32-577: Jean-Pierre Chevènement ( French: [ʒɑ̃ pjɛʁ ʃəvɛnmɑ̃] ; born 9 March 1939) is a French politician who served as a minister in the 1980s and 1990s best known for his candidacy in the 2002 French presidential election . After serving as mayor of Belfort , he was elected to the Senate for the Territoire de Belfort in 2008. As a cofounder of the Socialist Party (PS) and founder of
64-739: A 2000 referendum , emphasising a strong economy (mostly unaffected by downturns in Germany and the United States). It was widely expected that Chirac and Lionel Jospin , the outgoing cohabitation Prime Minister and nominee of the Socialist Party , would be the most popular candidates in the first round, thus going on to face each other in the runoff, with opinion polls showing a hypothetical Chirac versus Jospin second round too close to call. However, Jospin unexpectedly finished in third place behind Le Pen. Journalists and politicians claimed polls had failed to predict Le Pen's second-place finish in
96-481: A possible disappearance of nations and the creation of a non-democratic construction led by non-elected technocrats. He calls for a transformation of the single currency ( Euro ) into a common currency, allowing countries to adapt and control their economies, but also allowing EU to have a single voice in the world. Indeed, he has criticized the bad influence of a strong currency on other countries of Europe such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. In office he defended
128-601: A runoff election between the top two candidates, incumbent Jacques Chirac of the Rally for the Republic and Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front , on 5 May. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of far-right candidate Le Pen's unexpected appearance in the runoff election. Chirac ran for a second term, reduced to five years instead of seven previously by
160-435: A second term until Emmanuel Macron in 2022 . The 2002 election was the first for which the president would be elected to a five-year, instead of a seven-year, term. In the months before the election, the campaign had increasingly focused on questions of law and order, with a particular focus on crimes committed by young people, especially those of foreign origin. Lionel Jospin was, at the time, Prime Minister of France ;
192-419: Is blamed for causing confusion profitable to the far-right and far-left. Jean-Pierre Raffarin , a relatively low-profile politician who said he would listen to "France at the bottom", was chosen as the party's candidate for Prime Minister. Without a real leader, and staggered by the results of 21 April, the left was in difficulty. The Socialist chairman François Hollande tried to revive the "Plural Left" under
224-691: Is prohibited to advertise one's vote inside the voting precinct. In the days before the second ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan "Vote for the Crook, not the Fascist". Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide. 69||10,282 2002 French legislative election Jean-Pierre Raffarin UMP Jean-Pierre Raffarin UMP Legislative elections were held in France on 9 and 16 June 2002, to elect
256-493: The 2007 legislative election . He announced that he would not stand as a candidate for another term as Mayor of Belfort. In 2004 he established the Foundation "Res Publica", which aims to promote the 'republican model' ( le modèle républicain ) and to define a long-term political vision. Chevènement states, however, that Res Publica is not a political party. In the Senate election held on 21 September 2008 , Chevènement
288-619: The Agglomeration community of Belfort: 1977–2008. Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001. Member of the Agglomeration community of Belfort: 1977–2008. Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001. Political functions President of the Citizen and Republican Movement : Since 2008. 2002 French presidential election Jacques Chirac RPR Jacques Chirac RPR Presidential elections were held in France on 21 April 2002, with
320-616: The Citizen and Republican Movement (MRC), he is a significant figure of the French left . The Chevènement family is of Swiss origin, with their original name, Schwennemann, having been gallicized to Chevènement in the 18th century. He was born in Belfort near the Swiss border, speaks German, and studied in Vienna . Chevènement's idiosyncratic left-wing nationalism has led to comparison with
352-803: The Gulf War . After this he opposed the Maastricht Treaty , an issue on which Mitterrand and the PS led the "yes" campaign. In 1993 he left the PS and founded a new political party: the Citizens' Movement ( Mouvement des citoyens or MDC). Chevènement and the MDC participated in the formation of the Plural Left coalition. When it won the 1997 legislative election he became Minister of the Interior in
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#1732766304147384-664: The Republican Pole , for more left-wing nationalists . He won 5% of the vote. Many Socialists blamed Chevènement for the elimination of Lionel Jospin in the first round of the presidential race. Consequently, at the June 2002 legislative election , the PS invested a candidate against him in the Belfort constituency. In this, he was defeated by the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate and lost his parliamentary seat. Finally,
416-529: The Union for the Presidential Majority ( Union pour la majorité présidentielle or UMP) to prepare for the legislative elections. The first round of the presidential election was a shock for the two main coalitions. The candidates of the parliamentary right obtained 32% of votes, and the candidates of the "Plural Left" only 27%. In the first polls, for the legislative elections, they were equal. The UMP campaigned against " cohabitation ", which
448-920: The "French status" in NATO : i.e. outside the integrated military command. He opposed rejoining it in 2009. He defends a strict separation of church and state in addition to his vision of a harmonious nation-state, being against communitarianism and for cultural assimilation . Governmental functions Electoral mandates National Assembly of France Member of the National Assembly of France for Territoire de Belfort (1st then 2nd constituency from 1988 to 2002): 1973–1981 (Became minister in 1981) / 1986–1988 (Became minister in 1988) / 1991–1997 (Became minister in 1997) / 2000–2002. Elected in 1973, reelected in 1978, 1981, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000. Senate of France Senator of Territoire de Belfort : Since 2008. Regional Council President of
480-548: The 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic , in a context of political crisis. The Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announced his political retirement after his elimination at the first round of the 2002 presidential elections . President Jacques Chirac was easily reelected, all the Republican parties having called to block far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen . Chirac's conservative supporters created
512-513: The Jospin government was criticised for its "softness" on crime by its political opponents. Reporting on the TF1 and France2 television channel and other media also emphasized the alleged crime wave. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The first round of the election (on 21 April), which saw an exceptional number of 16 candidates, came as a shock to many commentators, almost all of whom had expected
544-654: The Presidential Majority. The right won the elections and the UMP obtained a large parliamentary majority of 394 seats. For the third time under the Fifth Republic, a party acquired an absolute majority (the "blue surge"). Five months later, it became the Union for a Popular Movement . On the left, the Socialist Party achieved a better result than at the winning 1997 elections, but its allies were crushed. The far-left returned towards its usual level. In far-right,
576-545: The Regional Council of Franche-Comté : 1981–1982. Regional councillor of Franche-Comté : 1974–1988 (Resignation). Elected in 1986. Municipal Council Mayor of Belfort : 1983–1997 (Resignation) / 2001–2007 (Resignation). Reelected in 1989, 1995, 2001. 1st deputy-mayor of Belfort : 1977–1983 / 1997–2001. Reelected in 1997. Municipal councillor of Belfort : 1977–2008. Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001. Agglomeration community Council President of
608-506: The Republican Pole split and Chevènement created the Citizen and Republican Movement ( Mouvement républicain et citoyen or MRC), which described itself as a left-wing party. He reconciled with the PS when, after raising the possibility of a new presidential candidacy, he renounced this to support Ségolène Royal 's candidacy in the 2007 presidential election . In spite of the PS support, he failed to retake his parliamentary seat at
640-578: The Socialists, who were traditionally billed as the archrivals to Chirac's party. Chirac thus went on to win in the largest landslide in a presidential election in French history (greater even than that of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in 1848 , the first by direct ballot), winning over 82% of the vote. The National Front would not appear again in the second round of the presidential election until 2017 . After Chirac's victory, no French president would win
672-532: The first of three times in his career. He disagreed with the change in economic policy made by President Mitterrand in order to stay in the European Monetary System . He has said that "a minister has to keep his mouth shut; if he wants to open it, he resigns". However, he returned to the cabinet as Minister of National Education from 1984 to 1986. Appointed Minister of Defence in 1988, he served until 1991, when he resigned due to his opposition to
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#1732766304147704-565: The general election, though his strong stance could be seen in the week prior to the election. This led to serious discussions about polling techniques and the climate of French politics. Although Le Pen's political party, the National Front, described itself as mainstream conservative, non-partisan observers largely agreed in defining it as a far-right and nationalist party. As a protest, almost all French political parties called for their supporters to vote against Le Pen, most notably
736-402: The government of Lionel Jospin . On 2 September 1998, Chevènement underwent surgery on his gall bladder . He then had a severe allergic reaction to the anesthetic , causing him to lapse into a coma for 8 days. He began to recover, leaving the hospital on 22 October, but he could not work in his ministry for another four months. As a result of this episode he gained the nickname "the miracle of
768-701: The late British politician Peter Shore . He describes his Eurosceptic and Gaullist position as " republican ". He was Mayor of Belfort from 1983 to 2008 and was a Deputy in the National Assembly from 1973 to 2002. He joined the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and founded the Center for Socialist Studies, Research and Education ( Centre d'études, de recherche et d'éducation socialistes or CERES). The organization constituted
800-625: The left wing of the party, and promoted an alliance with the French Communist Party . In 1969 the SFIO was superseded by the Socialist Party ( Parti socialiste or PS). Two years later, CERES supported the takeover of the party by François Mitterrand . It played a major role in drawing up the Socialist plan for victory in the 1981 elections. Chevènement was Minister of Research and Industry from 1981 to 1983, when he resigned, for
832-405: The name of "United Left"; but the effort was undermined by the fact that it did not have a sufficiently concrete programme. Furthermore, the left-wing parties could not motivate their voters against an unrecognized and apparently uncontroversial politician like Raffarin. In addition part of the left-wing electorate did not want a new "cohabitation". Finally, the polls indicated a growing advantage for
864-514: The night from 21 to 22 April, then on 22 April and 23, then as follows: The choice between Chirac, who was under suspicion for actions carried out whilst he was mayor of Paris but benefited from presidential immunity as long as he stayed president, and Le Pen, a nationalist often accused of racism and antisemitism , was one that many found tough. Some people suggested going to vote with a clothes peg on their noses to express disgust when voting for Chirac, but this may have been illegal, because it
896-415: The preceding leaders of the left had done for such an election. There was a widespread stirring of national public opinion, and more than one million people in France took part in street rallies, in an expression of fierce opposition to Le Pen's ideas. Some held up protest signs stating "I'm ashamed to be French," which parodied Le Pen's party slogan, "Proud to be French." Spontaneous street protests began in
928-408: The republic". For the third time, Chevènement resigned from the government in 2000 because of his opposition to giving increased autonomy to Corsica and in order to prepare his candidacy to the 2002 presidential elections. He was a candidate at the 2002 presidential election . He put himself forward as the leader of the "republicans" against what he called the " Chirac / Jospin duo". He created
960-520: The second ballot to be between Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin . Indeed, it was this very expectation that led to Jospin's downfall, with a plethora of "small party" left candidates (independent socialists and republicans, Green, Communist, Trotskyist, radical etc.) all intending to support him in the second round, but to raise their profile in the first, like Jean-Pierre Chevènement and Christiane Taubira . They cumulatively took enough votes away from Jospin to (unintentionally) prevent him from reaching
992-438: The second round, which he could have won. Instead Jean-Marie Le Pen faced Chirac in the second ballot. The election brought the opinion polls and two-round voting system into question as well as raising many concerns about apathy and the way in which the left had become so divided as a result of the over democratical refusal of Jospin to strategically ask the nearest small parties of his own government coalition to withdraw, like
Jean-Pierre Chevènement - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-500: Was elected as a Senator from the Territory of Belfort, defeating his opponent, Socialist candidate Yves Ackerman. In June 2014, he announced that he will not stand at the 2014 Senate election . He tried to be candidate for the presidential election of 2012 . Jean-Pierre Chevènement is a souverainist and patriotic left-wing politician, a kind of left-wing gaullist . In consequence, he is opposed to European federalism because of
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