Aymeric Chauprade
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aymeric Chauprade (born 13 January 1969) is a French writer, political scientist and politician. He left the National Front on 9 November 2015, mostly for "moral and political" principles, to found Les Français Libres. A student and disciple of François Thual, he is an advocate of
realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' ( ; ) is the approach of conducting diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly following ideological, moral, or ethical premises. In this respect, ...
. He was elected to the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
from the National Front for the
ÃŽle-de-France The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
constituency in the
2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...
.


Biography


Career

Graduating from the
Paris Institute of Political Studies Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
in 1993, Chauprade received a Master of International Law degree in 1996 and a doctorate in political science in 2001 from
Paris Descartes University Paris Descartes University (), also known as Paris V, was a French public university located in Paris. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 1970. Paris Descartes completely merg ...
. Trained in mathematics, he is a lecturer in geopolitics at the Royal College of Higher Military Education of the Kingdom of Morocco, director of the ''Revue française de géopolitique'' (''French Review of Geopolitics'') and editor of several collections published by Ellipses in Paris (''Grands enjeux'', ''Taupe-Niveau'' and ''Référence géopolitique''). From 2003 to 2009, Chauprade was a lecturer on the history of political ideas at the
University of Neuchâtel The University of Neuchâtel (UniNE) is a French-speaking public research university in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The university has four faculties (schools) and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, ...
in Switzerland. He has taught at the
Collège interarmées de défense In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...
(CID: French Joint Defense College) since 1999, where he oversees geopolitics courses. Chauprade is a contributor to African historian
Bernard Lugan Bernard Jean René Lugan (; born 10 May 1946) is a French historian who specialises in African history. He is a professor at the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) and the editor of the journal ''L'Afrique réelle'' ("Real ...
's magazine, ''L'Afrique réelle'' (Real Africa), works for
Dominique Venner Dominique Venner (; 16 April 1935 – 21 May 2013) was a French historian, journalist, and essayist. Venner was a member of the Organisation armée secrète and later became a European nationalist, founding the neo-fascist and white national ...
's ''
La Nouvelle Revue d'Histoire LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
''. He dedicated his book, ''Géopolitique, constantes et changements dans l'histoire'' (''Geopolitics, Constants and Changes in History'') to the students at CID. Chauprade is an officer in the French Naval Reserve. After the publication of his book, ''Chronique du choc des civilisations'' ("Chronicle of the Clash of Civilizations" reedited in 2015), Chauprade was accused by French journalist Jean Guisnel of espousing September 11 conspiracy theories. He disputed the allegations. Chauprade was removed from his chair at the CID by Supervising Minister Hervé Morin in early February 2009. During the controversy, Chauprade (who filed a complaint against the Minister and the magazine ''
Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and conservative news magazine published in Paris. It is one of the three major French news magazines. ''Le Point'' was founded in 1972 by former journalists of ''L'Express'' and quickly rose to be ...
'') received support from CID students and his former university professor Edmond Jouve. Although CID head Vincent Desportes expressed reservations about Chauprade's writings, Desportes said: "He has never proselytized in his courses or expressed his vision of the world". A website supporting Chauprade was set up. On 24 March 2009 the Paris Administrative Court ruled in his favour, suspending Morin's decision and saying that the minister had violated a "fundamental freedom". On 1 June 2011 the court upheld its ruling, saying that Morin's decision resulted "from an irregular procedure". Chauprade organized a conference with Jacques Frémeaux and Philippe Evanno in February 2013 at the Sorbonne (University of Paris IV) on threats in North Africa and the
Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...
and Europe's overall security (''Menaces en Afrique du Nord et au Sahel et sécurité globale de l'Europe''), the proceedings of which were published in April 2013 by Ellipses Editions. Since January 2010, he has funded a geopolitical website. He is recognized as one of 100 most important international authors in geopolitics and International relations("Les grands théoriciens des relations intérnationales" 2015, Studyrama). The daughter of the spokesperson of
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
,
Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
.


Geopolitics

According to Chauprade, he follows a new French geopolitical school emphasizing ''realpolitik'' and deemphasizing ideology. Its ideas appear in the ''Revue française de géopolitique'' (''French Review of Geopolitics'') and the International Academy of Geopolitics, of which Chauprade is secretary-general. His geopolitical philosophy follows that of François Thual, and can be found in the introduction to ''Géopolitique, constantes et changements dans l'histoire''. Chauprade maintains strong relations with Morocco (where he teaches), and travels regularly to the Middle East, Central Europe, Central Asia, Russia and China.


Civilisations

According to Jean-Marc Huissoud, Chauprade is considered a founder of the new French geopolitics, describing the "continuous and discontinuous" in his analysis of international questions. Chauprade has said, "France is at war against some Muslims, not at war with the Muslims but with some Muslims". In his interview for ITélé he said that France is better than a race, it's a civilization. Chauprade defends Judeo-Christian roots of Europe.


Politics

Chauprade supported the list headed by
Philippe de Villiers Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist.2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but elect ...
. Chauprade should be the National Front's top candidate in the ÃŽle-de-France district for the 2014 European elections and Le Pen's advisor on foreign-policy issues. In an interview with the French bi-monthly magazine ''L'Homme nouveau'' on 27 November 2013, he said that the "ideological bipolarity" separating the world is no longer the one opposing liberalism and communism (which are "two materialisms") but the one opposing "materialism and traditionalism": "On one side are those who believe that the individual is the supreme value, on the other are those who think that transcendence or the common good are superior to the human person". Chauprade's "commitment is clearly in the second camp," and he intends "to participate in a project that not only raises the issue of identity in France, but also raises the problem of materialism and rehabilitates transcendence in politics". Chauprade defends the multipolar vision of politics which includes peaceful relations with Russia and the USA. He travelled to Crimea to "monitor" the
Crimean status referendum The Crimean status referendum of 2014 was a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea that was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions of Ukraine) after Russia ...
, having been invited by the far-right Eurasian Observatory for Democracy & Elections (EODE) according to
La Libération LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
He was personally commenting the events live on Russia Today on 16 March. In his ITélé interview of 9 November 2015 Chauprade appealed for the return of Philippe de Villiers and showed a strong desire of work by his side.


Quitting National Front

On 9 November 2015, he announces quitting the National Front for "moral and ideological issues". Like some other members, he deplores the influence of Florian Philippot on
Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...
and the party's political path. He also stated that Alain Soral's anti-Semitic influence on a part of the party is one of the main reasons that made him quit the National Front. He stands for a right-wing recomposition. On her side, Marine Le Pen claimed that "after the Air Cocaine gate, our disagreements with Aymeric Chauprade became too important for him to stay at the National Front". At the European Parliament, he quit the Europe of Nations and Freedom group (ENL), which he joined at its creation, and became an independent MEP. On 13 January 2016 he announces the creation of his own party, Les Francais Libres, with the purpose of "unifying a credible and assumed right wing". He refused to make a choice during 2017's French presidential election between "globalised socialism and a nationalist socialism". In April 2016, he admitted to being closer to Les Républicains and wishes to "take part in an eventual government from the right wing" without taking part in the election of Les Républicains' candidate to run for office. At the European Parliament he tried to join the French delegation of the European Popular Party, and ''Valeurs actuelles'' stated that "even benefiting from Michele Alliot-Marie's, Nadine Morano's and Brice Hortefeux’s support, he faces oppositions from juppeists". During the election of Les Républicains' candidate to run for office, he supported Nicolas Sarkozy for the first round and Francois Fillon for the second round. During the 2017 presidential election, he supported Fillon for the first round before supporting Emmanuel Macron in the second round. On 16 March 2017, he expressed himself for one of the first times on the "shadow men" around the National Front in an Envoyé Special documentary. According to him, "Marine Le Pen is not free, she is held by those people (Frédéric Chatillon, Axel Loustau et Philippe Péninque). If she comes to power, those people will too. There is no reason for this group to disappear. It will become the group that brought her to power. It is the National Front economy. They are Marine Le Pen's secret". When Macron visited the European Parliament on 17 April 2018, Chauprade congratulated him on his courage to initiate reforms. He joined the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group, where he became vice-president. It is a sovereignist sensitivity group that includes the Five-Star Movement of Italy and UKIP of Britain.


"Air Cocaine" affair

On 20 March 2013, two French pilots were arrested at the
Punta Cana Punta Cana is a resort town in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic. It was politically incorporated as the "Verón–Punta Cana township" in 2006, and it is subject to the municipality of Higüey (La Altagracia Province). According ...
airport in the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
with suitcases filled with cocaine. Their flight was registered as commercial and the baggage was checked by airport security. According to the Civil Aviation Law, airplane crews are not responsible for luggage content. However, the two pilots of the plane were arrested, with no distinction being made between them and the passengers by the Dominican police. A support committee of Air France pilots and former French air force pilots was formed. In autumn 2014, Chauprade joined the support committee. On 15 May 2015, Chauprade posted a video denouncing a justice denial made by the Dominican Republic. For a year and a half, the four Frenchmen had their trial reported more than 30 times without a way to defend themselves. In August 2015, at the end of the trial, the 30 Dominican defendants were acquitted, and the four Frenchmen were declared guilty and sentenced to 20 years of prison. The pilots appealed and remained free under surveillance. In October, they were extracted. Chauprade's role in the operation was unclear. After extraction of the two pilots, international arrest warrants were issued by the Dominican Republic against Chauprade, Christophe Naudin, and Pierre Malinowski for "people smuggling and trafficking in human beings". In June 2018, Chauprade was informed by
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
that he had no investigation opened against him.Lettre de l'Expansion, lundi 23 juillet 2018, n° 2379


Works

* ''L'espace économique francophone'' (Francophone (French-speaking) economic area), Paris, Ellipses, 1996. * ''Histoires d'Égypte'' (Histories of Egypt), Paris,
Les Belles Lettres Les Belles Lettres, founded in 1919, is a French publisher specialising in the publication of ancient texts such as the '' Collection Budé''. The publishing house, originally named ''Société Les Belles Lettres pour le développement de la cu ...
, 1996 * ''Beyrouth éternelle'' (Eternal Beirut), Paris, Asa Éditions, 1998 (translated in Arabic and English) * ''Dictionnaire de géopolitique'' (Dictionary of geopolitics) with François Thual, Paris, Ellipses, 2nd edition, 1999 * ''Introduction à l'analyse géopolitique'' (Introduction to geopolitical analysis), Paris, Ellipses, 1999 * ''Les Balkans, la Guerre du Kosovo (en collaboration)'' (The Balkans, the Kosovo War (in collaboration)), Paris/Lausanne, L'Âge d'Homme, 2000 * ''Géopolitique des États-Unis (culture, intérêts, stratégies)'' (Geopolitics of the United States (culture, interests, strategies)), Paris, Ellipses, 2003 * ''Une nouvelle géopolitique du pétrole en Afrique'' (A new geopolitics of oil in Africa)
''Géopolitique – Constantes et changements dans l'histoire''
(Geopolitics, constants and changes in history), Paris, Ellipses, 3rd edition 2007 * ''Chronique du choc des civilisations'' (Chronicle of the Clash of Civilizations), Éditions Chronique, January 2009 * ''L'Iran réel'' (The real Iran), Paris, Ellipses 2009 (under the direction of Aymeric Chauprade) * ''Chronique du choc des civilisations'' (Chronicle of the Clash of Civilizations), éditions Chronique, September 2011 (2nd edition completely revised and expanded) * ''Menaces en Afrique du Nord et au Sahel et sécurité globale de l'Europe (en collaboration avec Jacques Frémeaux et Philippe Evanno)'' (Threats in North Africa and in the Sahel and overall security of Europe), Ellipses, April 2013 * ''Chronique du choc des civilisations'', éditions Chronique, September 2013 (3rd edition updated and expanded) * ''Prévention des crises et promotion de la paix'' (Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding), volume 3 (in collaboration), under the direction of Jean-Pierre Vettovaglia, preface by
Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf ( ; Serer: ; born 7 September 1935)Biography at Socialist Party website
, éditions Emile Bruylant, October 2013


Other publications

* ''L'immigration extra-européenne, un défi majeur pour l'Union européenne'' (Non-European Immigration, a major challenge for the European Union), study for the Thomas-More Institute, July 200
read online


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chauprade, Aymeric 1969 births Living people French political scientists French political writers Geopoliticians French international relations scholars Political realists Writers about globalization 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French non-fiction writers National Rally politicians MEPs for Île-de-France 2014–2019 Sciences Po alumni French male non-fiction writers People named in the Pandora Papers Academic staff of the University of Neuchâtel