Debout la France (, ; DLF) is a French political party founded by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan in 1999 under the name Debout la République (''Republic Arise'', DLR) as the "genuine

Gaullist Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle with ...

" branch of the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...

(RPR). It was relaunched again in 2000 and 2002 and held its inaugural congress as an autonomous party in 2008. At the 2014 congress its name was changed to Debout la France. It is led by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, who holds the party's only seat in the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kn ...

. Dupont-Aignan contested the 2012 presidential election and received 644,043 votes in the first ballot, or 1.79% of the votes cast, finishing seventh. In the 2007 presidential election, he had failed to win the required 500 endorsements from elected officials to run. He dropped out without endorsing any candidate. However, he was re-elected by the first round of the 2007 legislative election as a DLF candidate in his home department of

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.EUDemocrats Europeans United for Democracy – Alliance for a Europe of Democracies, formerly known as ''EUDemocrats'', was a Eurosceptic and self-described Eurorealist alliance of parties and movements from 15 European countries. It operated as a transna ...

, a

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

transnational European political party. In 2019, for the European elections, the party joined forces with the

CNIP The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (''Centre National des Indépendants et Paysans'', CNIP) is a right-wing agrarian political party in France, founded in 1951 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents (the heir of the ...

to form an alliance named Les Amoureux de la France ("The Lovers of France"), and announced its alliance with the

European Conservatives and Reformists The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European ...

Popular support and electoral record

DLF's electoral support is concentrated in Dupont-Aignan's department of

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...

and it polled up to 36.14% in his hometown of

Yerres Yerres () is a commune in the Essonne department, in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Inhabitants are called ''Yerrois'' in French. Geography Yerres lies in the North-Eastern p ...

. The party also polled well in the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

region (2.44%), the North-West (2.4%) and the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

constituency (2.33%), owing the regions' conservative and

departments. In the 2012 presidential election, Dupont-Aignan obtained 1.79% of votes at the first round and did not endorse any candidate in the second. In the following legislative elections, Dupont-Aignan was elected to the National Assembly in Essonne's 8th constituency. The European election of 2014 saw an the party increase its share of the popular vote to 3.82%, although it failed to elect any MEPs. Dupont-Aignan was again the party's candidate in the 2017 presidential election, obtaining 4.73% of the vote in the first round. He then endorsed the National Front's candidate

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its ...

in the second round. In the following legislative elections, Dupont-Aignan was re-elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

Ideology and positions

During the

2012 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 22 April 2012 (or 21 April in some overseas departments and territories), with a second round run-off held on 6 May (or 5 May for those same territories) to elect the President of France (who is a ...

, the party defined itself as representing

social Gaullism Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle with ...

and an alternative to the left-right divide. When founding the party, Dupont-Aignan positioned it to the right of what he calls the "UMPS" (a neologism of the former centre-right

and the centre-left Socialist Party) but not as hardline as the

French National Front The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right: Academic: * ...

, which he summed up with the slogan ''Neither system nor extreme.'' The party has been defined by the media and political analysts as

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

and

. It is generally positioned on the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

and sometimes

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

of the political spectrum, although the party and members of the French Council of State have disputed the latter label. The party has advocated that France should leave the

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU pol ...

and takes a highly critical stance of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, denouncing what it regards as

globalism Globalism refers to various patterns of meaning beyond the merely international. It is used by political scientists, such as Joseph Nye, to describe "attempts to understand all the interconnections of the modern world—and to highlight pattern ...

against French identity and argues that France should reclaim sovereignty it regards as lost to the EU. It also calls for strict border controls, regulation of immigration and the reopening of penal colonies for violent criminals and convicted terrorists. On economic matters, the party takes a largely

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

attitude (including offering tax incentives for businesses to remain in France) and supports nationalizing the French highway system.. which last till 2020.

Elections

Presidency

European Parliament

Regional Parliament

Elected officials

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

. The party also claims 3 general councillors, and Mayors in four communes:

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the ...

, Saint-Prix and

Ancinnes Ancinnes () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. It lies within the Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine and is on the edge of the forest of Perseigne. It is 8 km from Alençon ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arise The Republic Right-wing populist parties Right-wing populism in France 2008 establishments in France Conservative parties in France French nationalist parties Eurosceptic parties in France Gaullist parties National conservative parties Political parties established in 2008 Political parties of the French Fifth Republic Right-wing parties in France