François Patriat

François Patriat
Patriat in 2008
President of the Rally of Democrats, Progressive and Independent group in the Senate
In office
27 June 2017 – 19 August 2026
Preceded byPosition established
French Senator from Côte-d'Or
In office
1 October 2008 – 19 August 2026
President of the Regional Council
of Burgundy
In office
2 April 2004 – 31 December 2015
Preceded byJean-Pierre Soisson
Succeeded byMarie-Guite Dufay (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté)
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
In office
25 February 2002 – 6 May 2002
Prime MinisterLionel Jospin
Preceded byJean Glavany
Succeeded byHervé Gaymard
Secretary of State for Small and medium-sized businesses, Trade and Crafts
In office
18 October 2000 – 25 February 2002
Prime MinisterLionel Jospin
Preceded byMarylise Lebranchu
Succeeded byChristian Pierret
Mayor of Chailly-sur-Armançon
In office
17 March 1989 – 11 March 2001
Succeeded byAndré Loizon
Member of the National Assembly
for Côte-d'Or
In office
12 June 1997 – 18 November 2000
Preceded byAlain Suguenot
Succeeded byJean-Claude Robert
Constituency5th
In office
2 July 1981 – 1 April 1993
Preceded byJean-Philippe Lecat
Succeeded byAlain Suguenot
Constituency3rd (1981–1986)
At-large (1986–1988)
5th (1988–1993)
Personal details
Born(1943-03-21)21 March 1943
Semur-en-Auxois, German-occupied France
Died19 August 2026(2026-08-19) (aged 83)
Dijon, France
PartyRenaissance (2017–2026)
Other political
affiliations
Socialist Party (1974–2017)
EducationÉcole nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort

François Patriat (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa patʁija]; 21 March 1943 – 19 August 2026) was a French politician of Renaissance (RE, formerly LREM) who served as president of the party's group in the Senate from 2017 until his death in 2026. He represented the Côte-d'Or department in the Senate from 2008 to 2026. Patriat also served as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in 2002 and President of the Regional Council of Burgundy from 2004 until 2015. He was a member of the Socialist Party before joining La République En Marche! in 2017.

Early life and education

Born in Semur-en-Auxois, Côte-d'Or, Patriat graduated from École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort (ENVA) in 1968.

Political career

Early beginnings

Patriat joined the Socialist Party (PS) in 1974 and was elected to the General Council of Côte-d'Or for the canton of Pouilly-en-Auxois in 1976, a position he retained until 2008. In 1981, he was elected to the National Assembly. In 1989, Patriat became Mayor of Chailly-sur-Armançon, an office he held until 2001.

Ministership under Prime Minister Jospin

In 2000, Patriat was appointed Secretary of State in charge of small and medium-sized businesses, trade and crafts at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry under minister Laurent Fabius in the government of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. In 2002, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. He left office when Jean-Pierre Raffarin became prime minister.

Regional Council of Burgundy

In the 2004 regional elections, Patriat led a list that defeated the list conducted by incumbent Regional Council President Jean-Pierre Soisson. Reelected in 2010, he left the position in 2015, before the region was merged with Franche-Comté.

Ahead of the 2012 French presidential election, Patriat publicly endorsed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the Socialist Party's candidate.[1]

Member of the Senate, 2014–2026

Patriat was elected to the Senate in 2008. Reelected in 2014, he joined La République En Marche! (REM) in 2017. After supporting Emmanuel Macron's successful candidacy for the presidency of the French Republic in the 2017 presidential election and rallying enough of his fellow senators to form a group affiliated with REM in the Senate,[2] he became the new group's president.[3][4]

From November 2017, Patriat was part of LREM's executive board under the leadership of the party's successive chairmen Christophe Castaner and Stanislas Guerini.[5]

Death

Patriat was seriously injured during a collision whilst cycling on 17 July 2026. He succumbed to his injuries in a hospital in Dijon on 19 August, at the age of 83.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ Samuel Laurent (6 May 2010), L'offensive médiatique tous azimuts de Dominique Strauss-Kahn Le Monde.
  2. ↑ Emile Picy and Michel Rose (26 June 2017), President Macron to have own party group in French upper house Reuters.
  3. ↑ (in French) "François Patriat prend ses distances avec le PS et se rapproche d'Emmanuel Macron". BFMTV.com. 7 March 2017.
  4. ↑ (in French) Laurent de Boissieu. "En Marche (EM)". france-politique.fr. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Le Conseil de La République En Marche ! Archived 31 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine La République En Marche!, press release of 16 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "François Patriat, early and steadfast supporter of Macron, dies at 83". Le Monde. 19 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Segaunes, Nathalie (19 August 2026). "François Patriat, ancien ministre socialiste et fidèle de la première heure d'Emmanuel Macron, est mort à 83 ans". Le Monde (in French). ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
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