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Jean Lassalle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lassalle in 2017 | |
| Member of theNational Assembly forPyrénées-Atlantiques's4th constituency | |
| In office 16 June 2002 – 21 June 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Michel Inchauspé |
| Succeeded by | Iñaki Echaniz |
| Mayor ofLourdios-Ichère | |
| In office 26 March 1977 – 16 July 2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1955-05-03)3 May 1955 (age 70) |
| Political party | Résistons! [fr] (2016–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Union for French Democracy (until 2007) Democratic Movement(2007–2016) |
Jean Lassalle (French pronunciation:[ʒɑ̃lasal];Occitan:Jan de LassalaOccitan pronunciation:[ˈd͡ʒandəlasala]; born 3 May 1955) is a French politician who represented the4th constituency of thePyrénées-Atlantiquesdepartment in theNational Assembly from2002 to2022. A former member of theDemocratic Movement (MoDem), he was a candidate in the2017 presidential election, in which he received 435,301 votes (1.21%). Lassalle ran under the banner ofRésistons! [fr] (RES), a party he founded and has led since he left the MoDem in 2016. In the2022 presidential election he received 1.3 million votes constituting over 3% of those cast.
Lassalle, who held the mayorship of thecommune ofLourdios-Ichère from 1977 to 2017, also sat on theGeneral Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques from 1982 to 2015, elected in the canton ofAccous. He was one of the general council's vice presidents from 1991 to 2001 underFrançois Bayrou.
Lassalle was elected to theNational Assembly in the2002 legislative election, where he representsPyrénées-Atlantiques's 4th constituency.[1] Since 2002 Lassalle has led the World Mountain People Association, an international network of mountain-dwellers active in more than 70 countries.[citation needed] He also leads aHaut-Béarn cultural association.[citation needed]
On 3 June 2003 Lassalle stood up in the National Assembly during questions toMinister of the InteriorNicolas Sarkozy and sang theOccitan anthemSe Canta in protest at an announcement by Sarkozy concerning the housing of 23gendarmes tasked with guarding theSomport tunnel, which links France withSpain through thePyrenees. The village closest to the French end of the tunnel isUrdos, but it was announced that the gendarmes would be housed in the nearby town ofOloron-Sainte-Marie, on the grounds that their wives would become bored in Urdos. As he explained in an interview withFrance 3 later that day, Lassalle took exception to what he saw as a slur on the Pyrenean village and decided to interrupt the minister with his song. The protest was met by laughter from other deputies, disapproval from thePresident of the National Assembly and bemusement from Sarkozy.[2]
In 2013, Lassalle walked around France for eight months from April to December to meet people. He was afterwards quoted, "Everywhere I went I witnessed a crisis in the standard of living, a loss of identity and the loss of a sense of a common destiny".[3] He found the situation equally bad in the cities and the countryside. Scepticism about globalisation, distrust of politicians and latent racism were common among people he spoke to, he said.[3]
Lassalle undertook a 39-dayhunger strike in March and April 2006, in protest at a threat to jobs in his constituency.Japanese firm Toyal, which owned a paint factory nearAccous in theVallée d'Aspe and employed 150 of Lassalle's constituents, announced plans to open a factory 60 km away. The firm claimed that this relocation of its investment would not result in the closure of the Accous site, but Lassalle's concerns were not assuaged and he embarked on a hunger strike on 7 March.
The strike ended on 14 April, when Toyal offered an assurance to Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy that the factory would not close and that it would continue investment in the area before expanding elsewhere. Earlier the same day, Lassalle had been admitted to hospital inGarches, in the western suburbs of Paris, prompting intervention byPresidentJacques Chirac,Prime MinisterDominique de Villepin and Sarkozy. Lassalle had lost 21 kilograms (46 lb) of weight over the course of the strike.[4]
In2017, Lassalle ran forPresident of France. He received support from the Association des maires ruraux de France (Association of rural mayors of France). His platform was centre-right, with tenets of agrarianism, protectionism and ecological preservation. His campaign spots included, among other things, him mowing his lawn shirtless. In the 4 April 2017 televised debate onBFM TV, he introduced himself as the "son of a shepherd, brother of a shepherd, [former shepherd] myself". After he arrived late at the television studio, several news outlets took a critical stance at his performance.[5][6] However, following the debate he quickly became the most searched candidate onGoogle.[7]
Lassalle ultimately received 435,301 votes, 1.21% of the electorate, which ranked him seventh out of eleven candidates. Lassalle's support disproportionately came from rural and southwest constituencies. His campaign cost €230,000, the least of any candidate. The bank from which he borrowed the money took his credit card as a guarantee, forcing his mother-in-law to provide groceries for the family during Lassalle's campaign.[8]
In the2017 legislative election, Résistons! fielded 21 parliamentary candidates, but only Lassalle was elected. In a 2017 interview withJean-Jacques Bourdin, Lassalle stated PresidentEmmanuel Macron had offered him to beMinister of Territorial Cohesion but he turned the offer down, citing policy differences.[8]
In November 2018, Lassalle disrupted the National Assembly by wearing a yellow vest in solidarity with theyellow vest movement, resulting in a €1,500 fine. Lassalle explored a candidacy for the2019 European Parliament election, on a platform of Eurosceptism and "a Europe of nations and peoples", but ultimately did not stand in that election, citing financial difficulties.
On 16 March 2021, Lassalle stated his intention to run again for the presidency in the2022 presidential election.[9] TheConstitutional Council approved his second presidential candidacy on 17 February 2022.[10] In early 2022, Lassalle appeared doubtful about his prospects, as he said: "Macron will be reelected as things stand. The financial powers that have taken over our country have already decided that".[11] A few days later, he publicly stated he was thinking about withdrawing his candidacy for the presidency, citing a lack of sufficient media coverage. He openly criticised his treatment in mainstream media after he failed to be invited to a political evening show onTF1.[12] Lassalle ultimately received just over 3 percent of the vote, a significant improvement over his 2017 showing, with his strongest support coming from Corsica, Nouvelle-Aquitaine andOccitanie. Consequently, it is also inOccitania that his party will have the most candidates in the legislative elections.
Lassalle received more votes thanSocialist Party candidateAnne Hidalgo. He made no endorsement in the second round, saying he trusts the French people to do what is right.[13] On the day of the vote, he published a video recorded at the polling station in Lourdios-Ichère in which he acts as if he is about to vote, then retracts and stated hisrefusal to participate in the vote. In doing so, he violated the French electoral code, which prohibites "messages of an electoral propaganda nature on the eve and on election day", leading to all ballots in Lourdios-Ichère being invalidated.[14]
He did not run in the2022 French legislative election, instead endorsing his brother for the seat, which was ultimately won bySocialist Party candidateIñaki Echaniz.[15][16]
Lassalle ran in the2024 European Parliament election, where hisRural Alliance list received 2.35% of the vote, falling short of the 5% threshold required to gain seats.[17]
He ran in the2024 snap legislative election to reclaim his former seat but came third in both rounds of voting, losing to the incumbent,Iñaki Echaniz.[18][19]
Lassalle was born inLourdios-Ichère,Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Son of anOccitanshepherd, he is trained as an agricultural technician but got involved in politics very early, becoming at the age of 21 mayor of his native village.
His sonThibault Lassalle is arugby union player. He was a member of the French U19 team taking part in the 2006 U19 World Championships inDubai, in which France reached the semi-final.
On 20 September 2020, Lassalle accidentally parked his car on a level crossing that later obstructed a passenger train, which was reported on by multiple news outlets.[20][21] He later apologized for the incident, which caused a short train delay.[22]
