Jeanne Committees
Comités Jeanne
LeaderJean-Marie Le Pen
General SecretaryLorrain de Saint Affrique
FounderJean-Marie Le Pen
Founded22 March 2016 (2016-03-22)
Split fromNational Front
Headquarters8, parc de Montretout
92210 Saint-Cloud
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
International affiliationAlliance for Peace and Freedom (Associate)
Colours    Blue, white, red
SloganJeanne, au secours! ("To the rescue, Joan!")
European deputies
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Website
comitejeanne54.wordpress.com
Comités Jeanne was founded and is led by Jean-Marie Le Pen

The Jeanne Committees (French: Comités Jeanne) is a far-right political party founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen after his exclusion from the National Front in France in 2015.

Creation

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder and leader of the National Front (FN) party in France, was initially suspended from the party in May 2015 after claiming that the Holocaust was "a detail of history". After Le Pen successfully challenged the suspension in court, an extraordinary party congress was held in August 2015, and he was expelled from the party.[2]

After considering the creation of a "blue-white-red gathering" in order to "act in the same direction as the national Front" without necessarily belonging to it, he announced, in March 2016, the creation of the Comités Jeanne, named after Joan of Arc,[3] whose slogan is "Jeanne, au secours!" ("Joan, help!" in English), to weigh on the political line of the FN,[4] and planned to present candidates under this label in the legislative elections of 2017, including against FN candidates.[5]

He called on supporters to vote for the FN in the regional elections of 2015 and indicated that the fund-raising organization "Cotelec" had lent six million euros to the FN for the presidential campaign of 2017.[6]

On 17 November 2016, a court of justice in France validated the exclusion of Jean-Marie Le Pen from the National Front without questioning his status as honorary president, thus retaining his right to be summoned to all the party's meetings.[7]

Ideology

French political commentators have placed Comités Jeanne on the far-right of the left–right political spectrum.[8] The party espouses nationalist rhetoric that is staunchly anti-globalist, anti-Zionist and anti-immigration. The party is also Eurosceptic, opposing further European integration it seeks to maintain and preserve France's sovereignty. The charter of the party further outlining its ideology and objectives can be read on Jean Marie Le Pen's website.[9] On February 14, 2023, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) released a report in which it classified the Comités Jeanne as a "white nationalist" and "anti-immigrant" group.[10]

Campaigns and organization

The party's president is Jean-Marie Le Pen.[3] Lorrain de Saint Affrique was general secretary since 2016.[11] The cartel involving the Jeanne committees is unable to access public funding, having raised more than 1% of the votes cast in 41 constituencies, or less than the 50 constituencies required.[12][13]

For the French presidential election of 2017, Jean-Marie Le Pen officially said that he supported his daughter Marine Le Pen's presidential bid.[14] For the French legislative election of 2017, the Comités Jeanne made an alliance with the Party of France, Civitas, League of the south, and SIeL.[15] Jean-Marie Le Pen also traveled to recruit legislative candidates under the banner "Jeanne, au secours!"[16][17]

Organization

The founder and current president of the party is Jean-Marie Le Pen. Laurent Ozon was general secretary of the party from 2016-2017.[18] Former Departmental secretary of the National Front, Lorraine of Saint Affrique, has served as the current general secretary since 2017.[19]

International connections

In 2018 party founder and leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, joined the far-right Alliance for Peace and Freedom European political party as "honorary chairman".[20] Subsequently, the Comités Jeanne joined the party as an associate member.

Elected officials

MemberPositionDatesAffiliation
Jean Marie Le Pen MEP (2016–2019) AFP (2018–present)

References

  1. 1 2 3 "France: Comités Jeanne". Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "French National Front expels founder Jean-Marie Le Pen". BBC News. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Jean-Marie Le Pen lance des comités "Jeanne d'Arc, au secours !"". www.europe1.fr. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Jean-Marie Le Pen crée les comités "Jeanne, au secours!" pour peser sur le FN". 21 March 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Jean-Marie Le Pen, ostracisé par sa propre famille politique". Le Monde.fr. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Le Front national fait la manche pour la présidentielle". 3 October 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Samuel, Henry (17 November 2016). "Jean-Marie Le Pen must remain Front National's 'honorary president', French court rules, in blow for daughter Marine". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Comités Jeanne (CJ) — France Politique" (in French). France-politique.fr. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Comités Jeanne : La Charte des Valeurs".
  10. ↑ "GPAHE report: Far-Right Hate and Extremist Groups in Australia". Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "Communiqué de presse des Comités Jeanne". 26 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Jean-Marie Le Pen prêt à forcer la porte pour assister au bureau politique du FN". 14 June 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Quels partis auront accès au financement public 2018-2022?". www.ipolitique.fr. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  14. ↑ ""Moi, je vote Marine", annonce Jean-Marie Le Pen". Lefigaro. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Les bannis du FN font listes communes pour les législatives". Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Jean-Marie Le Pen recrute pour les comités "Jeanne, au secours !"". Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Jeanne, au secours ! – Législatives 2017". www.jeanneausecours.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Jeanne, au secours, Jean-Marie le Pen lance son mouvement".
  19. ↑ "Communiqué de presse des Comités Jeanne". 26 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "France's Jean-Marie Le Pen joins European far-right alliance - The Local". Archived from the original on 7 April 2018.
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