Laure Ferrari
 | This article's lead section may be too long. (March 2024) |
Laure Ferrari | |
|---|---|
 Ferrari in 2014 | |
| Born | 1979 (age 44–45) |
| Alma mater | University of Strasbourg |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Political party | Debout la France |
| Other political affiliations | Reform UK |
| Partner | Nigel Farage |
Laure Ferrari (born 1979[1]) is a French politician who has worked for several right-wing political organisations and parties, including the French nationalist party Debout la France.
Ferrari was head of the Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe (IDDE), a Eurosceptic think tank, which was accused in 2017 of having illegally diverted public money to the benefits of the UK Independence Party (UKIP).[2][3] Ferrari was also founding member of "The Mouvement," together with Mischaël Modrikamen and his wife Yasmine Dehaene-Modrikamen,[4] which in 2018 was joined and promoted by Steve Bannon.
Ferrari is the partner of Reform UK leader, MP and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, best known for his successful Brexit campaign. Ferrari's first meeting with Farage was in 2007 when she was working in Strasbourg as a waitress.[5] Ferrari worked for Farage as his EU parliamentary aid and in 2017 stayed at his home in London.[6] Ferrari travelled out to Queensland in Australia to greet Farage on his exit from the 23rd series of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2023, when he finished third in the public vote.[7][8]
Career
[edit]Laure Ferrari studied English at the University of Strasbourg. Ferrari stated her interest in politics began with the 2005 French European Constitution referendum.[1] She made acquaintance with then leader of UKIP Nigel Farage 2007 in Strasbourg, while working as a waitress, which led her to start a political career. First Farage gave her a job as a parliamentary assistant in charge of environmental issues.[9] Subsequently, she was made director of public relations for the British delegation of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) parliamentary group (2009–2014), which later became the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group.[10] The EFD/EFDD was at the time co-chaired by Nigel Farage and Francesco Speroni. In this context she met Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the far-right Eurosceptic French party "France Arise" (Debout la France), itself a member of the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE), founded by UKIP.[9] For Debout la France, she first worked as a departmental secretary in Bas-Rhin and then as a European affairs delegate in party's national office.[9] She stood as a candidate for the party at the 2014 European Parliament election in France, but was unsuccessful.[1]
She did not run for a second term, but instead focused on her new role as head of the Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe (IDDE), a Eurosceptic think tank, which was accused in 2017 of having illegally diverted public money to the benefits of UKIP. UKIP was under investigation for having received over £400,000 in donations from the think tank prior to the UK General Election and the Brexit referendum.[2] The UK's Electoral Commission found UKIP had complied with the UK's political-finance rules.[3]
In January 2017, she was founding member of "The Mouvement / Le Mouvement" together with Mischaël Modrikamen and his wife Yasmine Dehaene-Modrikamen.[4] Although Modrikamen had envisioned the Movement to become an alliance of populist proponents in Europe and abroad, the project did not catch attention until July 2018 when Steve Bannon declared to work on a European alliance of far-right forces.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Who is Nigel Farage's French girlfriend Laure Ferrari?". Sky News. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ a b Nigel Farage sharing £4million house with female French politician (Independent, 5 February 2017)
- ^ a b Investigation: UK Independence Party (UKIP) (The Electoral Commission, 18 September 2018)
- ^ a b Foundation Deed of The Movement / Le Movement. Belgische Federale Overheidsdiensten. 9 January 2017
- ^ Strick, Katie (26 November 2023). "Inside Nigel Farage's rollercoaster love life". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Grew, Tony (3 December 2023). "Farage's cash row aide kips at his place". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Deacon, Michael (12 December 2023). "It's time the BBC put Have I Got News for You out of its misery". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Shaw, Neil (9 December 2023). "Nigel Farage's girlfriend rushed to hospital in Australia". Wales Online. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ a b c Européennes 2014 : Laure Ferrari, tête de liste pour Debout la République Le Journal du Centre. 6 May 2014 (French)
- ^ Who is Laure Ferrari, the French woman living with Nigel Farage? (International Business Times, 6 February 2017)
- ^ Horowitz, Jason. Steve Bannon Is Done Wrecking the American Establishment. Now He Wants to Destroy Europe's. New York Times. 9 March 2018