 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in French. (April 2023)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Florian Philippot | |
|---|---|
 Philippot in 2023 | |
| President ofThe Patriots | |
| Assumed office 29 September 2017 | |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019 | |
| Constituency | East France |
| Vice President of theFront National | |
| In office 12 July 2012 – 21 September 2017 | |
| Leader | Marine Le Pen Jean-François Jalkh (Interim) Steeve Briois (Interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Florian Louie Philippot (1981-10-24)24 October 1981 (age 44) |
| Political party | Les Patriotes |
| Other political affiliations | Front National (until 2017) |
| Alma mater | |
Florian Philippot (French pronunciation:[flɔʁjɑ̃filipo]; born 24 October 1981) is a French politician. He served as Vice President of theNational Front from 2012 to 2017 before quitting the party to foundThe Patriots in September 2017, which has failed to win any representation in subsequent elections.
Born on 24 October 1981 atCroix, Nord, he grew up inBondues, a residential suburb in theUrban Community of Lille Métropole.[1]He is a graduate ofHEC Paris andENA.[2]
His father was the head teacher of a state primary school and his mother a primary-school teacher.[1] His brother, Damien Philippot, a graduate ofSciences Po andESCP Europe (École supérieure de commerce de Paris), was a manager of political studies in the French polling organization (IFOP).
In October 2011, he was appointed strategic director ofMarine Le Pen'spresidential campaign.[3][1] In July 2012, he was appointed vice president in charge of strategy and communication of the FN.[4]
In2012, he was parliamentary candidate inMoselle's 6th constituency. Despite the presence of a dissident candidate of the FN (4.09% for Eric Vilain) in the first round, he came second with 26.34% and defeated the incumbentUMPMPPierre Lang (25.02%).[5] Mayor ofForbach since 2008, Laurent Kalinowski defeated Florian Philippot in the run-off (53.70% against 46.30%).[6]
On 9 November 2012, he went toColombey-les-Deux-Églises to pay homage toCharles de Gaulle, putting flowers on his grave "in a private capacity" and stating hisGaullist convictions. This act irritated some members of the FN, due toJean-Marie Le Pen's animosity toward the former president. His convictions and ideas were described as incompatible with de Gaulle's legacy by the UMP party, although some commentators do not consider the UMP a Gaullist party any more.
After refusing to quit the think tankThe Patriots (Les Patriotes) he founded in the wake of the FN's performance in the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, and differences in his stance over the euro with others in the party, he announced his departure from the FN on 21 September 2017.[7] In the2019 European Parliament election in France, his party obtained 0.6% of the votes, and Philippot lost his place in the European Parliament to fellow RN politicianJordan Bardella.
He attempted to run for the2022 French presidential election, but failed after getting only 1 sponsorship out of the 500 valid sponsorships necessary to be on the ballot.[8]
In December 2014, the French celebrity magazineCloser indicated that Philippot was gay, providing photographs of him and his boyfriend inVienna.[9] Philippot called the article an invasion of his privacy and said he would file a complaint againstCloser. He further said the FN was neither "gay friendly" nor the opposite and that it was not difficult to be gay in the party.[10]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
