François Asselineau (, born 14 September 1957) is a French politician and an Inspector General for finances. Asselineau was a member of the

Rally for France The Rally for France ( (RPF); also briefly known in 2003 as Rally for France and European Independence or ) was a right-wing political party in France. It was founded in 1999 by Gaullist former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, then allied with ...

(RPF) and UMP before creating his own

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

the Popular Republican Union (Union Populaire Républicaine or UPR). His movement promotes France's unilateral withdrawal from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, the

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. Asselineau has been described as a souverainist, but does not self-identify as such. Although he identifies as being on neither side of the

left–right political spectrum The left–right political spectrum is a system of classifying political positions, ideologies and political parties, parties, with emphasis placed upon issues of social equality and social hierarchy. In addition to positions on the left and on ...

, he has been described as

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

.France’s 'Frexit' presidential candidate
'' La Croix'', 10 March 2017. Asselineau has had a troubled relationship with the media, which he has repeatedly accused of "

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

". In his critique he includes

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

, which had once considered him insufficiently noteworthy to justify a page in the encyclopedia. The

activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

of his supporters to try and increase media coverage of Asselineau and the UPR has been noted by some observers., at 2 mn 10" (accessed on October 4th, 2014). He ran in the

2017 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 23 April and 7 May 2017. Incumbent president François Hollande of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS) was eligible to run for a second term, but declared on 1 December 2016 that he wo ...

, presenting himself as the " Frexit candidate". He was eventually eliminated in the first round, earning 0.92% of the votes. For the 2022 presidential election he failed to secure 500 sponsorships from elected officials in order to run.

Education

Asselineau enrolled in

HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

where he graduated in 1980 with the MSc in Management. He enrolled at the

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

(promotion "Léonard de Vinci", 1985).

Career

Asselineau started his career in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the department of economic expansion for National Service Overseas (CSNE). Served in 1985 as inspector General in the '' inspection générale des Finances''. From 1989 to 1990, he was chief of mission for the National Credit. He was also president of the direction of the ''Society for Economical and Financial Analysis and Diagnostic'' (SADEF). In 1991, he became chief of mission of the Asia-Oceania office at the ''Direction of Foreign Economical Relation'' (DREE) in the Ministry of Economy and Finance under the

Pierre Bérégovoy Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy (; 23 December 1925 – 1 May 1993) was a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under President François Mitterrand from 2 April 1992 to 29 March 1993. He was a member of the Socialist Party and ...

government. From 1994 to 1995, he served as counsellor for

international affairs International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

in the Ministry of Industry under the Edouard Balladur government. In June 1995, he was named director of the office of the Ministry of Tourism. In 1996, he moved to the

ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, where he was in charge of economic matters for Asia, Oceania and Latin America until the

dissolution of parliament The dissolution of a legislative assembly (or parliament) is the simultaneous termination of service of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy ...

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

in 1997.

Political career

In 1999, François Asselineau got involved in politics by becoming a member of the

(RPF), a party created by

Charles Pasqua Charles Victor Pasqua (18 April 192729 June 2015) was a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was Interior Minister from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac's ''cohabitation'' government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government ...

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.spokesman of the party until autumn 2005. On July 27, 2000, he became vice-director of the general council of the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

. He was in charge of economic and international affairs. On May 23, 2001,

nominated François Asselineau as the director of his office of the presidency of the general council of

where he worked until March 30, 2004, when

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. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

took over the position of

. On October 20, 2004,

appointed Asselineau as the director of the general delegation for economic intelligence within the Minister of Economy and Finance. In November 2006, Asselineau joined the steering committee of ''Rally for an Independent and Sovereign France'' (RIF), a party created by

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 a member of Via since 2018 Early life Paul-Marie Coûtea ...

Municipal councillor

On March 19, 2001, he was elected as a member of the

council of Paris The Council of Paris ( French: ''Conseil de Paris'', ) is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental co ...

in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. His list, a right-wing dissident list made with an agreement between

Jean Tiberi Jean Tiberi (; 30 January 1935 – 27 May 2025) was a French politician who served as mayor of Paris from 1995 to 2001.

and

, was third with 15,78% in a triangular against a

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

(RPR) list and unified left list composed with

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS). His campaign was marked by a radical rhetoric on security, with posters denouncing "six years of socialist laxity", supposed

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

, alleged

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and an asserted lack of police forces. On December 31, 2004, Asselineau decided to join the group

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

(UMP) at the

Council of Paris The Council of Paris ( French: ''Conseil de Paris'', ) is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental co ...

. On November 3, 2006, he decided to quit the group and seat with the ''non-inscrits'' just after Françoise de Panafieu, for whom he worked, was elected president of the

for the

(UMP). In September 2007, Asselineau participated in a dissident political group named ''Paris Libre'' with several other ex-UMP members. The group ran several lists against the

(UMP), and Asselineau ran a list in the 17e arrondissement de Paris against Françoise de Panafieu. However, he then backtracked, denouncing consequent pressure on the members of his list.

Creation of the UPR

On March 25, 2007, for the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty signature, he created the Popular Republican Union (UPR).

Election results

In January 2011, François Asselineau announced his intention to run for the

2012 French presidential election Presidential elections in France, Presidential elections were held in France on 22 April 2012 (or 21 April in some overseas departments and territories), with a second round Two-round system, run-off held on 6 May (or 5 May for those same territ ...

, and confirmed this intention in December 2011. However, he was only able to garner 17 of the required 500 endorsements from elected politicians necessary to be on the ballot. As a result, Asselineau called for a boycott of the presidential election. Following the

Cahuzac affair On 19 March 2013 Jérôme Cahuzac resigned as a minister in charge of fighting against tax fraud due to Tax-fraud, tax fraud allegations. He later admitted that he had held a secret foreign bank account for about 20 years. As a consequence, he wa ...

and the resignation of Jérôme Cahuzac, for whom Asselineau had worked as a civil servant in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

, Asselineau ran for the legislative by-election in Lot-et-Garonne's 3rd constituency, with Régis Chamagne. They failed to reach the second round with a score of 189 votes (0.58%). Asselineau ran for the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...

as the head of the list for the Île-de-France constituency. He hoped that the UPR's agenda could rally voters disappointed by the current political system. Asselineau complained to the CSA for not having had access to mainstream media; he also claimed that the principle of equity for all candidates was actually undermined by the media, that tended to give voice to parties that were already well-known.Yann Thompson
Européennes: la galère des petits candidats

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...

, 21 May 2014 He scored 0.56% of votes cast in his constituency.

Political views

François Asselineau's ' souverainiste' platform has two main targets, the

and the United States. He insists that France should leave the

, the European Union, and

.François Asselineau fact sheet
on the website of the French version of the magazine

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

, retrieved on 12 March 2012 According to Asselineau, the EU and NATO "as seen from Washington...are the political and military side of the same coin, that of the enthrallment of the European continent to their 'buffer zone' so as to surround and contain the Russian continental power". He says the process leading to European unification was launched solely upon orders from the American government. Asselineau denies he is a "

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 refor ...

", preferring to call himself a "euro-atheist".Qui est François Asselineau ?
, ''Valeurs actuelles'', September 22d, 2014 He said on the French TV program ''

On n'est pas couché ''On n'est pas couché'' was a French talk show broadcast on France 2 on Saturdays at 11 p.m. and hosted by Laurent Ruquier. It was produced by Ruquier and Catherine Barma. It first aired on 16 September 2006; after fourteen seasons, it ended on ...

'' that he opposes military intervention in Syria and Iraq. Asselineau claims the 1944 Conseil national de la Résistance as the source of inspiration for his presidential program in 2012, including " re-nationalisations" and "quality public services".Ève Moulinier, ''

Le Dauphiné libéré ''Le Dauphiné libéré'' is a provincial daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on local news and events. The paper is published in Grenoble, France. History and profile Founded in 1945, it takes the name from the former province of D ...

'', 12 February 2012, page 4 Asselineau does not say what should be done about "the major national issues such as

nuclear power in France Since the mid-1980s, the largest source of Electricity sector in France, electricity in France has been nuclear power, with a generation of 379.5 terawatt-hour, TWh in 2019 and a total electricity production of . In 2018, the nuclear share was ...

, the French debt crisis or the decisions to be made about

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

should be addressed through

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

s", "once France has left the European Union". Asselineau opposes French COVID-19 immunity passports. In July 2021, Asselineau tested positive for the disease and advocated the use of Ivermectin as treatment.

Controversies

Accusations of sexual harassment

In May 2020, Asselineau's former driver and press secretary filed a complaint against him for sexual harassment and sexual assault. Another complaint is filed by another former collaborator against Asselineau for psychological and sexual harassment. Since 5 February 2021, Asselineau has been under investigation and placed under judicial supervision for the alleged sexual assault, sexual and moral harassment of two of his former collaborators. He has denied all the allegations made against him.

Electoral performance

References

External links

Blog of François Asselineau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asselineau, Francois 1957 births Living people Politicians from Paris Politicians of the French Fifth Republic École nationale d'administration alumni HEC Paris alumni Euroscepticism in France Rally for France politicians Popular Republican Union (2007) politicians French conspiracy theorists Candidates in the 2017 French presidential election