Joël Giraud (French pronunciation: [ʒɔɛl ʒiʁo]; born 14 October 1959) is a French politician who briefly served as Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities under Prime Minister Jean Castex in 2022. A member of both Renaissance (RE) and the Radical Movement (MR), he previously represented the 2nd constituency of the Hautes-Alpes department in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2020 and served as Secretary of State for Rurality from 2020 until 2022.[1]

Joël Giraud
Joël Giraud in 2017
Member of the National Assembly
for Hautes-Alpes's 2nd constituency
In office
22 June 2022 – 9 June 2024
Preceded byClaire Bouchet
In office
18 June 2002 – 26 August 2020
Preceded byPatrick Ollier
Succeeded byClaire Bouchet
Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities
In office
5 March 2022 – 20 May 2022
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Prime MinisterJean Castex
Preceded byJacqueline Gourault
Succeeded byAmélie de Montchalin
Secretary of State for Rurality
In office
26 July 2020 – 5 March 2022
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Prime MinisterJean Castex
Preceded byJean-Michel Baylet (indirectly)
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Mayor of L'Argentière-la-Bessée
In office
20 March 1989 – 29 July 2017
Preceded byAuguste Toye
Succeeded byPatrick Vigne
Personal details
Born (1959-10-14) 14 October 1959 (age 65)
Gap, France
Political partyRenaissance (2016–present)
Other political
affiliations
Radical Party of the Left (1998–2017)
Alma materÉcole nationale supérieure des postes, télégraphes et téléphones, ÉNA
ProfessionCivil servant

Political career

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Career in local politics

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An alumnus of the École nationale d'administration, Giraud first entered the municipal council of L'Argentière-la-Bessée in 1986. He held the mayorship of L'Argentière-la-Bessée from 1989 to 2017, as well as one of the vice presidencies of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur under President Michel Vauzelle from 2004 to 2014.

Career in national politics

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Elected to Parliament in Hautes-Alpes's 2nd constituency in 2002, he was reelected in 2007, 2012 and 2017. He is a former Secretary of the Economic Affairs Committee.[2] He was a member of the Radical Party of the Left until 2017, when it was merged with the Radical Party into Radical Movement, which Giraud joined. He has also been a member of Renaissance since 2016.

In addition to his committee assignments, Giraud has been a member of the French delegation to the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly from 2019 to 2020 and again since 2022.[3] He also chaired the French-Italian Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2012 to 2017.

Giraud was appointed to the Castex government in 2020 as Secretary of State for Rurality under Minister Jacqueline Gourault.[4] Upon her appointment to the Constitutional Council in 2022, he succeeded her as Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities.[5]

Following the 2022 legislative election, Giraud stood as a candidate for the National Assembly's presidency;[6] in an internal vote, he lost against Yaël Braun-Pivet.[7]

On June 9, 2024, Joël Giraud announced that he was stopping his political career after the announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly. Joël Giraud denounces a potential government of cohabitation “between the president and the extreme right”.[8]

Personal life

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Giraud is openly gay.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Liste Définitive des Députés Élus à L'issue des Deux Tours" (in French). French National Assembly. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  2. ^ M. Joël Giraud, French National Assembly (in French).
  3. ^ Assemblée parlementaire franco-allemande - APFA National Assembly.
  4. ^ "Baratier - Le conseil d'administration a été renouvelé lors de l'assemblée générale. Association des communes forestières : Jean-Claude Dou succède à Claire Bouchet". www.ledauphine.com (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Joël Giraud est nommé ministre de la Cohésion des territoires et des Relations avec les autorités locales", cohesion-territoires.gouv.fr (in French).
  6. ^ Loris Boichot (21 June 2022), Braun-Pivet, Pompili, Lescure... Six Marcheurs candidats pour remplacer Richard Ferrand à la tête de l’Assemblée Libération.
  7. ^ Yaël Braun-Pivet élue candidate de la majorité pour présider l’Assemblée nationale Le Monde, 23 June 2022.
  8. ^ Le député Joël Giraud arrête la politique Le Dauphiné Libéré, 09 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Joël Giraud, l’arme rurale", Libération (in French), 17 September 2021.