Didier Julia (born 18 February 1934) is a French politician. He was in 2007 representing the
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Soci ...
(UMP) from
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
in the French National Assembly, a post he has held from 1967. He is mainly known for his interference in liberation operations of French hostages detained in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003.
Didier Julia is doctor of State in Literature, '' agrégé'' in philosophy and university
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...
. He is in the
Gaullist
Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle wi ...
political family, a member of the UMP. He has been elected deputy for
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
since 1967.
In 1998, he supported accepting the votes of the
Front National
The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a Far-right politics, far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as fa ...
in the regional Council of the
Île-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
region.
He is a member of the commission of Foreign Affairs. A long-time friend of the government of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
, especially of
Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz ( ar, طارق عزيز , 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s wh ...
, he was the leader of the pro-Iraqi lobby in the National Assembly until the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
and their allies. He is also a member of groups promoting friendship toward
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...
, the United States,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
,
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...
.
Didier Julia is the French member of the National Assembly who hold the record for longevity by the number of terms and years, with
Jean Tiberi
Jean Tiberi (born January 30, 1935) is a French politician who was mayor of Paris from May 22, 1995 to March 24, 2001. , he was mayor of the 5th arrondissement of Paris and deputy to the French National Assembly from the second district of P ...
and
Jean-Pierre Soisson
Jean-Pierre Soisson (born 9 November 1934) is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement. He was a deputy in the National Assembly of France for the first district of Yonne for several terms between 1968 and 2012; mayor of Auxerre ...
(both since 1968), 11 terms and 45 years in the Assembly since 1967. In 2011, he announced that he will not contested his seat again for the legislative elections of 2012.
The Iraq hostage affairs
From 14 to 17 September 2002, in a context of growing tensions in the region, he went to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
with two other deputies of the UMP,
Thierry Mariani
Thierry Mariani (born 8 August 1958) is a French politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. He previously served as Minister in charge of Transport under the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable development, Transp ...
and
Éric Diard
Éric Diard (born 21 July 1965) is a French politician who represented the 12th constituency of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2012 and again from 2017 to 2022. A member of The Republicans (LR), he was M ...
. The journey irritated President
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as ...
and Foreign affairs minister
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac.
In his career working at the Ministry ...
, who called them "'' pieds nickelés''" (a derogatory and mocking expression denoting incompetence and vanity). The three went back to Iraq in March 2003, just before war broke out.
On 30 September 2004, while French diplomacy had been trying to obtain the liberation of Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, two journalists held hostage by the
Islamic Army in Iraq
The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) ( ar, الجيش الإسلامي في العراق ''al jaysh al islāmi fī'l-`irāq'') was one of a number of underground Islamist militant (or '' mujahideen'') organizations formed in Iraq following the 2003 in ...
, he went to Damascus. Three days later, he stated that he had succeeded in liberating the hostages, thanks to his contacts all over the world (mainly former
baathists
The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
, and the
President of Ivory Coast
This article lists the heads of state of Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, since the country gained independence from France in 1960. Alassane Ouattara has been serving as President of Ivory Coast since 4 December 2010.
...
Figaro
Figaro may refer to:
Literature
* Figaro, the central character in:
** ''The Barber of Seville'' (play), a 1775 play by Pierre Beaumarchais
*** ''The Barber of Seville'' (Paisiello), a 1782 opera by Paisiello based on the play
*** ''The Bar ...
'', employer of one of the hostages, called them "dangerous amateurs", and the government mentioned a "nefarious superchery". Didier Julia responded on
Europe 1
Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its p ...
and
TF1
TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network.
TF1 is pa ...
by stating that the French diplomacy was totally lost, and said that he was bashed as a
scapegoat
In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designat ...
for their failure. The " Julia Affair" begun, resulting in the arrest of Philippe Brett and Philippe Evano. Along with Dider Julia, they were put under judicial investigation for "conspiracy with foreign powers". Some commentators pointed out that this prosecution could be a smart move by the government to avoid an embarrassing
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
investigation into the matter – since Parliament regulations prohibit investigating a case that is already investigated by justice; the judicial case would end nowhere and embarrassing revelations would not happen. (''
Le Canard Enchaîné
(; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris.
Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism a ...
'')
On 21 December, the hostages were liberated by the
DGSE
The General Directorate for External Security (french: link=no, Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, DGSE) is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 2 April 1982 ...
, which said to have proceeded to whole affair. The next day,
Georges Malbrunot Georges may refer to:
Places
*Georges River, New South Wales, Australia
*Georges Quay (Dublin)
* Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Other uses
* Georges (name)
* ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas
* "Georges" (song), a 19 ...
, arrived in France and qualified Julia and his friends of "imposters" and "mythomanes" who put their lives into jeopardy. Didier Julia accused foreign minister
Michel Barnier
Michel Barnier (born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who served as the European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF) from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as Chief Negotiator, Tas ...
of influencing the hostages during the four-hour flight from Iraq. Barnier himself, asked on TF1 whether Julia could be excluded from the UMP, said that this would be "a minimum".
On 1 March 2005, a video footage of
Florence Aubenas
Florence Aubenas (born 6 February 1961) is a French journalist.
Biography
She was born in Brussels, 6 February 1961, from French parents and studied journalism at the Centre de Formation des Journalistes in Paris.
She worked as a reporter for ...
, a French journalist of ''
Libération
''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France ...
'' taken hostage on 5 January 2005, was found in Iraq. Aubenas asks "''Monsieur Julia''" to rescue her. Didier Julia said that he was ready to offer his services to the government if sanctions taken against him and his friends were dropped. The French foreign minister stated that the case would be processed by regular services and that the investigation on Julia would continue (Florence Aubenas was freed on 11 June).
Mandates
* 2 April 1967 – 30 May 1968 : Deputy
* 11 July 1968 – 1 April 1973 : Deputy
* 3 April 1973 – 1 April 1978 : Deputy
* 3 April 1978 – 22 May 1981 : Deputy
* 2 July 1981 – 1 April 1986 : Deputy
* 17 March 1986 – 22 March 1992 : Vice-President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France
* 2 April 1986 – 14 May 1988 : Deputy
* 6 June 1988 – 1 April 1993 : Deputy
* 23 March 1992 – 15 March 1998 : Vice-President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France
* 2 April 1993 – 21 April 1997 : Deputy
* 1 June 1997 – 18 June 2002 : Deputy
* 16 June 2002 – 18 June 2007 : Deputy
* 20 June 2007 – 17 June 2012 : Deputy
* Member of the Regional Council of Île-de-France