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Jean-Frédéric Poisson (born 22 January 1963) is a French right-wing politician and the president of
VIA, the Way of the People VIA, the Way of the People (french: VIA , la voie du peuple, links=no, VIA) is a social conservative and Christian rightist party in France. The party was known as the Forum of Social Republicans (FRS) between 2001 and June 2009 before being ad ...
(previously called the
Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
). He was mayor of
Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933. Rambouillet lies ...
from 2004 to 2007, then became a
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 repre ...
member from 2007 to 2017.


Early life and education

Poisson was born 22 January 1963 in
Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...
, the son of Burgundian parents. He and his four younger siblings spent their early years in
Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.
. When the
1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
hit, their father, a technician, lost his job and the family moved to the
Villeneuve-la-Garenne Villeneuve-la-Garenne () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris in the Hauts-de-Seine department in the Île-de-France region. History The commune of Villeneuve-la-Garenne was created on 9 ...
area of Paris; his parents divorced not long after. Poisson lived in
low-income housing Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housi ...
for fifteen years and attended 8 schools, including reformatories, and was suspended from 7. He often left classes to do odd jobs around town to help support his family. By the time he turned 19, he was the president of the local House of Youth and Culture (MJC), which organized tutoring and summer camps for foster (DDASS) children. On 30 January 1982 at 9:15am, he claims to have been "touched by divine grace" while sitting in philosophy class. Despite having been raised agnostic, this experience made him convert to Catholicism. Poisson graduated from the Free Faculties of Philosophy and Psychology (IPC Paris) for a licence in philosophy in 1986, then went on to pursue a PhD in philosophy in ethics from
Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...
. He completed his dissertation, ''Bioethics, ethics, and humanism: the French laws of 1994'', in 2001. He returned to school in 2011 to obtain a second licence, this time a degree in labor law from the
University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (, ''UVSQ'') is a French public university created in 1991, located in the department of Yvelines and, since 2002, in Hauts-de-Seine. It is a constituent university of the federal Paris-Saclay U ...
, which he completed in 2011. He initially began his post-graduate career in human resources in the
metallurgical Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
sector before briefly running a consulting company.


Career

Poisson met
Christine Boutin Christine Boutin (, born 6 February 1944) is a French former politician leading the small French Christian Democratic Party (France), Christian Democratic Party. She served as a member of the French National Assembly representing Yvelines, fro ...
in 1993 at a talk she was giving about
bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, med ...
. He approached her afterwards and he eventually became her right-hand man; what was supposed to be a few-month-long partnership lasted for 10 years. He credits her with his subsequent involvement in politics. Only two years later, he joined the
Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933. Rambouillet lies ...
Municipal Council and later served at deputy mayor under
Gérard Larcher Gérard Philippe René André Larcher (born 14 September 1949) is a French politician serving as President of the Senate since 2014, previously holding the office from 2008 to 2011. A member of The Republicans, he has been a Senator for the Yveli ...
. He served as mayor between 2004 and 2007 before joining 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 repre ...
to represent
Yvelines's 10th constituency The 10th constituency of the Yvelines is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Yvelines departments of France, ''département''. Description Yvelines' 10th constituency covers the largely rural southern territory of t ...
. He ran in the legislative election as a member of
UPM UPM may refer to: * Ultra-pure metal * UPM (company), UPM-Kymmene Oyj, a pulp and paper company * Union pour la méditerrannée, Mediterranean Community * Union for a Popular Movement, opposition party of France * Unit production manager, someone ...
, now known as The Republicans. He contended for his seat again in 2009 but was beaten by Anny Poursinoff. Months later, however, he succeeded Butin after a by-election following her appointment to
Minister of Housing and Urban Development The Minister of Housing is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the government's house-building programme. The position was established in 1938 as Minister in charge of Housing, and has most commonly been known a ...
by
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
. He won 53% of votes in the 2012 legislative elections and served until 2017. During his time in the Assembly, he served on the Cultural, Family, and Social Affairs Committee; was vice president of the Law Committee; and played on the Assembly's rugby team. In 2017, he also lost the municipal majority for the first time since 1995. He was beaten by Rambouillet deputy mayor Gilles Schmidt, who Poisson claimed had promised he wouldn't run in the election. Poisson contacted Mayor Marc Roberts and demanded he sanction Schmidt for disloyalty. In 2013, Boutin resigned from her role as president of the Christian Democratic Party and Poisson was appointed in her place. In 2015, Poisson announced he would be running in the Republican primaries ahead of the
2017 French presidential election The 2017 French presidential election was held on 23 April and 7 May 2017. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held between the top two candidates, Emmanuel Macron of En Marche! (EM) and Marine Le Pen of the Nationa ...
, which he qualified for as president of the Christian Democratic Party without having to gain voter support first. He came sixth in the first round with 1.5% of the vote and was eliminated. In 2020, he announced he would be running in the for president in 2022 but withdrew his campaign in December 2021. He left the Rambouillet Municipal Council the same year after 25 years of service. As of 2021, Poisson has written three books: ''Bioéthique : l'homme contre l'homme?'' (''Bioethics: Man against man?'') (2007); ''L'Islam à la conquête de l'Occident: La stratégie dévoilée'' (''Islam conquers the West: The strategy unveiled'') (2018); and ''La voix du peuple'' (''The peoples’ voice'') (2020).


Political beliefs


COVID-19 pandemic

Poisson is very critical of France’s actions during the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine periods; he claimed they would not work, and incorrectly argued that more than 850 people have died due to the COVID vaccine. He battled mask-wearing mandates in legislative bodies in July 2020 and again in September; and against curfew for high-risk occupations in October. He has led protests against the “restricti nof freedoms" along with Patriots leader
Florian Philippot Florian Philippot (born 24 October 1981) is a French politician. He served as Vice President of the National Front (France), National Front from 2012 to 2017 before quitting the party to found The Patriots (France), The Patriots in September 201 ...
. He accused the government of “kill ngthe country” and argued that people were developing more psychiatric disorders, experiencing more mental distress, and struggling with inaccessible autonomy during the pandemic.


Education

Poisson is strongly in favour of the reformation of how history is taught in French schools and believes that French language instruction should be better prioritized, including compulsory language proficiency in primary school. He supports reformatory schools and requiring school uniforms. He also wants more autonomy for schools; more independent schools outside of the French education system; and for teachers to "enter into private law contracts."


Family, gender, and sexuality

Family is one of Poisson’s core values; he thinks it should be a central part of everyone’s life and that the
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development The minister of families, children and social development(french: ministre de la famille, des enfants et du développement social) is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada. The associated department is Employment and Social Developm ...
should be treated as more important than environmental ministries because “parents and children are more important than butterflies or blades of grass.” The importance of this topic manifests as strong opposition to same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples, access to medically assisted reproduction (such as
IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
), and surrogacy options for any couple. He even calls for a global ban on surrogates, claiming that women would become commodified and that surrogacy is already “a form of modern slavery.” He has stated that same-sex couples want to adopt just in the name of equality; he does not believe that a child without both a mother and father has a complete family. He also strictly opposes the right to abortion. However, he does not think that pro-abortion websites should be censored or banned by the government. He is particularly critical of marriage equality and was the only candidate in the 2016 Republican primaries to oppose it. He is active in anti marriage equality movements such as the Manif Pour Tous and has attended demonstrations calling for the repeal of Christiane Taubira’s 2013
Law 2013-404 ) , citation ACT No. 2013-404 of 17 May 2013, territorial_extent = French Republic , enacted_by = Parliament of France , date_passed = 23 April 2013 , date_signed = 17 May 2013 , signed_by = President ...
, which enabled same-sex couples to marry and to adopt. Though he appears to support the equality of men and women, he has been accused of sexism after telling ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'' that he considers female colleagues “part of the feast” when legislation is held in a
hemicycle In legislatures, a hemicycle is a semicircular, or horseshoe-shaped, debating chamber (''plenary chamber''), where deputies (members) sit to discuss and pass legislation. Although originally of Ancient Greek roots, the term and modern design de ...
.


Labour and economy

Despite being a major proponent of
universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...
, Poisson also wants to reform taxation in a way that would give companies more tax breaks. He would like hiring practices and the labour code to be reformed into something more flexible, both for the company and for new university graduates “between their studies and their profession.” Other tax reformation ideas include micro-taxing and a
flat tax A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax. Implementations are often progressiv ...
. He believes the country is in a wage crisis and calls for the restoration of
family allowance Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adults. A number of countries operate different versions of the program. In most cou ...
. He also wants France to withdraw from
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
.


Nationalism, immigration, and international relations

Poisson is a strong
French nationalist French nationalism () usually manifests as cultural nationalism, promoting the cultural unity of France. History French nationalism emerged from its numerous wars with England, which involved the reconquest of the territories that made up Fra ...
and
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 reform ...
, and believes that France should be monocultural. He believes in a fractured government where there are intermediary governmental bodies rather than an omnipotent state. He and
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (; born 7 March 1961), sometimes referred to by his initials NDA, is a French politician serving since 2008 as President of minor party Debout la France. He is its only member of the National Assembly, elected for Essonne' ...
, leader of the nationalistic political party
Debout la France 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" branch of the Rally for the Republic (RPR). It was relaunched ...
, launched Lovers of France (Amoreux de la France) in 2017 to rally “French patriots” to develop a governmental program in-line with nationalist values. Shortly after, Yann Barthès made a comment on his news show ‘’
Quotidien ''Quotidien'' () is a French television show, first broadcast 12 September 2016 on the channel TMC. It is presented by Yann Barthès. History On 9 May 2016, Yann Barthès announced that he was leaving Canal+'s '' Le Petit Journal'', a progra ...
’’ encouraging his audience to register for the Lovers of France with false information. Poisson and Dupont-Aignan accused him of sabotage and filed a complaint with the Superior Audiovisual Council. He calls for the reinstatement of blood law, which grants French citizenship only to children born in France to French parents. He also believes French citizens should be able to decide what kind and how much social assistance foreign nationals receive, and that immigrants should not have access to state medical care. He opposes
family reunification Family reunification is a recognized reason for immigration in many countries because of the presence of one or more family members in a certain country, therefore, enables the rest of the divided family or only specific members of the family to e ...
and wants to overall reduce the number of immigrants coming into France. Since 2015, he has been working with Syrian president
Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
against
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
. He does not support the regime itself but trusts that a partnership will better protect and strengthen both countries, and that Syria is “the key to the Middle East.” He has expressed interest in a treaty with
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and Russia to fight terrorism as well. He voted “no” to the
Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
and still believes the EU should be dissolved and that French borders should be closed; he also wants to renegotiate the terms of the
Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...
. In the event that the EU stays intact, however, he would prefer to see the biggest political responsibilities handled by the richest European countries.


Religion

Poisson is strongly
islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
; while he does not have any issues with Muslims themselves, he does have "a problem
ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...
Islam." He is in favour of suppressing the
French Council of the Muslim Faith The French Council of the Muslim Faith (french: Conseil français du culte musulman, usually abbreviated to CFCM), is a national elected body, to serve as an official interlocutor with the French state in the regulation of Muslim religious activi ...
, but is unbothered by the current laws regarding wearing religious symbols. He wants France to dictate to Muslims what the country expects "in exchange for the guarantee of their rights, their dignity and the decency of the conditions of practice of their faith." Poisson is in favour of withdrawing French memory law, which criminalizes denial or minimization of the Holocaust. In 2016, he was criticized for anti-Semitic comments made about the danger of bending to Hillary Clinton's "Zionist lobbyists." Dismissal from the Republican primaries was briefly discussed and he apologized, saying he did not mean any offense and that he wanted to "reiterate here all the friendships I have for the state of Israel and for the Jewish people as a whole." As a Catholic, Poisson is deeply interested in returning to the "Christian roots" of France through the Constitution. He is also against working on Sundays.


Support of other candidates

In 2016/2017, Poisson supported
François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
in the French elections and
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in the American elections; he endorsed Trump again in 2020 and referred to him as someone who “invites us to take destiny in hand.” He has voiced sympathies for the
National Rally The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a Far-right politics, far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as fa ...
;, would have voted for conservative
Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...
mayor
Robert Ménard Robert Ménard (born 6 July 1953) is a French far-right politician, currently serving as Mayor of Béziers. Formerly a journalist, he was a co-founder of the Paris-based international non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders, act ...
had he been in the voting constituency; and said that, if
Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French 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 ...
made support of the “weakest” a more central part of his platform, then he would withdraw from the presidential race to make way for Zemmour’s victory. In 2022, Poisson stated he was supporting
Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French 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 ...
and would be joining
Reconquête Reconquête (; en, Reconquest), styled as Reconquête! (R!), is a nationalist political party in France founded in late 2021 by Éric Zemmour, who has since served as its leader. He was a far-right candidate in the 2022 presidential election, ...
.


Other stances

Poisson regularly campaigns for a more humane prison system and for the introduction of a 7-year, non-renewable term in the National Assembly. He is also in favour of reestablishing mandatory
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
, which, in lieu of military service, might be “environmental, associative,” or educational. Similarly, he thinks France should give at least 2,5% of its GDP to the defense budget and that they should increase the army size to more than 300,000 men. In terms of medicine, Poisson is opposed to healthcare that rewards those who have a healthy lifestyle and/or penalize those who don't; he calls this idea
Orwellian "Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by pr ...
and thinks it would eventually evolve into the government having full control over life choices.


Personal life

Poisson and his wife, a psychologist, have no children. He started learning Arabic in 2014 so he could read the Quran to better understand the intent behind it. He hunts during his spare time.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poisson, Jean-Frederic 1963 births Living people Christian Democratic Party (France) politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Right-wing politicians in France Politicians of Catholic political parties Members of the National Assembly (France) Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Mayors of places in Île-de-France People from Drôme People from Villeneuve-la-Garenne Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism 21st-century French politicians French nationalists French eurosceptics Paris-Sorbonne University alumni Reconquête politicians