René Fontès (11 June 1941 – 17 March 2019) was a French rugby union executive and politician. He was the club president of

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

side

Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

from 2004 to 2013. He was also

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the

Eygalières Eygalières (; Provençal: ''Aigalieras'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, southern France. Population See also * Alpilles * Jardin de l'alchimiste * Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department The following is a list ...

commune in

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...

from 2008 until his death in 2019.

Biography

Born in

Saint-Martin-de-Crau Saint-Martin-de-Crau (; Provençal: ''Sant Martin de Crau'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Martinois''. Population Saint-Martin-de-Crau has the lowest population density of ...

, Bouches-du-Rhône, Fontès joined the tyre manufacturer

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

in 1964 as an electrical engineer. He spent a total of 40 years at Michelin, and, from 1986, was director of the company's European operation before leaving in 2004. He succeeded Jean-Louis Jourdan as club president of rugby union club

in July 2004. During his time as president, Clermont were victorious in their

2006–07 European Challenge Cup The 2006–07 European Challenge Cup was the 11th year of the European Challenge Cup, the second tier rugby union cup competition below the Heineken Cup. The tournament was held between October 2006 and May 2007. Group stage Pool 1 Pool 2 ...

campaign, and also won their first domestic league title in 2009–10. He also oversaw expansion of the club's stadium, Stade Marcel-Michelin, while serving as president. Fontès left his role at Clermont in June 2013, and was subsequently replaced by

Éric de Cromières Éric de Cromières (20 November 1953 – 23 July 2020) was a French sporting executive and manager for Michelin. Biography Born in Algiers, de Cromières was the son of French Army Captain Bermondet de Cromières and Eliane de Vigneral. He moved ...

. Fontès was elected

of the

commune of

, in March 2008. He was re-elected in March 2014, and died in office in 2019. From 2011 until his death, Fontès was a board member of the National Rugby League (LNR), and represented the LNR on the committees of European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) and the

French Rugby Federation The French Rugby Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby (''FFR'')) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the France national rugby union team, French national team and the National Rugby League (Franc ...

(FFR). Fontès was made ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 2011. On 17 March 2019, he died of a sudden heart attack in Eygalières, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontes, Rene 1941 births 2019 deaths ASM Clermont Auvergne Knights of the Legion of Honour French rugby union chairmen and investors French sports executives and administrators Mayors of places in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur People from Bouches-du-Rhône