The Alsace-Lorraine Party (german: Elsäss-Lothringen Partei; also known as Elsässer) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in the
German Empire.
History
The party first contested national elections in
1874,
[Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p417 ] winning 15 seats.
[McHale, p434] It went on to win 15 seats in every election until
1890, when it was reduced to 10 seats. As more Alsatians emigrated to France, the party's support declined,
[ and it never won more than 10 seats following the 1890 elections. When Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France after ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the party disappeared.[
]
Ideology
The party represented the autonomist views of the French-speaking population of Alsace-Lorraine. It protested against the German government's policies on Alsace-Lorraine, Catholics and other ethnic minorities, and was frequently allied with the Danish Party
The Danish Party (german: Dänische Partei) was a political party in the German Empire.
History
The party was established in 1871 to represent the 50,000-strong Danish population of North Schleswig, who remained opposed to their separation from ...
, the German-Hanoverian Party
The German-Hanoverian Party (german: Deutsch-Hannoversche Partei, DHP), also known as the Guelph Party (german: Welfenpartei), was a conservative, federalist political party in the German Empire and the Weimar Republic.
History
The party was fou ...
and the Polish Party
The Polish Party (german: Polnische Partei) was a political party in the German Empire and the Free City of Danzig. Representing the Polish population in Germany, it was the largest of the minority parties.
History
The party had its origins in ...
.[
]
References
{{German political parties
Defunct regional parties in Germany
Political parties of minorities in Germany
Politics of Lorraine