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The Union for a Popular Movement, initially named the Union for a Presidential Majority, and in both cases also known by its French acronym UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire and Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle, respectively) is a French right-wing, conservative political party. It was founded in 2002 from the merger of the Rally for the Republic (Rassemblement Pour la République), Démocratie Libérale, and a sizeable portion of the Union for French Democracy (Union pour la Démocratie Française). UMP is a member of the International Democrat Union.Close to Jacques Chirac and president of the movement since its official creation in 2002, Alain Juppé resigned on July 15, 2004, because he was convicted of corruption in January of the same year. As of August 2004, the successor of Alain Juppé is not yet known. Possible contenders include Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy (born in Paris January 28 1955) is a French politician, a member of the UMP conservative political party. He has been the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry in the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin since the cabi, although Chirac declared he would oppose Sarkozy being both president of UMP and finance minister.
As its initial name shows, UMP generally supports the policies of president Jacques Chirac. However, in 2004, UMP has shown increasing signs of independence. The unpopularity of Jacques Chirac and Jean-Pierre RaffarinJean-Pierre Raffarin (born August 3, 1948) is a French conservative politician. He is the current Prime Minister of France. He is born in Poitiers. He studied law at Paris II Pantheon-Assas University and later graduated from the Ecole Superieure de Comme's administration in the electorate has led most members of UMP to support Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a rival of Chirac. UMP also publicly disapproved of TurkeyTurkey (officially the Republic of Turkey Turkish Turkiye is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the's proposed membership in the European UnionFor other uses, see EU (disambiguation). The European Union or EU is a supranational organisation of 25 European states. It was established with that name by the Treaty on European Union (commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty) in 1992 but many aspects o, which Chirac had previously endorsed several times publicly.
UMP has a majority in both houses of the French ParliamentThe Parliament of France is bicameral, and consists of the National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) and the Senate (Senat). The National Assembly has 577 directly elected members. The Senate consists of 321 Senators, who are elected by representatives of l. However, it was dealt a heavy blow in the 2004 French regional electionsRegional elections were held in France on March 21 and March 28, 2004. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 22 regions which, though they don't have legislative autonomy, manage sizeable budgets. The results were a triumph for the parties of.
UMP, as heir to the RPR, has been increasingly embroiled in judicial proceedings following from the corruption scandals in the Paris region. Its president Alain Juppé was sentenced in 2004 for a related felony.
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French political parties
