Philippe de Villiers

After leaving the Republican Party (PR) to found the Movement for France (MPF), he was its nominee in the 1995 and 2007 presidential elections. He received 4.74% of the vote the first time, placing seventh; he won 2.23% of the vote twelve years later, putting him in sixth place. De Villiers has been internationally notable for his criticism of mass immigration and Islam in France, as well as his ardent support of the French way of life. His brother, General Pierre de Villiers, served as Chief of the Defence Staff from 2014 to 2017.

Philippe de Villiers studied at École nationale d'administration, Sciences Po and Faculté de droit de Nantes. The recorded working language is French. The field of work recorded is politics and literary activity. Places of work recorded in the authority are Strasbourg and Brussels. Residence is recorded at Les Herbiers. Positions recorded include member of the French National Assembly and General councillor of Vendée. Distinctions recorded are Honneur et Patrie Award, Jean Ferré Prize, prix Renaissance des lettres and Prix Claude-Farrère.

• Name — Philippe de Villiers • Office — President of the Movement for France • Term Start — 20 November 1994 • Term End — 28 June 2018 • Predecessor — Position established • Successor — Position abolished • Office1 — Member of the European Parliament • Term Start1 — 20 July 2004 • Term End1 — 30 June 2014 • Constituency1 — West France • Term Start2 — 20 July 1999 • Term End2 — 16 December 1999 • Constituency2 — France • Term Start3 — 19 July 1994 • Term End3 — 15 June 1997 • Constituency3 — France • Office4 — President of the General Council of Vendée • Term Start4 — 3 October 1988 • Term End4 — 31 October 2010 • Predecessor4 — Michel Crucis • Successor4 — Bruno Retailleau • Office6 — Member of the National Assembly for Vendée • Term Start6 — 12 June 1997 • Term End6 — 19 July 2004 • Predecessor6 — Bruno Retailleau • Successor6 — Véronique Besse • Constituency6 — 4th • Term Start7 — 23 June 1988 • Term End7 — 24 October 1994 • Predecessor7 — Proportional representation • Successor7 — Bruno Retailleau • Constituency7 — 4th • Term Start8 — 2 June 1987 • Term End8 — 14 May 1988 • Predecessor8 — Vincent Ansquer • Successor8 — Constituency abolished • Constituency8 — At-large • Office9 — Secretary of State for Culture • Term Start9 — 20 March 1986 • Term End9 — 25 June 1987 • Prime Minister9 — Jacques Chirac • Predecessor9 — Position established • Successor9 — Position abolished • Birth Name — Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon • Born — 25 March 1949 • Birthplace — Boulogne, France • Party — Reconquête (2021–present) • Other Party — Republican Party (1985–1994) Movement for France (1994–2018) • Spouse — Dominique du Buor de Villeneuve • Children — 7 • Relatives — Pierre de Villiers (brother) • Alma Mater — University of Nantes Sciences Po École nationale d'administration

• Illustration — Le Jolis De Villiers family coat of arms De Villiers was born in Boulogne in the department of Vendée, Western France, the second of five children and eldest son of Jacques Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon (born in Nancy, 14 November 1913) and his wife Edwige d'Arexy (born in Nantes, 1 July 1925). His paternal grandfather, Louis Le Jolis de Villiers, born at Brucheville on 17 October 1874, was killed in action in World War I at Saint-Paul-en-Forêt on 10 September 1914. On 24 October 1904, he had married Jeanne de Saintignon (27 July 1880 – 25 August 1959), by whom he had five children, the youngest of whom was Philippe's father, Jacques. De Villiers received a master's degree in Law in 1971, graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies in 1973 and from the École nationale d'administration in 1978. After his studies, De Villiers became a successful entrepreneur. He created the Puy du Fou, one of the most visited theme parks in France, as a living showcase for its history. The theme park includes a replica medieval city with the 'Gallo-Roman Stadium', a colosseum designed by De Villiers to stoke patriotic feeling by recreating Gallic rebellions against Imperial Rome. The Puy du Fou park received awards from the Themed Entertainment Association in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019. He is married to Dominique du Buor de Villeneuve, born in Valenciennes on 4 October 1950 and has seven children.

From 1976 to 1978, De Villiers served as a senior civil servant in the Chirac administration. In 1981, he resigned his post as subprefect because he did not want to serve the government of the Socialist President François Mitterrand. In 1986 and 1987, he briefly served as Secretary of State for Culture (Secrétaire d'État auprès du Ministre de la Culture) in the second government of Jacques Chirac, under Minister François Léotard. His appointment was initially viewed badly by Libération and several other press agencies, which referred to his "ambiguous personality". However, Villiers supported Leotard's mixed, non-ideological policy towards French culture. In 1987, he was elected into local office as a member in Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's Republican Party. He became a rising star within the Union for French Democracy. During the public debate over the Maastricht Treaty, which established the European Union, in 1992, he achieved lasting prominence in the media as an anti-Treaty activist. This set him apart from most prominent members of the mainstream political right. The French people narrowly ratified the Treaty in September 1992. De Villiers led an anti-European integration list in 1994 receiving about 12 percent of the votes, placing it in third place behind the Gaullists and the Socialists. Villiers centered the campaign on opposition to the European Union along with a call to eliminate corruption in government. In November 1994, Villers left the Republican Party to form Movement for France. He ran for President of France in 1995 and received about 5 percent of the vote.

• Illustration — Philippe de Villiers, May 2005 Once a member of the Union for French Democracy, he then led the Movement for France, which enjoyed some success in elections for the European Parliament. The party's share of the vote declined in the 2004 European Parliament election. Nevertheless, Villiers and two other members of his party were elected. De Villiers ran for the French presidency in 2007, and based his campaign on his opposition to what he sees as the rampant Islamisation of France. In May 2006, polls showed that he had garnered the support of about 4% of the electorate, almost twice as high as he actually polled in the first round of the presidential election. An "Ifop-Paris-Match" poll conducted on 12 October 2006 gave him his highest ever popularity rating, with 37% saying they "have an excellent or good opinion" of Villiers, and 28% saying they could vote for him in 2007. This was not borne out in the results of the first round of voting, with him receiving less than 3% of the popular vote. Following the first round of the 2007 presidential election, he called on voters to vote for Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy to counter the Socialist Party's candidate Ségolène Royal and the left. Villiers and Konstantin Malofeev are planning to build two Russian history related theme parks: one in Moscow and one in Yalta (Crimea); this is in spite of Malofeev being added to the European Union list of people and organizations sanctioned during the Russo-Ukrainian War (Malofeev is suspected of funding the pro-Russian rebels in Donbas during the Russo-Ukrainian War). In August 2014 Villiers travelled to Crimea to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin; while there, he defended the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea by saying the Crimean park will "promote the history of Crimea as part of the long history of Russia". He also stated there "I would gladly swap Hollande and Sarkozy for Putin". • Illustration — Philippe de Villiers during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in August 2014. • Illustration — Philippe de Villiers at the podium just before the arrival of Éric Zemmour at the Trocadéro meeting, March 27, 2022 During the 2022 presidential election, he officially announced his support for Éric Zemmour. He also joined his political party Reconquête.

Politicians Politicians

De Villiers gathers his support from practising Roman Catholics, artisans, retired people, farmers and small business owners.

Governmental function Secretary of State for Communication: 1986–1987. Electoral mandates European Parliament Member of European Parliament: 1994-1997 (Resignation, reelected in the parliamentary elections in 1997) / July–December 1999 (Resignation) / 2004-2018. Elected in 1994, reelected in 1999, 2004, 2009. National Assembly of France Member of the National Assembly of France for Vendée: 1987-1994 (Became member of European Parliament in 1994) / 1997-2004 (Became member of European Parliament in 2004). Elected in 1987, reelected in 1988, 1993, 1997, 2002. General Council President of the General Council of Vendée: 1988-2010 (Resignation). Reelected in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2008. General councillor of Vendée: 1987-2010 (Resignation). Reelected in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2008. Political function President of the Movement for France: 1994-1999 / 2000-2018 (party dissolved).

President of the French Republic • Election — First round — Second round • Votes — % — Position — Result — Votes — % — Position — Result • 1995 — 1,443,186 — 4.74% — (#7) — Lost • 2007 — 818,407 — 2.23 — (#6) — Lost

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • Le Puy du Fou: un rêve d'enfance, Éditions du Rocher, 2017, 308 p. (ISBN 978-2-268-09934-7) • Le Mystère Clovis, Paris: Éditions Albin Michel, 2018. • J'ai tiré sur le fil du mensonge et tout est venu, Paris: Fayard, 2019. • Les Gaulois réfractaires demandent des comptes au Nouveau Monde, Paris: Fayard, 2020. • Le Jour d'après, Éditions Albin Michel, 2021. • La Valse de l'adieu, Paris: Plon, 2022. • Le Roman du Roi Soleil, Paris: Éditions Litos, 2024, 480 p., Poche (ISBN 978-2-38506-105-0). • Mémoricide, Paris: Fayard, 2024, 384 p. (ISBN 978-2213731087). • Populicide, Paris: Fayard, 2025, 418 p. (ISBN 978-2-213-73166-7).

Philippe de Villiers worked in politics and literary activity. Recorded positions include member of the French National Assembly, General councillor of Vendée, Sub-prefect of Vendôme and Member of the European Parliament. He worked at Strasbourg, Brussels and Les Herbiers.

Philippe de Villiers is recorded as politician, official, essayist, conspiracy theorist and writer.