A lawyer in Paris since 1971, Charles de Gaulle was a regional counselor of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais from 1986 to 1992, as a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) right-of-center party. From 1989 to 1990, he was the mayor's first assistant in Rueil-Malmaison in the Hauts-de-Seine department. He was present on Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's electoral list during the 1989 European elections, and after resignations from UDF members who preceded him, he took his seat in Strasbourg in 1993.