Overview
Jean-Frédéric Poisson (; born 22 January 1963) is a French right-wing politician and the president of VIA, the Way of the People (previously called the Christian Democratic Party). He was mayor of Rambouillet from 2004 to 2007, then became a National Assembly member from 2007 to 2017.
Early life and education
Poisson was born 22 January 1963 in Belfort, the son of Burgundian parents. and attended 8 schools, including reformatories, and was suspended from 7. He completed his dissertation, Bioethics, ethics, and humanism: the French laws of 1994, in 2001. He returned to school in 2011 to obtain a second licence, this time a degree in labor law from the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which he completed in 2011. He initially began his post-graduate career in human resources in the metallurgical sector before briefly running a consulting company.
Career
Poisson met Christine Boutin in 1993 at a talk she was giving about bioethics. He credits her with his subsequent involvement in politics. before joining the National Assembly to represent Yvelines's 10th constituency. He contended for his seat again in 2009 but was beaten by Anny Poursinoff. Months later, however, he succeeded Christine Boutin after a by-election following her appointment to Minister of Housing and Urban Development by Nicolas Sarkozy. In 2017, he also lost the municipal majority for the first time since 1995. He was beaten by Rambouillet deputy mayor Gilles Schmidt, who Poisson claimed had promised he wouldn't run in the election. In 2013, Christine Boutin resigned from her role as president of the Christian Democratic Party and Jean-Frédéric Poisson was appointed in her place. He came sixth in the first round with 1.5% of the vote and was eliminated.
In 2020, he announced he would be running in the for president in 2022 but withdrew his campaign in December 2021. He left the Rambouillet Municipal Council the same year after 25 years of service.
Nationalism, immigration, and international relations
Poisson is a strong French nationalist and Eurosceptic, and believes that France should be monocultural. Shortly after, Yann Barthès made a comment on his news show ‘’Quotidien’’ encouraging his audience to register for the Lovers of France with false information. He does not support the regime itself but trusts that a partnership will better protect and strengthen both countries, and that Syria is “the key to the Middle East.” He has expressed interest in a treaty with Vladimir Putin and Russia to fight terrorism as well. He voted “no” to the Maastricht Treaty and still believes the EU should be dissolved and that French borders should be closed; he also wants to renegotiate the terms of the Schengen Agreement. In the event that the EU stays intact, however, he would prefer to see the biggest political responsibilities handled by the richest European countries.
Education
Poisson is strongly in favour of the reformation of how history is taught in French schools and believes that French language instruction should be better prioritized, including compulsory language proficiency in primary school. He also wants more autonomy for schools, more independent schools outside of the French education system and for teachers to "enter into private law contracts."
Family, gender, and sexuality
Family is one of Poisson’s core values. He thinks it should be a central part of everyone’s life and that the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development should be treated as more important than environmental ministries because “parents and children are more important than butterflies or blades of grass.” He even calls for a global ban on surrogates, claiming that women would become commodified and that surrogacy is already “a form of modern slavery.” He is particularly critical of same-sex marriage and was the only candidate in the 2016 Republican primaries to oppose it. Though he appears to support the equality of men and women, he has been accused of sexism after telling Le Figaro that he considers female colleagues “part of the feast” when legislation is held in a hemicycle.
Labour and economy
Despite being a major proponent of universal basic income, Poisson also wants to reform taxation in a way that would give companies more tax breaks. He would like hiring practices and the labour code to be reformed into something more flexible, both for the company and for new university graduates “between their studies and their profession.” Other tax reformation ideas include micro-taxing and a flat tax. He believes the country is in a wage crisis and calls for the restoration of family allowance. He also wants France to withdraw from NATO.
Religion
Poisson is strongly against Islam in France. Dismissal from the Republican primaries was briefly discussed and he apologized, saying he did not mean any offense and that he wanted to "reiterate here all the friendships I have for the state of Israel and for the Jewish people as a whole." As a Catholic, Poisson is deeply interested in returning to the "Christian roots" of France through the Constitution. He is also against working on Sundays.
Support of other candidates
In 2016/2017, Poisson supported François Fillon in the French elections and Donald Trump in the American elections. He endorsed Trump again in 2020 and referred to him as someone who “invites us to take destiny in hand.” He has voiced sympathies for the National Rally; would have voted for conservative Béziers mayor Robert Ménard had he been in the voting constituency; and said that, if Éric Zemmour made support of the “weakest” a more central part of his platform, then he would withdraw from the presidential race to make way for Zemmour’s victory.
COVID-19 pandemic
Poisson is very critical of France’s actions during the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine periods. He claimed they would not work, and incorrectly argued that more than 850 people have died due to the COVID vaccine. He accused the government of “kill ing the country” and argued that people were developing more psychiatric disorders, experiencing more mental distress, and struggling with inaccessible autonomy during the pandemic.
Other stances
Poisson regularly campaigns for a more humane prison system and for the introduction of a seven-year, non-renewable term in the National Assembly. He is also in favour of reestablishing mandatory national service, which, in lieu of military service, might be “environmental, associative,” or educational.
Personal life
Poisson and his wife, a psychologist, have no children. He started learning Arabic in 2014 so he could read the Quran to better understand the intent behind it. He hunts during his spare time.