28 Facts About Nicolas Dupont-Aignan

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was its only member in the National Assembly, having been elected for Essonne's 8th constituency beginning in 1997; he was previously mayor of Yerres from 1995 to 2017.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan ran for President of France in 2012,2017, and 2022.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan endorsed the runner-up Marine Le Pen in the 2017 and 2022 second round elections.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was unseated in the 2024 French legislative election.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was born Nicolas Dupont on 7 March 1961, in Paris, the son of Jean-Louis Dupont, a wine maker and veteran of the Second World War who escaped a German POW camp, and Colette Aignan.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan campaigned for the Gaullist politician Jacques Chaban-Delmas during the 1974 presidential election.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan graduated from Sciences Po in 1982 and acquired his law license in 1984.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan received a postgraduate degree from Paris Dauphine University.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan attended the Ecole nationale d'administration, between 1987 and 1989.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan began his professional career in politics as a civil administrator and working in several ministerial offices, including that of the Minister of National Education and the Environment.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan joined Rally for France in 1993 and then began serving in Michel Barnier's ministry of the environment in February 1995 though he refused to support either Edouard Balladur or Jacques Chirac in their presidential campaigns that year.

In terms of environmental policy, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan used reprocessed swimming water to clean streets and his environmental policies won awards for the city.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was first elected to the National Assembly in 1997 as the member for Essonne's 8th constituency.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan campaigned for a "No" vote in the 2005 French European Constitution referendum, abandoning perceived Gaullist principles.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was one of the only members of the UMP to vote "No".

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan intended to run for the 2007 presidential election but failed to gather the necessary 500 signatures of elected officials.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan eventually founded Debout la France on 23 November 2008 with the ambition of founding a third party that could compete with both the right wing UMP and left-wing Socialist Party who he labeled as being the "same".

In November 2010, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan announced his intention to run for the 2012 presidential election during the annual congress for France Arise, pledging to leave the Euro and return to the Franc, leaving the Euro as a reserve currency.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan did not endorse any candidate for the second round.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan announced his candidacy for the 2017 presidential election during an interview on TF1 on 15 March 2016.

On 7 March 2017, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan secured the necessary 500 signatures to run in the 2017 presidential election before releasing his manifesto the following day in the form of a book.

Shortly after the beginning of the first round, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan denounced Emmanuel Macron, saying that he "served the interests of the rich" and accused Serge Dassault, the owner of Le Figaro, of harassing him through text messages in an attempt to get him to renounce his candidacy in endorsement of Francois Fillon.

Le Figaro denies that Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was harassed though does not deny text messages were exchanged between the two.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was called a "petainist" and compared to Pierre Laval.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan had dissidents within his own party with his "right hand", Olivier Clodong, resigning.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan was reelected during the legislative election of 2017; he resigned as Mayor of Yerres later that year and was succeeded by Clodong.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan is married to lawyer and former parliamentary assistant Valerie Vecchierini.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan declared during the 2017 presidential election that he was worth more than 2 million euros.