League of the South (France)

The League of the South (French: Ligue du Sud; LS) is a far-right[1][2][3] political party in France founded by Jacques Bompard with former members of the National Front in 2010. The party is established in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, particularly in the department of Vaucluse. Orange, the department's second most populated commune, as well as Piolenc, both have League of the South mayors. The party currently has one representative in the National Assembly: Marie-France Lorho, who sits for the 4th constituency of Vaucluse.

League of the South
Ligue du Sud
PresidentJacques Bompard
Founded23 June 2010
Split fromNational Front
Headquarters574 Clos Cavalier, 84100 Orange, Vaucluse
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
National Assembly
1 / 577
Senate
0 / 348
European Parliament
0 / 74
Presidencies of regional councils
0 / 17
Regional councillors
0 / 1,758
Presidencies of departmental councils
0 / 101
Departmental councillors
2 / 4,108
Website
liguedusud.fr

History

After internal tensions with the leadership of the Front National (FN), a group of politicians from Provence, including Marie-France Stirbois, Jacques Bompard, and Patrick Louis, broke away from the FN in 2005 to join the Movement for France (MPF). Stirbois died in April 2006 from cancer. Bompard's association L'Esprit Public, which had been involved with the organisation of conferences since 2003, hosted in August 2008 a party conference featuring speakers from various far-right groups the likes of Bernard Antony (AGRIF), Nicolas Bay (MNR), Jacques Cordonnier (Alsace d'Abord), Philippe Vardon (Nissa Rebela), Laurent Gouteron (Bloc Identitaire), or Jeanne Smits (Présent).[1]

On 29 January 2010, the League of the South (LS) was officially declared to the Journal Officiel; the LS list (Front Régional-Nissa Rebela-PDF-MNR) won 2.69% of the vote in the 2010 regional election. The following 23 June, a party executive was appointed.[1]

In the 2012 legislative election, party president Jacques Bompard was elected Member of Parliament. In the 2014 municipal election, Bompard was reelected Mayor of Orange; his wife Marie-Claude Bompard was reelected in Bollène; Louis Driey was reelected in Piolenc. Camaret-sur-Aigues elected LS candidate Philippe de Beauregard.[1]

Ideology

Leader and former member of the National Assembly Jacques Bompard, who has stated his belief in the Great Replacement theory, has called resisting against its application a priority.[4][5] Bompard is also politically close to the national party Reconquête, led by 2022 presidential candidate and former journalist Éric Zemmour.[6] On February 14, 2023, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) released a report in which it classified the League of the South as an "anti-muslim," "anti-immigrant," and "anti-LGBTQ+" group.[7]

References
  1. De Boissieu, Laurent (12 September 2019). "Ligue du Sud (LDS)". France Politique.
  2. Equy, Laure (5 December 2014). "Pourquoi Bompard est-il rattaché au parti de Dupont-Aignan à l'Assemblée?". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  3. Siraud, Mathilde (23 March 2015). "Duel acharné entre la Ligue du Sud et le FN dans le Vaucluse". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  4. BFMTV. "Jacques Bompard propose une loi sur le " grand remplacement "". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  5. "Bompard menacé de sanctions pour avoir évoqué le "grand remplacement" à l'Assemblée". FIGARO. 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  6. "Le nouveau maire d'Orange, Yann Bompard, apporte son soutien à Éric Zemmour". ici, par France Bleu et France 3 (in French). 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  7. "GPAHE report: Far-Right Hate and Extremist Groups in Australia". Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
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