François Asselineau's party sent a registered letter to [[Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel]] (Audiovisual Superior Council) to demand "urgent action regarding the mainstream broadcasting media to have them accept UPR at last in their broadcasts". |
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The "news blackout" that Asselineau allegedly had to deal with was criticized again after the 2014 European elections, as his party obtained slightly more votes than [[Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste]] (0.41% ''vs'' 0.39%) without further attracting attention from the mainstream media.<ref name="Arrêt">{{cite web|url=http://www.arretsurimages.net/articles/2014-09-24/Mais-qui-est-Francois-Asselineau-le-souverainiste-sans-page-Wikipedia-id7078|title= Mais qui est François Asselineau, le souverainiste sans page Wikipedia ?|author=Laure Daussy|date=24 September 2014|website=[[Arrêt sur images]]|registration=yes|accessdate=September 29, 2014}}</ref> |
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In March 2012, Asselineau complained about the "censorship" he faced on [[French Wikipedia]] from which his article had been deleted several times for lack of renown.<ref name="Arrêt"/><ref name="Numerama">{{cite web | author = Guillaume Champeau | title = François Asselineau retrouve sa page Wikipédia, provisoirement | date = 13 March 2012 | url = http://www.numerama.com/magazine/21995-francois-asselineau-retrouve-sa-page-wikipedia-provisoirement.html | work = [[Numerama]] | accessdate = September 30, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Marianne">{{cite journal|work=Marianne|title=Qui est vraiment l'UPR ? |date=24 June 2014 |url=http://www.marianne.net/Qui-est-vraiment-l-UPR_a239725.html}}</ref> In February 2013, UPR complained about what it called "the ill treatment of François Asselineau and UPR on Wikipedia", with an extended report on the subject established by the "''Groupe Wiki de l’UPR – [[Internet activism|Cybermilitantisme]]''" (the "UPR Wiki Group- Internet activism"). |
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Asselineau and his team are very active on the Internet:<ref>[http://www.sudouest.fr/2013/06/11/ils-ont-vu-de-la-lumiere-1080940-710.php Législative partielle: la galaxie des micro-partis], ''Sud-Ouest'', 11 June 2013.</ref> UPR claim to have developed "solely on the Internet" ("''exclusivement en ligne''")<ref>[http://www.valeursactuelles.com/politique/qui-fran%C3%A7ois-asselineau Qui est François Asselineau ?], ''Valeurs actuelles'', September 22d, 2014</ref> and bank above all on this activism to try and become notable.<ref name="Numerama"/> Rudy Reichstadt characterizes UPR as "a real phenomenon on the Internet", noting that it is "difficult to miss it when one is interested in the [[conspiracist]] circles" ("''difficile de passer à côté lorsqu’on s’intéresse à la mouvance complotiste''").<ref>[http://www.sudouest.fr/2013/06/11/ils-ont-vu-de-la-lumiere-1080940-710.php Législative partielle: la galaxie des micro-partis], ''Sud-Ouest'', 11 June 2013.</ref> In 2012, UPR created the position of "national manager for [[Internet activism]]" ("''responsable national au cybermilitantisme''"), whose responsibility is to develop and coordinate the various people conducting such activism ("''actions cybermilitantes''"). |
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However, there has been some backlash to this activism. {{ill|fr|Laurent de Boissieu}} mentions the harassment that "every journalist has had to deal with, one day or another, at the hands of some UPR activists".<ref name="deBoissieu">{{cite web|author={{ill|fr|Laurent de Boissieu}}|url=http://www.ipolitique.fr/archive/2014/05/27/union-populaire-republicaine.html|title=Réponse ouverte à François Asselineau|work=ipolitique.fr|accessdate=September 29, 2014}}</ref> [[Laurent Ruquier]] likewise noted that he invited François Asselineau to ''{{ill|fr|On n'est pas couché}}'' because of incessant Twitter pressure.<ref name="ONPC 2mn">{{YouTube|5Lg9SUMH99s|François Asselineau de l'Union Populaire Républicaine - ''On n'est pas couché'', 20 septembre 2014}}, at 2 mn 10" (accessed on October 4th, 2014).</ref> After the broadcast of this program, an article on the collaborative website of ''[[L'Obs]]'' (Le Plus) expressed doubts about the granting of speaking time to "this kind of [[conspiracist]]",<ref name="Plus">{{cite web|url=http://leplus.nouvelobs.com/contribution/1242473-onpc-en-invitant-francois-asselineau-laurent-ruquier-cede-a-la-pression-des-complotistes.html|title=ONPC. En invitant François Asselineau, Laurent Ruquier cède à la pression des complotistes|website=Le Plus de L'Obs (Collaborative website of the magazine)|first1=Louise|last1=Pothier|last2=Merlin|first2=Caroline|date=23 September 2014 }}.</ref> while {{ILL|fr|Causeur}} suggested that Laurent Ruquier had in fact invited Asselineau in order to ridicule his anti-European ideas.<ref name="Causeur0914">[http://www.causeur.fr/on-ne-touche-pas-europe-chez-ruquier-29366.html On ne touche pas à l’Europe chez Ruquier…], ''Causeur'', September 22d, 2014</ref> |
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==Popular support and electoral record== |
==Popular support and electoral record== |
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UPR claims to be a growing party despite "the blacklisting from the national media" due to UPR's program.<ref name="Dauphine"/> The movement has been developed exclusively online because of Asselineau's conferences that had been seen more than 2 Million times.<ref name="valeursactuelles"/> They claim to be the most visited French political party website as evidenced by their [[Alexa rank]].<ref name=essoneinfo>Lemonnier, Jérôme. [http://essonneinfo.fr/91-essonne-info/60014/les-petits-partis-partent-a-lassaut-des-europeennes/ "Les « petits partis » partent à l’assaut des européennes"], ''Essone Info'', 22 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014.</ref> |
UPR claims to be a growing party despite "the blacklisting from the national media" due to UPR's program.<ref name="Dauphine"/> The movement has been developed exclusively online notably because of Asselineau's conferences that had been seen more than 2 Million times.<ref name="valeursactuelles"/> They claim to be one of the most visited French political party website as evidenced by their [[Alexa rank]].<ref name=essoneinfo>Lemonnier, Jérôme. [http://essonneinfo.fr/91-essonne-info/60014/les-petits-partis-partent-a-lassaut-des-europeennes/ "Les « petits partis » partent à l’assaut des européennes"], ''Essone Info'', 22 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014.</ref> |
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In 2013, the university researcher, Jean-Yves Camus doubts the reality of membership figures<ref>[http://www.sudouest.fr/2013/06/11/ils-ont-vu-de-la-lumiere-1080940-710.php Législative partielle: la galaxie des micro-partis], ''Sud-Ouest'', Grégoire Morizet , 11 June 2013.</ref> |
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! Date !! Membership !! Source |
! Date !! Membership !! Source |
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| 25 February 2015 || >7000 ||<ref name=varmatin>Roca, Fanny |
| 25 February 2015 || >7000 ||<ref name=varmatin>Roca, Fanny [http://www.varmatin.com/gapeau/departementales-2015-lunion-populaire-republicaine-investit-le-canton-de-sollies.2065490.html "Départementales 2015. L'union populaire républicaine investit le canton de Solliès"], ''Var-Matin'', 25 February 2015. Retrieved on 29 May 2015.</ref> |
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|- |
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| 2 November 2014 || 6325 ||<ref name=lamayenneonadore>[http://lamayenneonadore.fr/main/2014/11/21/francois-asselineau-upr-en-mayenne-22-23-novembre/ "François Asselineau (UPR) en Mayenne le 22 et 23 novembre"], '' La Mayenne, on adore !'', 21 November 2014. Retrieved on 16 February 2015.</ref> |
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| 21 May 2014 || 5000 ||<ref name=francetvinfo>Thompson, Yann. [http://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/europeennes/europeennes-la-galere-des-petits-candidats_604655.html "Européennes : la galère des petits candidats"], ''[[France TV]]'', 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014.</ref> |
| 21 May 2014 || 5000 ||<ref name=francetvinfo>Thompson, Yann. [http://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/europeennes/europeennes-la-galere-des-petits-candidats_604655.html "Européennes : la galère des petits candidats"], ''[[France TV]]'', 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014.</ref> |
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===Presidential=== |
===Presidential=== |
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In January 2011, Asselineau announced his intention to run for the [[2012 French presidential election]] for the UPR.<ref>Choq FM, "L'autre monde" (The other world), 14 February 2011</ref> |
In January 2011, Asselineau announced his intention to run for the [[2012 French presidential election]] for the UPR.<ref>Choq FM, "L'autre monde" (The other world), 14 February 2011</ref> He confirmed his candidacy in December 2011 during the national congress of the party.<ref name=leparisien>Houchard, Béatrice. [http://www.leparisien.fr/nogent-sur-marne-94130/asselineau-candidat-a-la-presidentielle-03-12-2011-1750168.php "Asselineau candidat à la présidentielle"], ''[[Le Parisien]]'', 3 December 2011. Retrieved on 1 October 2013</ref> However, Asselineau was finally not among the ten candidates officially endorsed by the [[Constitutional Council of France|Constitutional council]] as he could muster only 17 out of the 500 signatures from elected politicians that are necessary to run for president.<ref name="lefigaro"/> |
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===Legislative=== |
===Legislative=== |
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===European Parliament=== |
===European Parliament=== |
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The party participated in the [[European Parliament election, 2014 (France)|2014 European Parliament election]].<ref>De Boissieu, Laurent. [http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Europe/Ces-autres-listes-qui-veulent-creer-la-surprise-2014-05-21-1153872 "Elections européennes: les listes qui veulent créer la surprise"], ''[[La Croix]]'', 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> However, a limited budget restricted active campaign mailings to only thirty ''departments''.<ref>Quinault Maupoil, Tristan. [http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/le-scan/coulisses/2014/05/06/25006-20140506ARTFIG00290-europeennes-un-record-de-31-listes-a-departager-en-le-de-france.php "Européennes: un record de 31 listes à départager en Île-de-France"], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 12 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> The purpose was to introduce their program hoping to alert electors deceived from the current political system<ref>[http://www.leparisien.fr/espace-premium/val-d-oise-95/asselineau-upr-a-ermont-21-05-2014-3857397.php "Asselineau (UPR) à Ermont"], ''[[Le Parisien]]'', 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> and gain in notoriety thanks to the media exposure.<ref name="essoneinfo"/> [[François Asselineau]] complained to [[Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel|CSA]] that the party did not have access to media and claimed that media's principle of equity was to expose parties that are already well-known.<ref name="francetvinfo"/> UPR scored 0.41% of votes cast for France and [[François Asselineau|Asselineau]] scored 0.56% of votes cast in the [[Île-de-France (European Parliament constituency)|Île-de-France constituency]].<ref>[http://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/resultats/ile-de-france "Résultats européennes 2014 Île-de-France"], ''[[France TV]]'', 30 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> |
The party participated in the [[European Parliament election, 2014 (France)|2014 European Parliament election]] by being one of the 15 parties (out of 193) to present lists in every constituency.<ref>De Boissieu, Laurent. [http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Europe/Ces-autres-listes-qui-veulent-creer-la-surprise-2014-05-21-1153872 "Elections européennes: les listes qui veulent créer la surprise"], ''[[La Croix]]'', 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> However, a limited budget restricted active campaign mailings to only thirty ''departments''.<ref>Quinault Maupoil, Tristan. [http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/le-scan/coulisses/2014/05/06/25006-20140506ARTFIG00290-europeennes-un-record-de-31-listes-a-departager-en-le-de-france.php "Européennes: un record de 31 listes à départager en Île-de-France"], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 12 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> The purpose was to introduce their program hoping to alert electors deceived from the current political system<ref>[http://www.leparisien.fr/espace-premium/val-d-oise-95/asselineau-upr-a-ermont-21-05-2014-3857397.php "Asselineau (UPR) à Ermont"], ''[[Le Parisien]]'', 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> and gain in notoriety thanks to the media exposure.<ref name="essoneinfo"/> [[François Asselineau]] complained to [[Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel|CSA]] that the party did not have access to media and claimed that media's principle of equity was to expose parties that are already well-known.<ref name="francetvinfo"/> UPR scored 0.41% of votes cast for France and [[François Asselineau|Asselineau]] scored 0.56% of votes cast in the [[Île-de-France (European Parliament constituency)|Île-de-France constituency]].<ref>[http://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/resultats/ile-de-france "Résultats européennes 2014 Île-de-France"], ''[[France TV]]'', 30 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014</ref> |
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===Departemental=== |
===Departemental=== |
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UPR ran in the [[French departmental elections, 2015|2015 departmental elections]] with 14 lists out of the 2,054 [[Cantons of France|cantons]].<ref>Yvon, Kathy and Fadeau, Romuald. [http://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/Indre-et-Loire/Actualite/Politique/n/Contenus/Articles/2015/03/13/A-Joue-l-unique-candidature-de-l-UPR-en-Indre-et-Loire-2255233 "A Joué, l'unique candidature de l'UPR en Indre-et-Loire"], ''[[La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest|La Nouvelle République]]'', 13 March 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015</ref> They intended to alert electors notably on UPR's program and that the local situation is the consequence of national and international circumstances. They were hoping to score honorably.<ref name="varmatin"/><ref>Yvon, Kathy and Fadeau, Romuald. [http://www.ouest-france.fr/une-liste-upr-saint-herblain-1-3195856 "Une liste UPR à Saint-Herblain 1"], ''[[Ouest-France]]'', 16 February 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015</ref> |
UPR ran in the [[French departmental elections, 2015|2015 departmental elections]] with 14 lists out of the 2,054 [[Cantons of France|cantons]].<ref>Yvon, Kathy and Fadeau, Romuald. [http://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/Indre-et-Loire/Actualite/Politique/n/Contenus/Articles/2015/03/13/A-Joue-l-unique-candidature-de-l-UPR-en-Indre-et-Loire-2255233 "A Joué, l'unique candidature de l'UPR en Indre-et-Loire"], ''[[La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest|La Nouvelle République]]'', 13 March 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015</ref> They intended to alert electors notably on UPR's program and that the local situation is the consequence of national and international circumstances. They were hoping to score honorably.<ref name="varmatin"/><ref>Yvon, Kathy and Fadeau, Romuald. [http://www.ouest-france.fr/une-liste-upr-saint-herblain-1-3195856 "Une liste UPR à Saint-Herblain 1"], ''[[Ouest-France]]'', 16 February 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015</ref> |
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During the campaign, Yannick Herve, candidate in the [[Canton of Erstein]], has been detained and questioned by the [[gendarmery]] after having taken down European flags from 6 communes' city halls while informing them beforehand. His intention was to protest against a symbol that is claiming to be unconstitutional in France. He has been charged by the 6 mayors for theft.<ref>Gandoin, Sandra. [http://www.bfmtv.com/politique/un-candidat-alsacien-aux-departementales-interpelle-pour-avoir-decroche-des-drapeaux-de-l-ue-869984.html "Départementales: un candidat alsacien interpellé pour avoir décroché des drapeaux européens"], ''[[BFM TV]]'', 18 March 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015</ref><ref>Estivals, Florent. [http://www.dna.fr/faits-divers/2015/03/19/six-plaintes-deposees "Décrochages de drapeaux européens : six plaintes déposées"], ''[[Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace]]'', 19 March 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015</ref> UPR scored in average 1,63% of votes cast. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 05:27, 28 August 2015
Popular Republican Union Union Populaire Républicaine | |
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President | François Asselineau |
Founded | 25 March 2007 |
Headquarters | 15, rue Érard 75012 PARIS |
Membership (2015) | >7000 |
Ideology | Euroscepticism, souverainism, Gaullism |
Political position | Syncretic |
National Assembly | 0 / 577
|
Senate | 0 / 348
|
European Parliament | 0 / 74
|
Regional Councils | 0 / 1,880
|
General Councils | 0 / 4,108
|
Website | |
www | |
Popular Republican Union (French: Union Populaire Républicaine), is a centrist French political party, founded in 2007 by François Asselineau. The ideology of the party is Eurosceptic, and seeks the withdrawal of France from the European Union, the euro and the NATO.
History
After leaving the Rally for an Independent and Sovereign France (RIF)[1] where Asselineau was a member of the steering committee for 3 months, in 2007, for the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty signature,[2] he created the Popular Republican Union (UPR).[3][4]
Ideology
UPR runs on a centrist[5][6] anti-EU platform stating that all French policy decisions are made by an "unelected oligarchy, not French," leading to the political disaffection of the French public, and that the continued rule of the EU over European affairs will lead to a "global apartheid".[7] UPR promotes that withdrawal from the European Union and the euro by the usage of TEU Article 50[8] as a first step to get France out of its current crisis by regaining capital, goods and person flow regulation control.[6][7] For military sovereignty, UPR advocates France withdrawal from the NATO.[9]
UPR also favors nationalisation of entities such as TF1, La Poste, Gaz de France, highways, water management and troubled banks.[5][7]
Leadership
UPR is presided by its founder François Asselineau.
Popular support and electoral record
UPR claims to be a growing party despite "the blacklisting from the national media" due to UPR's program.[5] The movement has been developed exclusively online notably because of Asselineau's conferences that had been seen more than 2 Million times.[10] They claim to be one of the most visited French political party website as evidenced by their Alexa rank.[11]
Date | Membership | Source |
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25 February 2015 | >7000 | [12] |
2 November 2014 | 6325 | [13] |
21 May 2014 | 5000 | [14] |
3 March 2014 | 4200 | [10] |
24 September 2013 | 3300 | [15] |
10 June 2013 | ≤3000 | [16] |
29 May 2013 | 2960 | [17] |
29 February 2012 | ≈1000 | [7] |
Presidential
In January 2011, Asselineau announced his intention to run for the 2012 French presidential election for the UPR.[18] He confirmed his candidacy in December 2011 during the national congress of the party.[19] However, Asselineau was finally not among the ten candidates officially endorsed by the Constitutional council as he could muster only 17 out of the 500 signatures from elected politicians that are necessary to run for president.[17]
Legislative
Following the Cahuzac affair and the resignation of Jérôme Cahuzac, Asselineau and Régis Chamagne decided to run for the legislative election in the Lot-et-Garonne's 3rd constituency. In response to charges that they were carpetbaggers—not being residents of the constituency—they responded that members of the National Assembly represent the whole nation, not a region.[9] UPR sought to publicize its legislative program, to galvanize party members and to gain in notoriety thanks to the media exposure of this election.[16] UPR failed to reach the second round, receiving less than one half of one percent of the vote.[20]
European Parliament
The party participated in the 2014 European Parliament election by being one of the 15 parties (out of 193) to present lists in every constituency.[21] However, a limited budget restricted active campaign mailings to only thirty departments.[22] The purpose was to introduce their program hoping to alert electors deceived from the current political system[23] and gain in notoriety thanks to the media exposure.[11] François Asselineau complained to CSA that the party did not have access to media and claimed that media's principle of equity was to expose parties that are already well-known.[14] UPR scored 0.41% of votes cast for France and Asselineau scored 0.56% of votes cast in the Île-de-France constituency.[24]
Departemental
UPR ran in the 2015 departmental elections with 14 lists out of the 2,054 cantons.[25] They intended to alert electors notably on UPR's program and that the local situation is the consequence of national and international circumstances. They were hoping to score honorably.[12][26] During the campaign, Yannick Herve, candidate in the Canton of Erstein, has been detained and questioned by the gendarmery after having taken down European flags from 6 communes' city halls while informing them beforehand. His intention was to protest against a symbol that is claiming to be unconstitutional in France. He has been charged by the 6 mayors for theft.[27][28] UPR scored in average 1,63% of votes cast.
See also
References
- ^ De Boissieu, Laurent. "Rassemblement pour l'indépendance et la souveraineté de la France (RIF)", France-politique.fr, 21 October 2011. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.
- ^ Lopez, Julien and Zebaïr, Yannis. "Asselineau: La dictature de l'Europe", Bondy Blog, 28 October 2011. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.
- ^ "Les souverainistes radicaux créent l’Union populaire républicaine", revue-republicaine, 28 March 2007. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.
- ^ Page of the party on France Politique
- ^ a b c Moulinier, Ève. "François Asselineau, le candidat qui dit non à l’UE", Le Dauphiné Libéré page 4, 12 February 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013 [1]
- ^ a b "LE NORD - PAS-DE-CALAIS DE A À Z", La Voix du nord, 28 February 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ a b c d Dupont, Isabelle. "Un petit candidat contre la grande Europe", Nord éclair, February 29, 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ De Boissieu, Laurent. "Ces "petits" candidats qui veulent se faire entendre", La croix, March 15, 2012. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ a b Schrepf, Jerôme. "Villeneuve-sur-lot. L'UPR entre conquête et résistance", LaDépêche.fr, May 24, 2013. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ a b "Qui est François Asselineau?", Valeurs Actuelles, 3 March 2014. Retrieved on 13 March 2014.
- ^ a b Lemonnier, Jérôme. "Les « petits partis » partent à l’assaut des européennes", Essone Info, 22 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014.
- ^ a b Roca, Fanny "Départementales 2015. L'union populaire républicaine investit le canton de Solliès", Var-Matin, 25 February 2015. Retrieved on 29 May 2015.
- ^ "François Asselineau (UPR) en Mayenne le 22 et 23 novembre", La Mayenne, on adore !, 21 November 2014. Retrieved on 16 February 2015.
- ^ a b Thompson, Yann. "Européennes : la galère des petits candidats", France TV, 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014.
- ^ "L'UPR vise les Européennes", Paris Normandie.fr, Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon, 25 September 2013. Retrieved on 6 July 2015.
- ^ a b Olivari, Candice. "Les candidats à l'élection législative partielle en Lot-et-Garonne", France 3, June 10, 2013. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ a b Houchard, Béatrice. "Trois recalés de la présidentielle en repêchage à Villeneuve-sur-Lot", Le Figaro, May 30, 2013. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ Choq FM, "L'autre monde" (The other world), 14 February 2011
- ^ Houchard, Béatrice. "Asselineau candidat à la présidentielle", Le Parisien, 3 December 2011. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ "Election législative partielle : les résultats définitifs", Villeneuve-sur-Lot, 23 June 2013. Retrieved on 1 October 2013
- ^ De Boissieu, Laurent. "Elections européennes: les listes qui veulent créer la surprise", La Croix, 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014
- ^ Quinault Maupoil, Tristan. "Européennes: un record de 31 listes à départager en Île-de-France", Le Figaro, 12 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014
- ^ "Asselineau (UPR) à Ermont", Le Parisien, 21 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014
- ^ "Résultats européennes 2014 Île-de-France", France TV, 30 May 2014. Retrieved on 24 June 2014
- ^ Yvon, Kathy and Fadeau, Romuald. "A Joué, l'unique candidature de l'UPR en Indre-et-Loire", La Nouvelle République, 13 March 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015
- ^ Yvon, Kathy and Fadeau, Romuald. "Une liste UPR à Saint-Herblain 1", Ouest-France, 16 February 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015
- ^ Gandoin, Sandra. "Départementales: un candidat alsacien interpellé pour avoir décroché des drapeaux européens", BFM TV, 18 March 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015
- ^ Estivals, Florent. "Décrochages de drapeaux européens : six plaintes déposées", Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, 19 March 2015. Retrieved on 30 June 2015