The Strong Right (''La Droite forte'') was a

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 ...

faction within the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right List of political parties in France, political party in France that was one of the two major party, major contemporary political pa ...

(UMP) and later The Republicans (LR). It was created as a faction in July 2012 by

Guillaume Peltier Guillaume Peltier (; born 27 August 1976) is a French politician, former teacher and business leader who has represented the 2nd constituency of the Loir-et-Cher department in the National Assembly since 2017. He has also served in the Depart ...

and Geoffroy Didier.

Ideology

The motion's declaration of principles stated that its leaders were "attached to patriotism, merit, hard work, effort .. republican authority, supporting SMEs, fighting fraud and welfare dependency, sovereignty ... As such, the movement is widely identified as a

national conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, f ...

and

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...

faction, very supportive of and seeking to identify with former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Nicolas Sarkozy. Indeed, the movement's name is a direct reference to Sarkozy's slogan in the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January ...

, ''la France forte'' ('Strong France'). In October 2012, Guillaume Peltier created controversy when he proposed to reserve certain positions in

public broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

for right-wing journalists,G.Peltier veut des journalistes de droite
Lefigaro.fr 02/10/2012 abolishing public financing for

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

, and reforming - potentially abolishing - teachers' right to strike.

Weight within the UMP

As a motion for the November 2012 congress, the Strong Right placed first with 27.77% of the motions vote.

Leadership and supporters

The movement's leaders are

, a former member of the National Front's youth wing and

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 ...

Movement for France The Movement for France (french: Mouvement pour la France, MPF; ) was a conservative, soft Eurosceptic and Gaullist French political party, founded on 20 November 1994, with a marked regional stronghold in the Vendée. It was led by Philippe de ...

; and Geoffroy Didier, a regional councillor in

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 ...

. Parliamentarians which co-signed the motion included:Les « parrains de la Droite forte ».
/ref> Bernard Accoyer, Roland Chassain, Édouard Courtial,

Brice Hortefeux Brice Hortefeux (born 11 May 1958) is a conservative French politician. He was Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial collectivities. He was previously Minister for Labour, Labour Relations, the Family, Solidarity and Ur ...

, Alain Marleix, Camille de Rocca Serra and

Michèle Tabarot Michèle Tabarot (born 13 October 1962) is a French politician of the Republicans who currently serves as a member of the National Assembly of France. She represents the Alpes-Maritimes 9th constituency. Early life Tabarot is the daughte ...

. Parliamentarians could co-sign more than one motion. Claude Guéant joined the movement in February 2013.

References

External links

Official website
{{Union for a Popular Movement Political party factions in France Factions and associate parties of the Union for a Popular Movement 2012 establishments in France 2018 disestablishments in France