Jean Royer (31 October 1920 – 25 March 2011) was a French Catholic conservative politician who was a minister and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

Biography

Mayor of Tours

Born in

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.1958 he was elected as a right-wing deputy from the

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

. While he was close to the Gaullist

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (, , UNR) was a Gaullist political party in France, formed in support of Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 189 of 466 seats in the November 1958 elections. In 1962, the UNR grouped ...

, he did not join a parliamentary group. In 1959, he was elected as the city

with the support of

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. In the 1960s he led an expansion of the city by annexing the cities of Sainte-Radegonde-en-Touraine and de Saint-Symphorien in order to increase the surface area available for more constructions. His main accomplishment was the construction, in an area of four kilometres along the river

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, of housing and parks. This area included an artificial lake. He sparked controversy by supporting the construction of the A10 along Tours. Described within his own party as an autocrat, Royer led a staunch policy vis-a-vis of social evolutions in the 1960s and 1970s. He outlawed pornographic films and brothels. In 1968 he expelled from the city Michel-Georges Micberth, who had founded a psychological and pathological research center.

1974 candidacy

In 1973 he entered the

Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under ...

government, leaving his seat vacant but stayed on as Mayor of Tours. During his tenure as Minister of Commerce, he in December 1973 wrote the Royer Law, which regulated the construction of supermarkets that were more than 1000 m². In early 1974, he briefly served as Minister of the PTT. On 11 April, he resigned from the government to be a candidate in the 1974 presidential election. He stood as the candidate of moral order and polled up to 7%. However, his candidacy became a fiasco. He multiplied gaffes: he resigned from the government, unlike

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

; he installed his headquarters in Tours, not in Paris; and he refused to take the plane during the campaign. His meetings were also a fiasco. For example, in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, the majority of his listeners were young students who laughed at him and yelled obscene sexual slogans. A young woman even went to the extent of undressing in front of the camera. He won 810,540 votes, or 3.17%. Most of his votes came from

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.SKF AB SKF (, 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing (mechanical), bearing and seal (mechanical), seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication an ...

in 1989. He was, however, credited with the extension of the TGV line to Tours and the construction of a congress center. Following his re-election in the 1993 election, he joined the parliamentary group République et liberté (composed of the

Left Radical Party The Radical Party of the Left (, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG has been a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Socialist Party (, PS). Af ...

, the MDC, and other independents). He also served as leader of République et liberté. In the 1995 local elections, he was defeated in his bid for re-election in a three-way race with the PS and RPR. The PS Jean Germain was elected. In the 2002 presidential election he supported the candidacy of

Jean-Pierre Chevènement Jean-Pierre Chevènement (; born 9 March 1939) ...

, before retiring from politics. In 2004 and 2007 he was hospitalized for "serious" health issues. In October 2013 a statue of Royer was erected in Place de la Liberte, Tours. The cost of 44,000 Euros being raised by public subscription.

Bibliography