Union of Democrats and Independents

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Union of Democrats and Independents
Union des démocrates et indépendants
PresidentJean-Christophe Lagarde
General SecretaryBrigitte Fouré,
Michel Zumkeller
SpokespersonsChantal Jouanno,
Jean-Marie Bockel
Honorary PresidentJean-Louis Borloo
Founded18 September 2012 (2012-09-18)
Headquarters22 bis, rue des Volontaires, Paris
LGBT wingGayLib
IdeologyLiberalism
Christian democracy
European federalism
Political positionCentre to centre-right[1]
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliationNone
European Parliament groupAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
ColoursLight blue and violet
National Assembly
28 / 577
Senate
43 / 348
European Parliament
2 / 74
Presidency of Regional Councils
1 / 17
Presidency of Departmental Councils
14 / 101
Website
www.parti-udi.fr

The Union of Democrats and Independents (French: Union des démocrates et indépendants, UDI) is a centre-right 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.[2] The president is Jean-Christophe Lagarde, who was elected at the congress of the party on 15 November 2014, after the resignation of Jean-Louis Borloo on 6 April 2014 for health reasons.[3]

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.[4]

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 9 and 16 December 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.[5]

On 9 June 2013, the UDI gained a deputy (Meyer Habib) at the by-election in the Eighth constituency for French residents overseas,[6] but this contribution was cancelled out by Gilles Bourdouleix's resignation from UDI after the controversy for allegedly saying Adolf Hitler had not killed enough Romani people.[7]

The UDI became a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party on 2 December 2016.[8]

Organization

Composition

Party Leader Ideology National Assembly Senate European Parliament
Democratic European Force
Force européenne démocrate 		FED Jean-Christophe Lagarde Christian democracy
3 / 577
4 / 348
0 / 74
Modern Left
La Gauche moderne 		LGM Jean-Marie Bockel Social liberalism
0 / 577
1 / 348
0 / 74
The Centrists
Les Centristes 		LC Hervé Morin Centrism, Social liberalism
7 / 577
9 / 348
0 / 74
Radical Party
Parti radical 		PR Jean-Louis Borloo Liberalism
7 / 577
11 / 348
2 / 74

The National Centre of Independents and Peasants was expelled after its leader and only deputy Gilles Bourdouleix's resigned for allegedly saying Adolf Hitler had not killed enough Romani people.[9] The Centrist Alliance was excluded on 25 March 2017 as a result of its support for Emmanuel Macron; Territories in Movement left after the results of the 2015 regional elections; and the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) was excluded from the UDI in December 2013.

Leadership

Temporary structure

Pending the founding congress, a temporary leadership structure ensures the drafting of the party's statutes.[10][11]

Current leadership

Election results

French Parliament

National Assembly
Election year # of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/– Leader
2017 TBD TBD TBD New Jean-Christophe Lagarde

European Parliament

European Parliament
Election year # of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/– Leader
2014 1,884,565 (#4) 9.94
7 / 74
–
François Bayrou

References

  1. ^ Jocelyn Evans; Gilles Ivaldi (2013). The 2012 French Presidential Elections: The Inevitable Alternation. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 182.
  2. ^ http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2012/10/21/borloo-veut-faire-de-l-udi-le-premier-parti-de-france_1778718_823448.html
  3. ^ http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2014/11/13/jean-christophe-lagarde-elu-president-de-l-udi_4523468_823448.html
  4. ^ Le premier pari réussi de Borloo et de l'UDI , Le Monde, 22 October 2012.
  5. ^ Défaite de l'UDI Henri Plagnol
  6. ^ Official 2013 by-election
  7. ^ Gilles Bourdouleix resigned to UDI
  8. ^ https://www.aldeparty.eu/en/news/udi-france-and-ldp-macedonia-become-alde-party-member-parties
  9. ^ Gilles Bourdouleix resigned to UDI
  10. ^ Borloo jette les fondations de son nouveau parti Archived 6 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 18 September 2012.
  11. ^ Le Pacte fondateur de l'UDI, 23 October 2012.

External links

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