Éric Besson
Encyclopedia
Éric Besson is a French politician and Minister of Industry, Energy and the Digital economy under the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, Christine Lagarde. He was previously, from 2009 to 2010, Minister of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Mutually-Supportive Development in the government of François Fillon
.
He left the Socialist Party
in 2007 to found The Progressives
, a social democratic
affiliate party of Nicolas Sarkozy
's Union for a Popular Movement
(UMP). He has been Deputy Secretary-General of the UMP since 2009.
. His mother is from Lebanon
and his father, a flight instructor in the French Air Force
, was killed in a flight accident three months before Éric's birth. At 17, he settled with his family at Montélimar
, France and studied at École supérieure de commerce in Montpellier
, then in the Institut d'études politiques de Paris
. Besson joined the French car company, Renault
, then worked for Challenges, a business monthly, before joining the Vivendi
foundation.
Besson was married from 1983–2009 to Sylvie Brunel, a geographer
and writer, former president of Action Against Hunger
and they have three children. Their eldest child, Alexandra (born 1989), is a novelist.
Besson is married since September 2010 with Yasmine Tordjman, a 24-year old art student from Tunisia
. Tordjman belongs to a prominent Muslim family with connections to former Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba
.
from 1993 to 2007. He has been mayor of Donzère
since 1995 and was the député for the Drôme
between 1997 to 2007 (he did not stand for re-election in 2007). Besson began the 2007 French presidential election as a member of Ségolène Royal
's campaign team. In January 2007, 4 months before the presidential elections, Besson coordinated the publication by the socialist party of a 106 pages book titled « The worrisome quiet rupture of Monsieur Sarkozy ». The book in itself is an attack against Nicolas Sarkozy and his “mediocre” achievements as a member of the government. Sarkozy is painted as “a US neocon with a French passport”. According to Eric Besson, Nicolas Sarkozy is “a kind of French subsidiary of Bush, Inc.” However, on 21 February, Besson defected the Socialist party in a blaze of publicity, proclaiming that he felt the Socialist campaign's economic policy to be deeply flawed. On 22 April, he joined Sarkozy at a political rally. He then joined Nicolas Sarkozy
's first government. He has been labeled "the traitor" ever since by part of the media and the public.
In May 2007 he served as State Secretary for Prospectives and Evaluation of Public Policies. That year, he launched a new political party, The Progressives, affiliated with the Union for a Popular Movement
, Nicolas Sarkozy's party through the Liaison Committee for the Presidential Majority
. In January 2009, he was appointed Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Mutually-Supportive Development in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon
As successor to Brice Hortefeux
in charge of immigration and national identity he announced the objective of ensuring 29,000 compulsory repatriations per annum. He said that legislation enacted penalizing assistance to illegal immigrants (with up to 5 years imprisonment) was not intended to discourage the general public but only traffickers. Éric Besson has endeavoured to overturn the role of Cimade
in offering assistance to illegal immigrants held in the expanded network of detention centres in France by opening bids for offer of these services by other agencies. In September 2009, Besson effected the clearing of an area known as "the Jungle" near Calais
, where cabins and shacks housed mainly illegal immigrants desiring to settle in Great Britain and primarily of Afghan or Kurdish stock.
In 2009, Besson zealously led the "debate on national identity" initiated by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France as a means to win the far right's votes. But three months on, in February 2009, the debate was dropped amid confusion and controversy and Besson's image was further harmed. One weekly magazine named him "the most hated man" in the Republic.
In 2010, Besson sent a letter to a state agency asking them to examine how to avoid a French company (OVH in this case, a French Internet hosting company) from hosting wikileaks web site.
In April 2011, the Union for a Popular Movement
selected him as its candidate in the newly created Fifth constituency for French residents overseas
(covering French citizens resident in Andorra
, Monaco
, Portugal
and Spain
) for the June 2012 legislative elections
.
Minister for Industry, Energy and Digital Economy : Since 2010.
Minister of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Mutually-Supportive Development: 2009–2010.
Secretary of State in charge of exploration, appraisal of public policies and development of the digital economy : 2007–2009.
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Drôme
(2nd constituency) : 1997–2007 (Became minister in 2007). Elected in 1997, reelected in 2002, 2007.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Donzère
: Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008.
Municipal councillor of Donzères : Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008.
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
.
He left the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
in 2007 to found The Progressives
The Progressives
The Progressives is a social-democratic French political party associated to the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement....
, a social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
affiliate party of Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
's Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
(UMP). He has been Deputy Secretary-General of the UMP since 2009.
Biography
Eric Besson was born in MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. His mother is from Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and his father, a flight instructor in the French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
, was killed in a flight accident three months before Éric's birth. At 17, he settled with his family at Montélimar
Montélimar
Montélimar is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence.-History:...
, France and studied at École supérieure de commerce in Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, then in the Institut d'études politiques de Paris
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...
. Besson joined the French car company, Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, then worked for Challenges, a business monthly, before joining the Vivendi
Vivendi
Vivendi SA is a French international media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the Internet, and video games. It is headquartered in Paris.- History :...
foundation.
Besson was married from 1983–2009 to Sylvie Brunel, a geographer
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and writer, former president of Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organization with a focus on ending world hunger. Action Against Hunger specializes in responding to emergency situations of war, conflict, and natural disaster...
and they have three children. Their eldest child, Alexandra (born 1989), is a novelist.
Besson is married since September 2010 with Yasmine Tordjman, a 24-year old art student from Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. Tordjman belongs to a prominent Muslim family with connections to former Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba was a Tunisian statesman, the Founder and the first President of the Republic of Tunisia from July 25, 1957 until 7 November 1987...
.
Political career
Besson was a member of the Socialist PartySocialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
from 1993 to 2007. He has been mayor of Donzère
Donzère
Donzère is a commune of the Drôme department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is a town located in the south of Drôme and on the left bank of Rhône river, next to Montélimar.-Geography:...
since 1995 and was the député for the Drôme
Drôme
Drôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
between 1997 to 2007 (he did not stand for re-election in 2007). Besson began the 2007 French presidential election as a member of Ségolène Royal
Ségolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal , known as Ségolène Royal, is a French politician. She is the president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the National Assembly, a former government minister, and a prominent member of the French Socialist Party...
's campaign team. In January 2007, 4 months before the presidential elections, Besson coordinated the publication by the socialist party of a 106 pages book titled « The worrisome quiet rupture of Monsieur Sarkozy ». The book in itself is an attack against Nicolas Sarkozy and his “mediocre” achievements as a member of the government. Sarkozy is painted as “a US neocon with a French passport”. According to Eric Besson, Nicolas Sarkozy is “a kind of French subsidiary of Bush, Inc.” However, on 21 February, Besson defected the Socialist party in a blaze of publicity, proclaiming that he felt the Socialist campaign's economic policy to be deeply flawed. On 22 April, he joined Sarkozy at a political rally. He then joined Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
's first government. He has been labeled "the traitor" ever since by part of the media and the public.
In May 2007 he served as State Secretary for Prospectives and Evaluation of Public Policies. That year, he launched a new political party, The Progressives, affiliated with the Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
, Nicolas Sarkozy's party through the Liaison Committee for the Presidential Majority
Liaison Committee for the Presidential Majority
The Liaison Committee for the Presidential Majority is a structure initiated by Nicolas Sarkozy to coordinate the political parties that support his action....
. In January 2009, he was appointed Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Mutually-Supportive Development in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon
As successor to Brice Hortefeux
Brice Hortefeux
Brice Hortefeux is a French politician he was Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial collectivities...
in charge of immigration and national identity he announced the objective of ensuring 29,000 compulsory repatriations per annum. He said that legislation enacted penalizing assistance to illegal immigrants (with up to 5 years imprisonment) was not intended to discourage the general public but only traffickers. Éric Besson has endeavoured to overturn the role of Cimade
Cimade
The Cimade is a French NGO founded at the beginning of the WWII by French Protestant student groups, in particular the Christian activist and member of the French Resistance Madeleine Barot, to give assistance and support to people uprooted by war, in the first instance those who were evacuated...
in offering assistance to illegal immigrants held in the expanded network of detention centres in France by opening bids for offer of these services by other agencies. In September 2009, Besson effected the clearing of an area known as "the Jungle" near Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, where cabins and shacks housed mainly illegal immigrants desiring to settle in Great Britain and primarily of Afghan or Kurdish stock.
In 2009, Besson zealously led the "debate on national identity" initiated by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France as a means to win the far right's votes. But three months on, in February 2009, the debate was dropped amid confusion and controversy and Besson's image was further harmed. One weekly magazine named him "the most hated man" in the Republic.
In 2010, Besson sent a letter to a state agency asking them to examine how to avoid a French company (OVH in this case, a French Internet hosting company) from hosting wikileaks web site.
In April 2011, the Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
selected him as its candidate in the newly created Fifth constituency for French residents overseas
Fifth constituency for French residents overseas
The Fifth constituency for French residents overseas is one of eleven constituencies each electing one representative of French citizens overseas to the French National Assembly.-Area:...
(covering French citizens resident in Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) for the June 2012 legislative elections
French legislative election, 2012
The French legislative election of 2012 will take place on 10 and 17 June to elect the 14th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, little over a month after the proposed date for the French presidential election run-off on 6 May...
.
Offices
Governmental functionsMinister for Industry, Energy and Digital Economy : Since 2010.
Minister of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Mutually-Supportive Development: 2009–2010.
Secretary of State in charge of exploration, appraisal of public policies and development of the digital economy : 2007–2009.
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Drôme
Drôme
Drôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
(2nd constituency) : 1997–2007 (Became minister in 2007). Elected in 1997, reelected in 2002, 2007.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Donzère
Donzère
Donzère is a commune of the Drôme department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is a town located in the south of Drôme and on the left bank of Rhône river, next to Montélimar.-Geography:...
: Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008.
Municipal councillor of Donzères : Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008.