Daniel Ricklin: build before making promises.

A different route into learning

Ricklin did not see himself in a conventional school career. A turbulent teenager, he left that route without obtaining the BEPC school qualification and began vocational training at an apprenticeship centre. At 17, he chose a trade and undertook an apprenticeship in the environment of the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France. He does not claim the title of Compagnon.

The training introduced a different way of learning: practical work, high standards, the transmission of skills and responsibility. His public account describes a progression from manual work to management, with each stage bringing further responsibility.

From timber construction to Swiss watch boutiques

Before creating digital projects, Ricklin worked as a project manager in timber and ecological construction. He coordinated technical constraints, different trades and the progress of projects in which precision, safety and the use of resources matter.

He also worked in Switzerland on the fit-out of watch boutiques, involving highly finished technical furniture and advanced solutions. Working across construction, design, technology and craftsmanship taught him to bring different professions together around a shared result.

This experience informs his stated method: understand practical conditions, organise skills, anticipate constraints and take responsibility for the result delivered.

From building projects to digital products

Ricklin describes himself first as a builder. As an independent developer and entrepreneur, he designs web products and works on their architecture, content, visibility and business model. His experience combines technology, publishing, organic search and community management.

He links this work to an approach based on concrete needs, testing, observing actual behaviour and correcting what fails. His stated concern is with systems that demand trust without making their rules understandable. Independence means keeping control of a project, limiting intermediaries, developing an organic audience and refusing to let expenditure replace relevance.

Madintouch: an editorial community

Founded by Ricklin in 2016, Madintouch is an independent publication about relationships and alternative adult dating, including swinging, BDSM, naturism, consent and the choice of services. That openly stated editorial activity is distinct from the political project.

The project provided practical experience of the relationship between a community, its rules, moderation and business model. Traffic alone does not build trust. Publishing substantial resources, maintaining them and working on organic visibility also helped develop a long-term editorial method.

Mad2Moi: technology with human responsibility

Launched in 2020, Mad2Moi is an independently designed and developed French dating application, available on the web and major app stores. Its features include profiles, matching, messaging, themed rooms, live sessions and community outings. Audience figures, when communicated, are published by the service with their date and scope.

Its approach combines automation with human responsibility. Tools flag potentially problematic content or behaviour, while reports are reviewed by people. The platform progressively documents its moderation, automated tools and privacy safeguards, including their limits.

Working on a dating platform involves consent, romance scams, fake profiles, moderation and sensitive data. Ricklin says that experience has fed a broader concern with platform power and digital identity. It does not substitute for legal or institutional expertise.

From technical design to digital freedoms

On 4 May 2026, Ricklin submitted petition i-5871, “Garantir le libre choix face à l’identité numérique” (“Guaranteeing free choice in relation to digital identity”), through the French National Assembly’s official petition platform. The institutional record gives the author, date, text and current progress. Read the official petition — French.

His position is not a rejection of all digital innovation. It questions how an optional service can become compulsory infrastructure, the linking of civil identity with intimate behaviour, and the possible expansion of profiling and automated control.

For Ricklin, digital autonomy depends on practical details: what information is requested, where it is stored, how long it remains, who can access it and whether a person can genuinely leave a service. These technical questions become political when they affect millions of people.

Digital identity: where should the limits be? — French dossier

Nouvelle Monarchie: bringing experience into public debate

Ricklin is pursuing a citizen-led project for France’s 2027 presidential election, under the statement “A man of the people. For the people.” Actual admission to the ballot depends on the legal requirements, including 500 validated nominations from eligible elected officials.

“Monarchy” does not mean hereditary rule or a return to the Ancien Régime. In the project, the word expresses a search for a stable state, an arbitrating function and accountability over the long term. Citizens remain the source of political legitimacy, through elections and safeguarded mechanisms of direct democracy.

The working programme concerns popular sovereignty, integrity in government, work and French production, concrete freedoms, essential services and civic peace. Proposals are intended to state the applicable law, costs, limits and evaluation criteria.

Read the six published measures · Read the manifesto

Spending and shared resources

The published financial statement dated 20 September 2026 identifies €11 of specific documented expenditure for the domain name. It is not presented as the full cost. Publishing tools, shared email services, pre-existing subscriptions and non-cash resources are recorded separately and their treatment is followed with the campaign’s financial representative.

No campaign payment or expense covered by Mad2Moi is identified in the source biography. Its accounts and contact lists are not used for the political project. Some pre-existing professional technical tools are nevertheless shared; these must be disclosed and legally assessed rather than hidden behind a claim of absolute separation. The project rejects paid political advertising.

Financial register — French

A method that can be challenged

Madintouch, Mad2Moi and Nouvelle Monarchie serve different purposes. Their common feature is a working method involving organic growth, technical autonomy and gradually building a community, rather than shared contact lists or an assumed financial link.

Whether the issue is algorithmic ranking, personal data or election expenditure, Ricklin asks who decides and under what rules. His proposed response is traceability, accessible limits and an opportunity to challenge decisions.

A digital product changes; a political programme must also be capable of changing. The approach is to test ideas against law and evidence, listen to objections and amend what does not stand up to scrutiny.

“A trade gave me a way forward.”

English translation of Daniel Ricklin’s personal account published on the French biography:

“I grew up far from ready-made paths. At school, I was turbulent, often at odds with the system and aware of what I did not know. Above all, I wanted to move beyond a modest childhood and depend on no one. A vocational school teacher introduced me to the compagnonnage tradition and the value of learning through practical work.

At 17, I looked for a company, then agreed to move to Burgundy. In the workshop, I was put to the test. I learned that precision, consistency and passing on skills could change a person’s path. That period did not make me perfect; it taught me to build, accept high standards and answer for the work I delivered. That is where a simple conviction comes from: responsibility is demonstrated more by what you do than by the title you hold.”

Direct questions

Is Daniel Ricklin a career politician?

No. His documented public background is as an entrepreneur and developer. Nouvelle Monarchie is his entry into the presidential debate, with the stated aim of bringing a practical perspective.

Why discuss his adult relationship businesses?

Because they are part of his actual professional history, not something to conceal. They gave him experience of privacy, consent, moderation, fraud, editorial responsibility and platform power. The commercial activities and political project remain distinct; any shared technical resources are disclosed.

Does professional experience establish political expertise?

No. It provides a practical field of observation. It does not replace legal, economic or institutional scrutiny of the proposals.

How can the proposals be checked?

The programme and dossiers distinguish current law, evidence and Nouvelle Monarchie’s positions. Readers can consult institutional sources and submit evidence-based objections.

Sources and further reading

• National Assembly petition i-5871, submitted 4 May 2026 — French.
• Mad2Moi’s official presentation.
• Mad2Moi Journal on the digital identity petition, 20 May 2026 — French.
• Madintouch’s official publication — French.
• CNCCFP: presidential election 2027 — French.

Figures concerning Madintouch and Mad2Moi are maintained by those services. This biography distinguishes professional work from the political project and excludes private matters unrelated to the public background.

Compare the published proposals with François Asselineau’s positions — French · Press information — French