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DéFI

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DéFI
PresidentFrançois De Smet
Founded11 May 1964 (60 years ago)
HeadquartersChaussée de Charleroi 127
1060 Brussels
IdeologyRegionalism[1][2][3]
Liberalism[3][4]
Social liberalism[5]
Political positionCentre to centre-right[6][7][4][5]
Colours  Amaranth
Chamber of Representatives
(French-speaking seats)
1 / 61
Senate
(French-speaking seats)
0 / 24
Walloon Parliament
0 / 75
Parliament of the French Community
3 / 94
Brussels Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
10 / 72
European Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
0 / 8
Website
www.defi.eu

DéFI (French pronunciation: [defi] ⓘ; a backronym of Démocrate fédéraliste indépendant [demɔkʁat fedeʁalist ɛ̃depɑ̃dɑ̃]) is a social-liberal[5][3][4] and regionalist[1][2][3] political party in Belgium mainly known for defending French-speakers' interests in and near the Brussels region.[8][9] Founded in 1964, the party is led by François De Smet, a member of the Chamber of Representatives. The party's current name, DéFI or Défi, was adopted in 2016 and is a backronym of Démocrate, Fédéraliste, Indépendant (literally, "Democratic, Federalist, Independent") meaning "challenge" in French.

History

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The party was founded as the Democratic Front of Francophones (Front Démocratique des Francophones, FDF) on 11 May 1964 as a response to the language laws of 1962. The party had instant success in Brussels: it first contested parliamentary elections one year later, where it won one senator and 3 seats in the Chamber of Representatives for the constituency of Brussels. Its number of seats increased further in the subsequent parliamentary elections. The party also dominated Brussels' municipal politics until 1982.[10]

Initially the party cooperated with the Walloon Rally. From 1977 until 1980, the FDF participated in the federal governments led by Leo Tindemans and subsequently Wilfried Martens. From 1992, the FDF regularly competed in electoral alliance with the larger Liberal Reformist Party (PRL). In 2002 the PRL, the FDF, the MCC and the PFF formed the Reformist Movement (MR), a closer alliance of Francophone liberal parties.

In January 2010 the party name was amended to Francophone Democratic Federalists (Fédéralistes Démocrates Francophones), maintaining its original acronym.[11] In September 2011, the FDF decided to leave the alliance over disagreements with MR president Charles Michel on the agreement concerning the splitting of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde district during the 2010–2011 Belgian government formation.[12]

The party adopted its current name, DéFI, in November 2015.[13]

Policies

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The party advocates the extension of the bilingual status of Brussels to some municipalities in the Brussels Periphery (in Flemish Brabant, Flemish Region), where a majority of the population is French-speaking, but the official language is Dutch, and pushes for the rights of French-speakers in Flemish municipalities to use French instead of Dutch in dealing with Dutch-speaking officials. Both stances are opposed by Flemish parties, who say that French-speaking residents of the Flemish Region should learn Dutch and argue that the Francization of Brussels should not further itself into the Region.

Representation

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Notable elected members include:

Election results

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Chamber of Representatives

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Election Leader Votes % Seats +/− Government
1965 Paul Brien 68,966 1.33
3 / 212
 New Opposition
1968 Albert Peeters 154,023 2.97
6 / 212
 Increase 3 Opposition
1971[a] 286,639 5.43
8 / 212
 Increase 2 Opposition
1974[b] André Lagasse 301,303 5.73
12 / 212
 Increase 4 Opposition
1977 Léon Defosset 263,104 4.72
11 / 212
 Decrease 1 Opposition (1977-1978)
Coalition (1978)
1978 Antoinette Spaak 259,019 4.68
11 / 212
 Steady 0 Coalition (1978-1980)
Opposition (1980-1981)
1981[a] 253,720 4.21
6 / 212
 Decrease 5 Opposition
1985 Georges Clerfayt 72,361 1.19
3 / 212
 Decrease 3 Opposition
1987 71,338 1.16
3 / 212
 Steady 0 Opposition
1991[c] 90,813 1.47
3 / 212
 Steady 0 Opposition
1995[d] Olivier Maingain 623,250 10.26
2 / 150
 Decrease 1 Opposition
1999[d] 630,219 10.14
2 / 150
 Steady 0 Coalition
2003 Merged into Reformist Movement
2007
2010
2014 Olivier Maingain 121,384 1.80
2 / 150
 Increase 2 Opposition
2019 150,394 2.22
2 / 150
 Steady 0 Opposition
2024 François De Smet 84,024 1.20
1 / 150
 Decrease 2 TBA
  1. ^ a b Run in a joint list with RW.
  2. ^ Run in a joint list with PDLP.
  3. ^ Run in a joint list with PPW.
  4. ^ a b Run in a joint list with PRL.

European Parliament

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Election List leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
F.E.C. Overall
1979[a] Antoinette Spaak 414,603 19.75 (#3) 7.62
2 / 24
 New NI
1984[b] Unclear 142,879 6.38 (#5) 2.50
0 / 24
 Decrease 2 −
1989 François Roelants du Vivier 85,867 3.83 (#5) 1.46
0 / 24
 Steady 0
1994[c] Jean Gol 541,724 24.25 (#2) 9.08
1 / 25
 Increase 1 ELDR
1999[c] Daniel Ducarme 624,445 26.99 (#1) 10.03
1 / 25
 Steady 0
2004 Merged into Reformist Movement
2009
2014 Cristina Coteanu 82,540 3.38 (#6) 1.23
0 / 21
 Steady 0 −
2019 Benoit Cassart 144,555 5.92 (#6) 2.15
0 / 21
 Steady 0
2024 Fabrice Van Dorpe 75,243 2.91 (#6) 1.05
0 / 22
 Steady 0
  1. ^ Run in a joint list with RW.
  2. ^ Run in a joint list with FNFP.
  3. ^ a b Run in a joint list with PRL.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Régis Dandoy; Arjan Schakel (2013). Regional and National Elections in Western Europe: Territoriality of the Vote in Thirteen Countries. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-137-02544-9.
  2. ^ a b Peter Starke; Alexandra Kaasch; Franca Van Hooren (2013). The Welfare State as Crisis Manager: Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0.
  3. ^ a b c d Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Brussels/Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  4. ^ a b c Collectif; Petit Futé; Dominique Auzias; Jean-Paul Labourdette (2014). Belgique 2014 Petit Futé (avec cartes, photos + avis des lecteurs). Petit Futé. p. 42. ISBN 978-2-7469-7123-3.
  5. ^ a b c "Les couleurs politiques en Belgique". Cultures&Santé.
  6. ^ "Belgium".
  7. ^ "" Kazakhgate " : " Si la Belgique a été utilisée, c'est un scandale d'Etat "". Le Monde.fr. 7 October 2014.
  8. ^ Paul F. State (2004). Historical Dictionary of Brussels. Scarecrow Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-8108-6555-6.
  9. ^ Martin Buxant; Steven Samyn (2011). Belgique, un roi sans pays. EDI8 - PLON. p. 93. ISBN 978-2-259-21505-3.
  10. ^ Els Witte (2009). Political History of Belgium: From 1830 Onwards. Asp / Vubpress / Upa. p. 372. ISBN 978-90-5487-517-8.
  11. ^ Philippe de Riemaecker (2013). Quand les singes se prennent pour des dieux. Editions Publibook. p. 212. ISBN 978-2-7483-9789-5.
  12. ^ "FDF almost unanimously votes in favour of split with MR" (in Dutch). deredactie.be. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
  13. ^ "Le FDF est rebaptisé Défi". La Libre Belgique. Belga. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.

Bibliography

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  • Kesteloot, Chantal (2004). Au nom de la Wallonie et de Bruxelles français : les origines du FDF. Brussels: Complexe. ISBN 2870279876.
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Media related to DéFI at Wikimedia Commons

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