Dominique Bilde
French politician (born 1953)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dominique Bilde (born 1 August 1953)[1] is a French politician, a member of the National Rally (until November 2018 known as the National Front). She was a regional councillor in Grand Est from 2010 to 2021 and was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for two terms, from 2014 to 2024, representing East France.
Dominique Bilde | |
|---|---|
| Member of the European Parliament for East France | |
| In office 1 July 2014 – 15 July 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 August 1953 |
| Party | National Rally |
| Children | Bruno Bilde |
Early life and education
Career
Bilde is in business and is a financial advisor.[3][4][5]
Politics
Bilde joined the National Rally (then the National Front) in 1997 and has been the party's secretary general in the French department of Meuse since 2009.[3][4][5][6] In 2010 she was elected to the Regional Council of Lorraine as the second on the party's list to represent Meurthe-et-Moselle.[7][8] In 2015 she was re-elected in the same list position to the council for the newly consolidated Grand Est.[9]
In the 2014 French municipal elections, she headed the party list in Sarrebourg, telling an interviewer that her priority was improving the town centre.[10] and was elected.[4][5]
Bilde was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in the 2014 election, the fourth of four members of her party from the East France constituency.[1][4][5][6][11] She was re-elected in 2019, when she was fourth on the party's national list.[12][13] Initially an unaffiliated member of the parliament, in 2015 she joined the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group (now Patriots for Europe).[1]
Bilde is one of the National Rally MEPs accused in the National Rally assistants affair of misappropriating European Union funds by claiming for fictitious assistants. In 2017 a court determined that there was cause to require her to reimburse €40,000.[14][15] In September 2024, she was one of 25 members of the party tried before the Paris Correctional Tribunal; prosecutors requested she be disqualified from holding public office for three years, fined €30,000, and serve 18 months in prison, one month conditional.[16] The verdict in the case is expected in March 2025.[17]
In the 2017 election, Bilde stood for election to the French National Assembly from the 4th Meurthe-et-Moselle constituency; she placed third in the first round of voting and was not elected.[18] In early 2023, some National Rally activists in Meurthe-et-Moselle accused her of mistreatment, homophobic insults and threats; she responded that they were trying to seize power within the party.[19]
Personal life
Bilde's son, Bruno Bilde, is also a National Rally politician, a member of the National Assembly.[12][13]
