Philippe Augier is a French politician. He is a member of the New Centre

New Centre

New Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...

Born in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and raised in Colombes

Colombes

Colombes is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 13 March 1896, 17% of the territory of Colombes was detached and became the commune of Bois-Colombes ....

 (Hauts-de-Seine

Hauts-de-Seine

Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...

), he spent his holidays at the Houyvet family mansion in Le Molay-Littry

Le Molay-Littry

Le Molay-Littry is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-History:On January 23, 1969, Le Molay amalgamated with the old commune of Littry to form into Le Molay-Littry, and uses the old Littry INSEE code 14330.Le Molay-Littry is a small Normandy...

 in Calvados

Calvados

The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...

. Philippe Augier became an early supporter of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...

 in the aftermath of the events of May 1968. He became the leader of the Giscardian

Independent Republicans

The Independent Republicans were a French liberal-conservative political group founded in 1962, which became a political party in 1966 . The leader was Valéry Giscard d'Estaing....

 youth organization in 1971.

Influenced by a trip to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 during the 1972 election

United States presidential election, 1972

The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...

, he led the Young Giscardians in the 1974

French presidential election, 1974

Presidential elections were held in :France in 1974, following the death of President Georges Pompidou. They went to a second round, and were won by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing by a margin of 1.6%...

 presidential campaign. Its candidate elected to the Elysée, he left the presidency of the Young Independent Republicans

Independent Republicans

The Independent Republicans were a French liberal-conservative political group founded in 1962, which became a political party in 1966 . The leader was Valéry Giscard d'Estaing....

 to Dominique Bussereau

Dominique Bussereau

Dominique Bussereau is a French politician, was Secretary of State for Transport within the government of François Fillon...

 and the General Secretariat to Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Jean-Pierre Raffarin is a French conservative politician and senator for Vienne.Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as the Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005, resigning after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. However, after Raffarin...

 to become national secretary of the Independent Republicans, along with Michel d'Ornano

Michel d'Ornano

Michel d'Ornano was a French politician. A descendant of both Marie Walewska and Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, he began his political career as mayor of Deauville in 1962...

 and Michel Poniatowski

Michel Poniatowski

Michel Poniatowski was a Polish Prince and French politician. He was a founder of the Independent Republicans and a part of the administration for President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Poniatowski served as Minister of Health from 1973 to 1974 and Minister of the Interior in the d'Estaing government...

, and ran against RPR

Rally for the Republic

The Rally for the Republic , was a French right-wing political party. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic , it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullism...

 deputy Daniel Goulet in the Orne

Orne

Orne is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne.- History :Orne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche.- Geography :Orne is in the region of...

 in the 1981 election

French legislative election, 1981

French legislative elections took place on 14 June and 21 June 1981 to elect the 7th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.On 10 May 1981 François Mitterrand was elected President of France. He became the first Socialist to win this post under universal suffrage...

.

Having abandoned politics in the 1970s and 1980s to join the French Agency for the sale of thoroughbreds, Philippe Augier became a member of the municipal council of Deauville

Deauville

Deauville is a commune in the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.With its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches" and...

 in 1995 as a member of the UDF

Union for French Democracy

The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...

. He took the reins of the town in 2001, succeeding Anne d'Ornano

Anne d'Ornano

Anne D'Ornano is the current President of the General Council of the French department of Calvados. She has been President of the department since 1991. She was a member of the Union for French Democracy until the UDF dissolved in 2007, and she did not join either of the UDF's claimed successors:...

 with almost 70% of the vote.

Staunch supporter of the reunification of Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

, he was the UDF's top candidate in the 2004 regional elections

French regional elections, 2004

Regional elections in were held in France on 21 and 28 March 2004. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 26 regions which, although they do not have legislative powers, manage sizeable budgets...

 in Basse-Normandie

Basse-Normandie

Lower Normandy is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy...

. He won 9.26% and was reluctant to endorse the incumbent UMP

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...

 President, René Garrec

René Garrec

René Garrec is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Calvados department. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.-References:*...

. Many in the UMP blamed him for the defeat of Garrec by Socialist candidate Philippe Duron

Philippe Duron

Philippe Duron is a French politician. He is mayor of Caen and deputy for Caen-Ouest.Philippe Duron was born June 19, 1947 in Antony . He received a degree in history in 1975 and was a teacher until 1997. His political models are Pierre Mendès-France and François Mitterrand...

.

Originally the UDF candidate in the Calvados' 4th constituency

Calvados' 4th constituency

The 4th constituency of Calvados is a French legislative constituency in the Calvados département.-2007: -Sources:* Official results of French elections from 1998:...

 against incumbent deputy Nicole Ameline

Nicole Ameline

Nicole Ameline is a member of the National Assembly of France. She represents the Calvados department, and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.-References:...

, he dropped out after the defeat of UDF candidate François Bayrou

François Bayrou

François Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....

 in the presidential election

French presidential election, 2007

The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...

. Reelected Mayor of Deauville with 78.2% of votes in the first round, he became president of the Cœur Côte Fleurie Communauté de communes

Communauté de communes

A communauté de communes is a federation of municipalities in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together...

.

Always close to Anne d'Ornano

Anne d'Ornano

Anne D'Ornano is the current President of the General Council of the French department of Calvados. She has been President of the department since 1991. She was a member of the Union for French Democracy until the UDF dissolved in 2007, and she did not join either of the UDF's claimed successors:...

, he originally remained outside the right-wing parties, while cultivating friendships with the MoDem

Modem

A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...

, New Centre

New Centre

New Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...

 and the UMP

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...

, and was entrusted by Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....

 the task of writing a report on national cultural and sporting events.

In July 2009, he was appointed to be the New Centre

New Centre

New Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...

's top candidate in the 2010 regional elections

French regional elections, 2010

Regional elections were held in France on 14 and 21 March 2010. At stake were the presidencies of each of France's 26 régions, which, though they do not have legislative autonomy, manage sizable budgets....

 in Basse-Normandie

Basse-Normandie

Lower Normandy is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy...

. Originally, he was favoured to be endorsed by the UMP but was dropped in favour of Jean-François Le Grand

Jean-François Le Grand

Jean-François Le Grand is a French politician and a member of the Senate of France. He represents the Manche department and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement Party.-References:*...

.