Martine Billard (born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French politician and a deputy to the National Assembly of France. She is a member of the Parti de Gauche. Martine Billard entered politics in

May 1968 The following events occurred in May 1968: May 1, 1968 (Wednesday) * CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, was formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. * RAF Strike ...

with the "comité d'action lycéen". She studied economics at Panthéon-Assas University, and campaigned against far-right movements, which were especially active there. In the 1970s, she joined the feminist movement, and was active in the pro-choice movement, and against right-wing dictatorships in Latin America. After graduating in economics, she had several small jobs, and campaigned with far-left movements, against nuclear energy and in favour of Palestine against

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

in the 1980s. She joined Les Verts ("the Greens"), the French ecologist party, in 1993. Between 1995 and 2001, she held the position of representative of the twentieth

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

on the City Council of Paris. Between 1996 and 1997, she was spokesperson for Les Verts in Paris. In 1999 and 2000, she was elected to the National Council of ''Les Verts'', and became the national spokesperson of the party, and a member of the executive council of ''Les Verts'' for economic and social matters. In 2001, she was a candidate in the elections for the first ''arrondissement'', and was defeated by a large margin. As a candidate of the ''Gauche unie'' ("United Left"), she was elected on 16 June 2002 for the twelfth term (2002–2007) in the first

circonscription An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

of Paris, defeating Jean-François Legaret, mayor of the first ''arrondissement'' (and candidate of the UMP). Her victory came as a surprise, since she was elected in one of the wealthiest constituencies of Paris, usually a stronghold of the Right. As a matter of fact, she was defeated by a large margin in the first and fourth ''arrondissements'', which have a conservative or liberal majority, but compensated with the left-leaning middle classes of the second and third arrondissements (the so-called " bourgeois bohemians"). In April 2005, she condemned, as "twin brothers" within ''Les Verts'', the "small group of hysterics of the Arab cause" and the "Hysterics of the

Jewish Defence League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a Jewish far-right religious-political organization in the United States and Canada, whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary". It has been classified as "a right w ...

". During the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on the

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an un ratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...

, she advocated opposing the Treaty, against the position of her party. Her constituency eventually voted massively in favour of the Treaty. In 2005 and 2006, she worked on the

DADVSI Loi DADVSI (generally pronounced as ''dadsi'') is the abbreviation of the French ''Loi relative au droit d’auteur et aux droits voisins dans la société de l’information'' (in English: "law on authors' rights and related rights in the infor ...

law project, trying to influence it toward more friendliness for Internet users. On 8 July 2009, she left

the Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' *Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina *Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *Gree ...

, and in December 2009, she joined the Left Party. Martine Billard dsc07879

Offices held

* 19 June 1995 – 18 March 2001: Member of the City Council of Paris

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billard, Martine 1952 births Living people People from Boulogne-Billancourt The Greens (France) politicians Left Party (France) politicians La France Insoumise politicians French abortion-rights activists French feminists Women members of the National Assembly (France) Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni 21st-century French women politicians 20th-century French women politicians Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French socialist feminists Members of Parliament for Paris