Union Nationale Inter-universitaire

Union Nationale Interuniversitaire (UNI) or "Inter-University Union" is the largest French

right union of university

students, created in February 1969 to promote freedom of expression in reaction to the student crisis of May 68 and to support the political action of General de Gaulle.

History

The UNI was founded in order to expand the conservative and the right-wing influence in the French university after the

gaullist movement, in particular by Robert Pandraud, Charles Pasqua and Jacques Foccart

; the Service d'Action Civique was dissolved in 1982 by the socialist government.

The Inter-University Union has always been strongly anti-communist and anti-socialist opposing the numerous left-wing student groups that exist in the French universities. Since its foundation, the UNI claims to be a movement of activists, activism being the main mission of the organization along with the participation to the elections of the students' representatives within the French universities. The union also uses to position itself within the national political debate strongly opposing communism,

cannabis legalization

.

It received $575,000 between April 1984 and April 1985 from the government of the United States through the

CIA contractee.^[1]

UNI stickers near the Institut d'études politiques de Lyon, Lyon, France

Starting from 1995, UNI has supported

UMP

rallies even though the two organizations do remain independent.

During the

European Constitution, while a big part of the union's activists campaigned against it. This event pushed some members out of the union, leading to the creation of a new right-wing student union, more nationalist and traditionalist, the Rassemblement des Etudiants de Droite (Rally of the Right-wing Students). In the 2007 French Presidential election, the UNI has strongly supported the conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy even though some of its members preferred campaigning for the catholic traditionalist, eurosceptic and anti-immigration candidate, Philippe de Villiers

.

Famous former members of the UNI

President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister François Fillon were both members of the UNI when they were studying at the university.
Christian Jacob, Christian Vanneste, Bernard Debré, Jean-Paul Delevoye and Xavier Bertrand
are also former members of the UNI.

References

^ Report from the Cato Institute

External links

Official Website

[1] Report from the Cato Institute

[1]

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	France BnF data United States
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