Liberal Alternative
| Liberal Alternative Alternative Libérale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Sabine Herold |
| Founded | March 1, 2006 |
| Headquarters |
94, boulevard Flandrin 75116 Paris |
| Ideology | Classical liberalism |
| Colours | Purple |
| Seats in the National Assembly |
 |
| Seats in the Senate |
 |
| Seats in the European Parliament |
 |
| Website | |
| www.alternative-liberale.fr | |
|
Politics of France | |
The Liberal Alternative (French: Alternative Libérale or AL) is a French political party created on March 1, 2006. It advocates classical liberalism against socialism or conservatism. Therefore their political colour is purple, between the red of the left-wing and the blue of the right-wing.
It advocates stronger powers given to the Parliament and a separation from the Prime Minister; favouring a presidential/congressional system as opposed to a strict parliamentary system. It emphasizes a more political, rather than economic, role in the European Union (EU) to promote civil liberties and liberalism as the basis of the EU Constitution. In general, the party seems rather libertarian, as evidenced by the following excerpt from a commentary in the Wall Street Journal:
We aim only to create a free society. Our project is to transform our state so that it serves French citizens, not vice versa. We believe in freedom of choice in any area of human life, whether it's the economy, social issues or values. In all respects, we want to give the French their freedom back: freedom to choose the school where they want their children to be taught, freedom to negotiate their working conditions, freedom to choose their health insurance, freedom of speech on any issue.
Some members of Liberté chérie, a classical liberal association, took part in the creation of the Liberal Alternative, including Édouard Fillias, founder of Liberté Chérie, Aurélien Veron, former president and Sabine Herold, cofounder.
Popular support and electoral record
In the 2007 presidential election, Édouard Fillias, the founder and leader of AL, failed to obtain the necessary endorsements from at least 500 French elected officials. Liberal Alternative, with no candidate of its own, endorsed the centrist Union for French Democracy (UDF) candidate François Bayrou.
Liberal Alternative also fielded nearly 50 candidates for the 2007 legislative elections, it obtained between 0.09% and 1.49%.
European Parliament
| Election year | Number of votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 16,944 | 0.10% | 0 |
Despite a recent split, AL ran five lists in the 2009 European Parliament election: in the Île-de-France, West, East, South East and South-West constituencies. Overall, the party won 0.10% in Île-de-France, 0.26% in the East, 0.13% in the South-West, 0.02% in the South-East, and 0.18% in the West.
External links
- Liberal Alternative website (English pages)
- Commentary in the Wall Street Journal
- An Interview with Sabine Herold on Politics, France, and Freedom
