The forthcoming Mayoral election is certainly the contest that London is currently focusing on; however, scratch beneath the surface and there is a quiet but equally fiercely fought election taking place. June sees the French Parliamentary Elections which for the first time include eleven overseas parliamentary seats; the 3rd constituency is a whopping 1.5 million square miles area, from Greenland to Lithuania, encompassing every Nordic & Baltic countries, Ireland and the UK. London is however where most of the French expats in this constituency reside and therefore the epicentre of this election.
I am standing for the Mouvement Democratique (MoDem) Party, the French sister Party of the Liberal Democrats. The main problems I face are those that any Liberal Democrat member who has campaigned will be able to relate to; competing against larger, better funded parties who dominate the airwaves and receive more media attention.
Campaigning is also made difficult, as unusually for most elections, almost all the people I pass in the street are not eligible to vote. Targeting areas with a high density of French people is key, the other day I handed out leaflets outside the French bank Société Générale. I have also made it a priority to meet and speak to all the large French communities within the constituency.
Campaigning in Trafalgar Square at the Francophone Festival
My main election theme is improving the quality of education and making it more accessible to lower income families. French citizens abroad have to pay high fees if they want their children to go to a French speaking school; I want to make it something that is an option for every French child abroad regardless of financial circumstances.
I believe that MoDem has a real opportunity to push the centrist agenda in the forthcoming French Parliament. Getting the MoDem agenda out to French people around Europe is not easy, I am grateful that I have the support of Liberal Democrats such as French speaking MP Tom Brake.
If you have a French friend, who lives in the UK, remind them that that they can vote and that MoDem represents the real opportunity for changes in France.
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8 Comments
Minor editing point – you seem to have repeated the first paragraph again in the second paragraph
Of course I will encourage every Frenchman I meet to vote for you. From what you write, I suppose that France has parliamentary constituencies whose geographical areas are outside France. We do not do that in the UK. If you have time, could you briefly outline what you see as the advantages and disadvantages of having overseas constituencies? Do French nationalis living abraod pay tax in France? Thanks!
… and of course Frenchwoman!
>I am standing for the Mouvement Democratique (MoDem) Party, the French sister Party of the Liberal Democrats.
Interesting to read that. I thought Bayrou sounded* Lib Dem-ish (!)
*on Europe Un
Bon chance Yannick.
Aimeriez-vous visiter Douvres? Il ya quelques personnes françaises dans notre région. Nous sommes plus près de Calais que Londres, après tout!
Please could we have a leaflet/letter that we can download and print to give to our French friends.
Bonjour,
Richard – Thank you for your support There are about 400,000 French living in the 3rd constituency, the freedom to move within the EU is great for driving economic growth and prosperity of all country members, it is good for the EU if people can still retain their political rights when abroad, especially for people who are only moving temporarily. I think it is also vital as decisions made in France influence the French abroad (pensions, health, tax).
As ex-pats we contribute to the French budget in various ways; tax on real estate, capital gains tax, tax on any home they retain in France and tax on any French income. We also pay all our taxes to the UK government when based in the UK. The current level of taxation is tolerable however Francois Hollande is looking to increase tax and if he taxes income earned overseas we would pay income tax to the UK and French governments!
Antony – I think that is a great idea, I would love to visit Dover. Do they all speak French as well as you?
David – Please help however you can – I have some literature on my website http://www.yannicknaud.com (excuse it being in French but Google translate does a good job!) I am also on twitter @yannicknaud and flickr.com/yannick-naud
Thank you all for your support, it is not easy competing with the Labour sponsored Socialists and Tory sponsored UMP!
it is not because we are in the UK that we are millionaire do not tax our income twice or penalise us because we have a home in France. It is our pension. Because pensions in England are so bad xxx