Libertas France is the name given to the activities of

Declan Ganley Declan James Ganley (born 23 July 1968) is an English-born Irish entrepreneur, businessman, and political activist. He was the founder and leader of the Irish branch of the Libertas Party. Primarily a telecommunications entrepreneur, Ganley has ...

Libertas Party Libertas was a pan-European political party founded by Declan Ganley that took part in the 2009 European Parliament election in several member states of the European Union. It won one seat in France. History Creation In 2008, the Libertas Ins ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Unlike Libertas in other countries, Libertas France was not a political party in its own right. Instead, candidates from '' Mouvement pour la France'' (MPF) and '' Chasse, Pêche, Nature et Traditions'' (CPNT) contended the 2009 European Parliament elections in France under common lists branded with the Libertas identity. The candidates retained their membership of their national parties and the national parties retained their legal identity.

Formation

On 12 February 2009, ''European Voice'' (now part of ''

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...

'') reported that Mouvement pour la France, the party of

Philippe de Villiers Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist.Main Website Retrieved 4 March 2009. He is the founder of the Puy du Fou them ...

and Paul-Marie Couteaux, would rename itself to ''Libertas'' for the 2009 elections."Battle for right-wing power base"
European Voice, 12 February 2009 Later, the position was clarified: candidates would retain their national party membership but would run for election under Libertas lists, in a manner analogous to existing Europarties. Ganley held a press conference on 11 March 2009 "Européennes : Frédéric Nihous et Philippe de Villiers feront campagne commune"
La Tribune, March 4, 2009, English translatio

/ref> in which members of MPF and CPNT announced their intentions to stand under Libertas lists in French constituencies in the 2009 European Parliament elections.

Jérôme Rivière Jérôme Rivière (born 8 July 1964) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. A member of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) until 2007, he was a member of the Nat ...

was named as the campaign director of Libertas France."Ganley, Villiers et Nihous s’en vont «chasser le Barroso» «en meute»"EurActiv.fr
12 March 2009, English translatio
here
/ref> During the press conference, Villiers (MPF) and

Frédéric Nihous Frédéric Nihous (born 15 August 1967) is a French politician from the Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Traditions (CPNT) party. He was a candidate for the 2007 French presidential election, but was eliminated in the first round of balloting. He wa ...

(CPNT) laid out the issues on which they would campaign: anti-

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

, pro- Fortress Europe, (''périmètre de l’Europe'') and anti- Turkish accession to the EU. The affiliation of MPF to Libertas was not unanimously supported: 32 federation presidents signed a motion of no confidence against Philippe de Villiers.

Paul-Marie Coûteaux Paul-Marie Coûteaux (born 31 July 1956, in Paris) is a French politician and author. He served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009 for the Movement for France, and since 2022 has been a member of Reconquête. Early life ...

, the ''existing'' MPF MEP for

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 ...

who had been dropped as head of the list in favor of Jérôme Rivière, also voiced his disapproval.

Staff

Issues

On 12 March 2009, Philippe de Villiers and Frédéric Nihous gave a joint statement. They objected to a France-supported draft January 27 European Union regulation on oenological practices that allowed the blending of white wine and red wine to produce rosé wine."Rosés coupés : 'inadmissible' (Villiers)"
Le Figaro, 12 March 2009

Candidates

Results

References

External links

Libertas France candidates for the 2009 European Parliament electionsLibertas France (official site)
{{Libertas topics Political parties established in 2009 Libertas.eu Euroscepticism in France 2009 establishments in France