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 (2012-09-18)
Headquarters 22 bis, rue des Volontaires, Paris
Ideology Social liberalism
Christian democracy
European federalism
Political position Centre to centre-right[1]
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliation None
European Parliament group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colours Light blue and violet
National Assembly
28 / 577
Senate
43 / 348
European Parliament
2 / 74
Regional Councils
120 / 1,880
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 found cancelled with 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

The UDI is made up of nine political parties:

Leadership

Temporary structure

Pending the founding congress, a temporary leadership structure ensures the drafting of the party's statutes.[12][13]

Current leadership

Election results

French Parliament

National Assembly
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Leader
2017 unknown (#?)
0 / 577
–
unknown

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, October 22, 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. ↑ Le CNI rejoint l'UDI de Borloo, Le Figaro, September 19, 2012.
  10. ↑ Un petit parti libéral rejoint l'UDI, Le Figaro, January 15, 2013.
  11. ↑ Clivage à CAP21 : Création de Nouvelle Ecologie Démocrate
  12. ↑ Borloo jette les fondations de son nouveau parti Archived May 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., September 18, 2012.
  13. ↑ Le Pacte fondateur de l'UDI, October 23, 2012.
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