Stéphane Le Foll

Stéphane Le Foll
Mayor of Le Mans
Assumed office
14 June 2018
Preceded byJean-Claude Boulard
Member of the National Assembly
for Sarthe's 4th constituency
In office
18 June 2017 – 11 July 2018
Preceded bySylvie Tolmont
Succeeded bySylvie Tolmont
Government Spokesman
In office
2 April 2014 – 17 May 2017
Prime MinisterManuel Valls
Bernard Cazeneuve
Preceded byNajat Vallaud-Belkacem
Succeeded byChristophe Castaner
Minister of Agriculture, Agrifood and Forestry
In office
16 May 2012 – 17 May 2017
Prime MinisterJean-Marc Ayrault
Manuel Valls
Bernard Cazeneuve
Preceded byBruno Le Maire
Succeeded byJacques Mézard
Member of the European Parliament
In office
20 July 2004 – 15 May 2012
ConstituencyWest France
Personal details
Born (1960-02-03) 3 February 1960 (age 64)
Le Mans, France
Political partySocialist Party
SpouseMarie-Hélène Bourdais
Children1
Alma materUniversity of Nantes

Stéphane Le Foll (French pronunciation: [ste.fan lə.fɔl]; born 3 February 1960) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Le Mans since 2018. A member of the Socialist Party, he was Minister of Agriculture under President François Hollande from 2012 to 2017.

Political career

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–2012

Born in Le Mans, Le Foll was elected to the European Parliament for the Socialist Party, part of Party of European Socialists, in 2004.

In parliament, Le Foll was a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. From 2010 to 2012, he also served on the Special committee on the policy challenges and budgetary resources for a sustainable European Union after 2013.[1] In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the parliament’s delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council.[2]

Le Foll served until 2012, when he was appointed to the Government of France.[3]

Minister of Agriculture, 2012–2017

Le Foll successfully stood as a candidate for the National Assembly in the 2012 legislative election, but he resigned to become Minister of Agriculture; fellow party member Sylvie Tolmont took the seat.

As Minister of Agriculture in all governments appointed by François Hollande, Le Foll was in charge of reforming the Common Agricultural Policy. He also put an accent on "re-socialising rural territories in France". In 2014, he replaced Najat Vallaud-Belkacem as government spokesperson under Prime Minister Manuel Valls, holding the weekly press briefing at the Élysée Palace. Notably, Le Foll unveiled in 2015 a set of financial support measures for livestock farmers whose total value his ministry put at 600 million euros ($655 million), in response to protests by meat and dairy producers facing low prices and high costs.[4] In 2016, he announced a 290 million euro ($314 million) plan to help livestock farmers protesting against a slump in pork and milk prices, and poultry farmers facing a freeze in output due to the spread of bird flu.[5]

In 2016, Le Foll became the longest-serving Minister of Agriculture since the office was established in 1836.

Mayor of Le Mans, 2018–present

Le Foll was reelected to the National Assembly in 2017.[6] He unsuccessfully stood for the leadership of the Socialist Party at the Aubervilliers Congress in 2018.[7][8]

After the death of Jean-Claude Boulard in 2018, Le Foll became Mayor of Le Mans. He was succeeded by Tolmont in Parliament, his predecessor.[9] In October 2021, he lost out against Anne Hidalgo in the Socialist primary for the 2022 French presidential election.[10]

References

  1. ^ Stéphane Le Foll European Parliament.
  2. ^ Stéphane Le Foll European Parliament.
  3. ^ "Your MEPs : Stéphane LE FOLL". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  4. ^ James Regan and Sybille de la Hamaide (22 July 2015), France unveils 600 mln euro livestock farm support scheme Reuters.
  5. ^ Sybille de la Hamaide (26 January 2016), France has 290 mln eur to help livestock farmers -Le Foll Reuters.
  6. ^ "Législatives 2017 : Stéphane Le Foll réélu député dans la 4e circonscription de la Sarthe". Le Parisien. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  7. ^ Judith Mischke (9 January 2018), Stéphane Le Foll announces candidacy to lead French Socialists Politico Europe.
  8. ^ "Qui sont les candidats déclarés à la présidence du PS ?". Europe 1. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  9. ^ Stéphane Le Foll rejoint la mairie du  Mans et s’éloigne du siège du PS, Le Monde, 14 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wins French Socialists' presidential nomination". France 24. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Agriculture, Agrifood and Forestry
2012–2017
Succeeded by