Xavier Bertrand
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Xavier Bertrand | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Châlons-sur-Marne, France | 21 March 1965
Political party | The Republicans (2015–2017, since 2021) |
Other political affiliations | Union for a Popular Movement (before 2015) |
Spouses | Emmanuelle Gontier
(m. 1998, divorced)Vanessa Williot (m. 2018) |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne |
Xavier Bertrand (French pronunciation: [ɡzavje bɛʁˈtʁɑ̃] ⓘ; born 21 March 1965) is a French politician who has been serving as president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France since the 2015 regional elections.
Earlier in his career, Bertrand was
Early life and education
Bertrand was born on 21 March 1965 in
Bertrand began his professional life as an insurance agent.[3]
Political career
Early beginnings
At the age of sixteen, Bertrand volunteered for the Rally for the Republic (RPR) and quickly went into politics.
In 1992, Bertrand led the campaign for the 'no' to the
In 2003, Alain Juppé, President for the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), put him in charge of leading the debate and explaining the subject of pensions reform during a "Tour of France". He was chosen to defend this draft bill in the National Assembly. At the same time he was part of the 'Club de la boussole,' a group of deputies who declared their loyalty to then-President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
Career in government
During this period, Bertrand received favourable attention in the right-wing political milieu. On 31 March 2004, when Raffarin appointed his third government, Bertrand was named Junior Health Minister for Health Insurance. Under his Senior Minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, he led the reform on health insurance. Later on, he pronounced himself strongly in favour of a European Constitution for the referendum on 29 May 2005.
After the majority of the French electorate answered "no" to the referendum, Raffarin resigned as Prime Minister. Under his successor Dominique de Villepin, Bertrand became the Senior Minister for Health, when Douste-Blazy was reappointed Foreign Affairs Minister. His mandate as Health Minister was marked by the chikungunya epidemic and the law against smoking in public places, ratified in 2004.
Bertrand announced his support to UMP presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy on 29 September 2006. He was named Sarkozy's official spokesperson on 15 January 2007. He quit the government on 26 March to devote himself fully to the campaign. On 18 May 2007, he was named Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in the Prime Minister François Fillon's government.
On 19 June 2007 Bertrand was appointed Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in Fillon's second government after the first one had handed in its resignation the day before. He later served as Minister of Labour, Employment and Health from 2010 to 2012.
Later career
Following the 2012 French legislative election, Bertrand announced his candidacy for the post the UMP parliamentary group's chair. Having been endorsed by François Fillon, he lost an internal vote against Christian Jacob.[4]
In the 2015 regional elections, Bertrand won over Marine Le Pen and became the president of the Regional Council of Hauts-de-France.[5]
Amid the Fillon affair, in March 2017, Bertrand joined Valérie Pécresse, Christian Estrosi and others in calling for Alain Juppé to replace François Fillon as the party's candidate in the 2017 French presidential election.[6][7]
In 2020, Bertrand publicly expressed interest in challenging incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 French presidential election.[8][9] By early 2021, Betrand was widely tipped by French and international media to be the center-right's candidate.[10][11] According to 2021 polls, he would be in 3rd position behind Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. At the party's 2021 congress, however, he only came in fourth after Éric Ciotti, Valérie Pécresse and Michel Barnier; he subsequently endorsed Pécresse.[12]
In the 2021 regional elections, Bertrand was re-elected. He obtained 52.37 percent of the vote in the Hauts-de-France region, against 25.65 percent for Sébastien Chenu of the National Rally.[13]
In late 2021, Bertrand launched Nous France, a conservative movement.[14] Ahead of the Republicans' 2022 convention, he endorsed Bruno Retailleau as the party's chairman.[15]
Political positions
Domestic policy
Bertrand is considered as representative of France's moderate right.[16] He represents a line of common-folk conservatism, away from the Parisian elites, speaking frankly and in simple language. He was the best-placed traditional conservative in opinion polls for the 2021 Republican congress,[17] but ended up in fourth place.
In 2013, Bertrand led a group of fellow UMP politicians who joined forces with
In 2014, Bertrand advocated a "rewrite" or "repeal" of the
Ahead of the 2022 elections, Bertrand defended
Foreign policy
In July 2014, Bertrand defended President François Hollande's decision to push ahead with delivery of a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship to Russia in defiance of calls by key allies, despite the Russo-Ukrainian War; the deal was later called off.[24]
During his presidential campaign in 2021, Bertrand argued that France should reassert itself by leaving NATO’s integrated command.[25]
Personal life
Bertrand married Emmanuelle Gontier, advisor on human resources, on 11 July 1998. They have three children, two of whom are
References
- Assemblée nationale. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- ^ Loïc Le Clerc (11 December 2017). "Alors que Laurent Wauquiez est au 20h de TF1, Xavier Bertrand annonce sur France 2 qu'il quitte Les Républicains". Europe 1. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ Clea Caulcutt (September 7, 2021), Who’s who in the race to find a conservative candidate to run for French president Politico Europe.
- ^ Christian Jacob reste président du groupe UMP Europe 1, 20 June 2012.
- ^ Matthias Blamont and Ingrid Melander (13 December 2015), France's Le Pen says far-right rise unstoppable despite defeat Reuters.
- ^ John Irish (5 March 2017), French conservative party heavyweights to push for Fillon alternative, says senior politician Reuters.
- ^ John Irish and Andrew Callus (5 March 2017), French conservatives in disarray as Fillon clings on Reuters.
- ^ Victor Mallet (1 July 2020), French centre-right faces identity crisis Financial Times.
- ^ Tangi Salaun and Laurence Frost (20 September 2020), Macron challenger presses France to save tyre plant Reuters.
- ^ Marion Solletty (12 February 2021), Who’s who: Macron’s top challengers for 2022 Politico Europe.
- ^ Victor Mallet and David Keohane (14 April 2021), France’s race for centre-right presidential nomination heats up Financial Times.
- ^ Richard Lough (2 December 2021), Pecresse emerges as favourite to win French centre-right's presidential ticket Reuters.
- ^ Clea Caulcutt (27 June 2021), Marine Le Pen fails to make gains in French local elections Politico Europe.
- L'Obs, 1 October 2022.
- ^ Eric Ciotti élu président du parti Les Républicains Le Monde, 11 December 2022.
- ^ Marion Solletty (12 February 2021), Who’s who: Macron’s top challengers for 2022 Politico Europe.
- ^ Juan Pedro Quiñonero (13 October 2021). "Francia, siete derechas para un nuevo paisaje político nacional". ABC Internacional (in Spanish).
Xavier Bertrand, presidente de la región Altos de Francia (norte) encarna una línea de conservadurismo popular , alejado de las élites parisinas, hablando con franqueza en un lenguaje sencillo. Es el conservador tradicional mejor situado en los sondeos.
- ^ Emile Picy and Leila Abboud (12 December 2013), Opponents of French surveillance law race to get support for review Reuters.
- ^ "Xavier Bertrand : "Pourquoi je manifesterai le 5 octobre"". 3 October 2014.
- ^ "Mariage pour tous : Xavier Bertrand fera respecter la loi dans sa ville - Vidéo Dailymotion". 29 May 2013.
- ^ "Paie ta droite sociale : Xavier Bertrand veut réduire les impôts et baisser la dépense publique". 12 April 2021.
- ^ Victor Mallet and David Keohane (14 April 2021), France’s race for centre-right presidential nomination heats up Financial Times.
- ^ "Xavier Bertrand, the ex-insurance salesman who 'smashed the jaws' of the French far-right". POLITICO. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Yann Le Guernigou (22 July 2014), France to deliver first warship to Russia despite allies, Ukraine Reuters.
- ^ Rym Momtaz (October 15, 2021), With a push from Poland, French politicians line up to bash EU Politico Europe.
- L'Express, 20 February 2008