- Title: FRANCE: Distant relative of Napoleon Bonapart runs for Parliament
- Date: 8th June 2007
- Summary: NAPOLEON SUPPORTERS HOLDING FLYERS AND TALKING TO THE GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE, LILIANE PAYS THE "NAPOMOBILE" LILIANE PAYS TALKING TO A LOCAL
- Embargoed: 23rd June 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA6PEN80JPLIO0B5ZBW7APWXYX1
- Story Text: Unlike his ancestor, Napoleon's great-great-grand-nephew favours a democratic accession to power, as he runs in this Sunday's election.
Two hundred years after Napoleon led France on Europe's battlefields, his great-great-grand nephew is fighting his own, more modest battle for a seat in the French National Assembly (June 6).
The 57-year old greeted voters in the small market of the picturesque village of Lorrez-le-Bocage south of Paris, where the centrist hopes to win legislative elections on June 10 and 17.
Charles Napoleon, who uses an orange-painted "Napomobile" van, with which he travels through his constituency, runs a foundation and has written several books about his famous ancestor. But the politician hopes voters associate him with more than just his family roots.
"Bearing Napoleon's name in the political world sparks interest, but in itself it is not sufficient. So I suggest ideals that are independent from those of the past. I do not feel bound by what a man did two centuries ago in my family, I do not particularly feel influenced by the name of Napoleon. On the contrary I try to be a free man, as free as possible in today's political context." said Napoleon.
Napoleon is running for the Democratic Movement party (Modem) which centrist Francois Bayrou founded after his defeat in France's presidential election last month. Bayrou had promised to bridge traditional party gaps in order to conduct wide-ranging reforms.
"Above all it is necessary to move away from the constraints of the past and traditional approaches. It is necessary to be innovative and we always have to confront new problems, like the environmental challenge. We must address it in a new way because it is an issue that has never been raised in the history of humanity - In the same way as and no more than the question of the rights of man was raised in wake of the French Revolution. Before which it had never really been addressed, he addressed these problems and it's up to us to address the issues of our own era," said Napoleon.
Standing almost two metres high with a full head of grey hair, Charles Napoleon strikes a stark contrast to the history book image of the much smaller Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte who ruled France in the early 19th century.
"It prevents people from getting me mixed up with Napoleon. Effectively because they have an image of a small man, which was not entirely true, because he measured 1 metre 61, which was more or less the average height for his era. I am a little bit taller and after all that was five generations ago and much can happen in five generations. So I have the right to be considerably taller than him," the modern day Napoleon said.
Napoleon's constituency has traditionally been held by the right. Whether his illustrious ancestry will put him at an advantage remains to be seen.
"No, no, for me carrying a former emperor's name is not a criteria for success," said a local resident, Elisabeth.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hopes to win a large majority for his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party in this month's elections to push through various reforms on education, the labour market and law and order in parliament. Surveys see his UMP comfortably ahead.
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