Fabien de Sans-Nicolas answers your questions

How do the Jeunes Populaires work? How are you organised? Any examples of recent campaigns or conferences? Do you have full-time staff?

The Jeunes Populaires (JP) are structured in departmental branches. Each one of them is ran by a local leader we call RDJ (Responsable Départemental des Jeunes) who shapes it regarding the local needs, the number of members and the pro-activeness he has. None of them is full time employed. The National Board, elected together with president, is in charge of national campaigns, events and overall organisation. We recently involved our local branches in making proposals for the presidential debate, and a national commission gathered and synthesised it all to promote a global contribution of the JP to the programme debate of the party.

What is the nature of your links with the UMP? Are your members automatically members of the UMP? Are there any other youth organisations inside or around the UMP?

JP is a fully integrated part of UMP. We are linked to the mother party. Since any of our members are first of all members of the mother party, the extra membership to JP is offered to them by UMP that refunds us. Therefore, we also are very active in UMP campaigns and try and provide it with propositions. We also try and source it with youngsters of great potential (to get involved in city council in particular), but also at any level. The JP are the only so called "youth league of UMP", but still we are working together with the youth leagues of fellow partner parties of UMP.

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10Q: Fabien de Sans-Nicolas

Fabien de Sans-Nicolas is Chairman of Les Jeunes Populaires, please use the comments feature or email me to submit your questions to him. Franck Guillory of the New Culture Forum has kindly offered some introductory information about the organisation.

Les Jeunes Populaires is the youth-wing of the UMP - Union pour un Mouvement Populaire - and it welcomes party members aged between 16 and 30. As of today, they have around 15,000 members, all around France and oversea territories.

Established around Président Chirac in 2002, the UMP is the united movement of the french moderate right and, for the first time in the French history, it unites whole families and traditions on this side of the political spectrum - the Gaullists, legitimate heirs to the General de Gaulle (formerly more state interventionists), as well as the Liberals (fervent supporters of the free-market), once led by Giscard d'Estaing, the Christian-Democrats or the Radicals (with a more lefty approach to some social issues).

The UMP currently holds the Presidence de la République and enjoys strong majorities in both Houses, the Assemblée nationale and the Senate and, of course, the presidency - until next year's Presidential election in April and May and Parliamentary elections in June.

Since 2002, the leader of the UMP has been Nicolas Sarkozy, Ministre d'Etat, Ministre de l'Intérieur - Secretary of State, Home Secretary - and he should soon be its candidate for next April Presidential ballot.

It's a very exciting time for Les Jeunes Populaires as the country is about to reach a turning point in its history.

10Q: The candidates' answers

I asked the candidates for CF Chairman and NME the following ten questions, made up from comments and emails from CF Diary readers. Click continue to see their answers...

1. Do you believe CF should continue in its present all-encompassing structure?
2. How would you ensure that more people put themselves forward for Area Chairman positions?
3. To those who are running their own blog, will you continue to do so if elected?
4. Name one failure of last year's Exec.
5. Name one achievement of last year's Exec.
6. What is your greatest weakness?
7. What do you uniquely offer?
8. Is getting officially involved in the NUS about fighting the good fight or is it a waste of time?
9. Do you support devoting time and money to apolitical community work?
10. What are your three favourite films?

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10 Q: What do you want to ask the candidates?

Post a comment or send an email with your questions to the Chairman/NME candidates by Thursday and I will publish their answers a week from today.

Please bear in mind that they will be limited to 40 words per answer.

It'd also be great to hear who you would like to be 10Qed in the future.

Update 31/08: Enough questions, thank you.