Didier Julia
Encyclopedia
Didier Julia is a French
politician. He is currently (as of 2007) representing the Union for a Popular Movement
(UMP) from Seine-et-Marne
in the French National Assembly
, a post he has held from 1967. He is mainly known for his interference in liberation operations of French hostages detained in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003.
Didier Julia is doctor of State in Literature, agrégé
in philosophy
and university professor
. He is in the Gaullist
political family, currently a member of the UMP. He has been elected deputy for Fontainebleau
since 1967.
In 1998, he supported accepting the votes of the Front National in the regional Council of the Île-de-France
region.
He is a member of the commission of Foreign Affairs. A long-time friend of the government of Saddam Hussein
, especially of Tariq Aziz
, he was the leader of the pro-Iraqi lobby in the National Assembly until the 2003 invasion of Iraq
by the United States of America and their allies. He is also a member of groups promoting friendship toward Saudi Arabia
, Cameroon
, the United States of America, Iran
, Palestine
, Syria
, Zambia
.
with two other deputies of the UMP, Thierry Mariani
and Éric Diard
. The journey irritated President Jacques Chirac
and Foreign affairs minister Dominique de Villepin
, who called them "pieds nickelés" (a derogatory and mocking expression denoting incompetence and vanity). The three went back to Iraq in March 2003, just before war broke out.
On 30 September 2004, while French diplomacy had been trying to obtain the liberation of Georges Malbrunot
and Christian Chesnot
, two journalists held hostage by the Islamic Army in Iraq
, he went to Damascus
. Three days later, he stated that he had succeeded in liberating the hostages, thanks to his contacts all over the world (mainly former baathists
, and the Côte d'Ivoire
president Laurent Gbagbo
, who provided support, including the Ivorian presidential plane). He later said that he had eventually failed in extremis, and went back to France on 4 October, where the press and the political circles called him and his team "pieds nikelés" again. The executive sought to distance itself from Julia, describing his actions as a "private initiative", though it had initially given some support to Julia by facilitating his entry into Syria
.
The Figaro
, employer of one of the hostages, called them "dangerous amateurs", and the government mentioned a "nefarious superchery". Didier Julia responded on Europe 1
and TF1
by stating that the French diplomacy was totally lost, and said that he was bashed as a scapegoat
for their failure. The "Julia Affair" begun, resulting in the arrest of Philippe Brett and Philippe Evano. Along with Dider Julia, they were put under judicial investigation for "conspiracy with foreign powers". Some commentators pointed out that this prosecution could be a smart move by the government to avoid an embarrassing parliamentary
investigation into the matter – since Parliament regulations prohibit investigating a case that is already investigated by justice; the judicial case would end nowhere and embarrassing revelations would not happen. (Le Canard Enchaîné
)
On 21 December, the hostages were liberated by the DGSE
, which said to have proceeded to whole affair. The next day, Georges Malbrunot, arrived in France and qualified Julia and his friends of "imposters" and "mythomanes" who put their lives into jeopardy. Didier Julia accused foreign minister Michel Barnier
of influencing the hostages during the four-hour flight from Iraq. Barnier himself, asked on TF1 whether Julia could be excluded from the UMP, said that this would be "a minimum".
On 1 March 2005, a video footage of Florence Aubenas
, a French journalist of Libération
taken hostage on 5 January 2005, was found in Iraq. Aubenas asks "Monsieur Julia" to rescue her. Didier Julia said that he was ready to offer his services to the government if sanctions taken against him and his friends were dropped. The French foreign minister stated that the case would be processed by regular services and that the investigation on Julia would continue (Florence Aubenas was freed on 11 June).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician. He is currently (as of 2007) representing the Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
(UMP) from Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...
in the French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
, a post he has held from 1967. He is mainly known for his interference in liberation operations of French hostages detained in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003.
Didier Julia is doctor of State in Literature, agrégé
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and university professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. He is in the Gaullist
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Resistance leader then president Charles de Gaulle.-Foreign policy:...
political family, currently a member of the UMP. He has been elected deputy for Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
since 1967.
In 1998, he supported accepting the votes of the Front National in the regional Council of the Île-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
region.
He is a member of the commission of Foreign Affairs. A long-time friend of the government of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, especially of Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party...
, he was the leader of the pro-Iraqi lobby in the National Assembly until the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
by the United States of America and their allies. He is also a member of groups promoting friendship toward Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, the United States of America, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Palestine
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
.
The Iraq hostage affairs
From the 14 to 17 September 2002, in a context of growing tensions in the region, he went to IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
with two other deputies of the UMP, Thierry Mariani
Thierry Mariani
Thierry Mariani is a French politician, Secretary of State for Transport for the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable development, Transport and Housing Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet in the François Fillon III government, and a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.-Biography:Thierry Mariani was...
and Éric Diard
Éric Diard
Éric Diard is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Bouches-du-Rhône department, and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.-References:...
. The journey irritated President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
and Foreign affairs minister Dominique de Villepin
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin is a French politician who served as the Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007....
, who called them "pieds nickelés" (a derogatory and mocking expression denoting incompetence and vanity). The three went back to Iraq in March 2003, just before war broke out.
On 30 September 2004, while French diplomacy had been trying to obtain the liberation of Georges Malbrunot
Georges Malbrunot
George Malbrunot is a French journalist working for Le Figaro who, along with Christian Chesnot and their Syrian driver Muhammed al-Jundi, was taken hostage on August 20, 2004, by the Islamic Army in Iraq. This group gave the French government a 48-hour deadline to repeal its law against girls...
and Christian Chesnot
Christian Chesnot
Christian Chesnot is a French journalist working for Radio France who, along with Georges Malbrunot and Muhammed al-Jundi , was taken hostage on August 20, 2004, by the Islamic Army in Iraq. This group gave the French government a 48-hour deadline to repeal its law on secularity and conspicuous...
, two journalists held hostage by the Islamic Army in Iraq
Islamic Army in Iraq
The Islamic Army in Iraq is one of a number of underground Baathist and Islamist militant organizations formed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by United States and coalition military forces, and the subsequent collapse of the Baathist government headed by Saddam Hussein.Although it...
, he went to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. Three days later, he stated that he had succeeded in liberating the hostages, thanks to his contacts all over the world (mainly former baathists
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
, and the Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
president Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Koudou Gbagbo served as the fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A historian by profession, he is also an amateur chemist and physicist....
, who provided support, including the Ivorian presidential plane). He later said that he had eventually failed in extremis, and went back to France on 4 October, where the press and the political circles called him and his team "pieds nikelés" again. The executive sought to distance itself from Julia, describing his actions as a "private initiative", though it had initially given some support to Julia by facilitating his entry into Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
The Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
, employer of one of the hostages, called them "dangerous amateurs", and the government mentioned a "nefarious superchery". Didier Julia responded on Europe 1
Europe 1
Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio network created in 1955. It is one of the leading French radio broadcasters and heard throughout France...
and TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
by stating that the French diplomacy was totally lost, and said that he was bashed as a scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
for their failure. The "Julia Affair" begun, resulting in the arrest of Philippe Brett and Philippe Evano. Along with Dider Julia, they were put under judicial investigation for "conspiracy with foreign powers". Some commentators pointed out that this prosecution could be a smart move by the government to avoid an embarrassing parliamentary
Parliament of France
The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly . Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a separate location in Paris: the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate, the Palais Bourbon for the National Assembly.Each...
investigation into the matter – since Parliament regulations prohibit investigating a case that is already investigated by justice; the judicial case would end nowhere and embarrassing revelations would not happen. (Le Canard Enchaîné
Le Canard enchaîné
Le Canard enchaîné is a satirical newspaper published weekly in France. Founded in 1915, it features investigative journalism and leaks from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as many jokes and humorous cartoons.-Early...
)
On 21 December, the hostages were liberated by the DGSE
Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure
The General Directorate for External Security is France's external intelligence agency. Operating under the direction of the French ministry of defence, the agency works alongside the DCRI in providing intelligence and national security, notably by performing paramilitary and counterintelligence...
, which said to have proceeded to whole affair. The next day, Georges Malbrunot, arrived in France and qualified Julia and his friends of "imposters" and "mythomanes" who put their lives into jeopardy. Didier Julia accused foreign minister Michel Barnier
Michel Barnier
Michel Barnier is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement and Vice President of the European People's Party . He is the current European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services...
of influencing the hostages during the four-hour flight from Iraq. Barnier himself, asked on TF1 whether Julia could be excluded from the UMP, said that this would be "a minimum".
On 1 March 2005, a video footage of Florence Aubenas
Florence Aubenas
Florence Aubenas is a French journalist, who worked until 2006 for the French newspaper Libération. She was taken hostage on January 5, 2005, in Iraq along with her translator Hussein Hanoun Al-Saadi....
, a French journalist of Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
taken hostage on 5 January 2005, was found in Iraq. Aubenas asks "Monsieur Julia" to rescue her. Didier Julia said that he was ready to offer his services to the government if sanctions taken against him and his friends were dropped. The French foreign minister stated that the case would be processed by regular services and that the investigation on Julia would continue (Florence Aubenas was freed on 11 June).
Mandates
- 2 April 1967 - 30 May 1968 : Deputy
- 11 July 1968 - 1 April 1973 : Deputy
- 3 April 1973 - 1 April 1978 : Deputy
- 3 April 1978 - 22 May 1981 : Deputy
- 2 July 1981 - 1 April 1986 : Deputy
- 17 March 1986 - 22 March 1992 : Vice-President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France
- 2 April 1986 - 14 May 1988 : Deputy
- 6 June 1988 - 1 April 1993 : Deputy
- 23 March 1992 - 15 March 1998 : Vice-President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France
- 2 April 1993 - 21 April 1997 : Deputy
- 1 June 1997 - 18 June 2002 : Deputy
- 16 June 2002 - 18 June 2007 : Deputy
- 20 June 2007 - : Deputy
- Member of the Regional Council of Île-de-France