Alexandra Borchio Fontimp, (born 5 October 1981 in

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

, Alpes-Maritimes) is a French journalist and a politician. She belongs to the French political party

Les Républicains The Republicans (, ; LR) is a liberal-conservative political party in France, largely inspired by the tradition of Gaullism. The party was formed in 2015 as the refoundation of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), which had been establishe ...

, she represents the party as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, in the

French Parliament The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...

, since 1 October 2020. Alexandra Borchio Fontimp is also a member of the Departmental Council of

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

since 2015. She was elected in

canton-2, together with Jacques Gente. Under-secretary-general of

since 2019, she became the party's spokesperson on 18 January 2023, following the victory in the polls of Eric Ciotti to assume the party presidency.

Biography

Early life

Alexandra Borchio Fontimp was born in

in a local family named Fechino. Her mother, Martine Fechino, was a retailer in Antibes while her father, Sergio Borchio, was an Italian hairdresser working in Cannes. Her grandfather, Pierre Fechino used to be a professional football player in the early 1930s. As a

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed in 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 2 ...

's member, he won the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

in 1932. Retired, he became an electrician, well known in the old town. Alexandra Borchio Fontimp also has a brother named Alexandre Borchio born in

in 1977. Alexandra Borchio Fontimp attended school in Antibes Juan-le-Pins until she obtained her

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

(High school diploma) in Economics. She studied at Audiberti highschool. Her marriage with Fabrice Fontimp in 2007 led to the birth of two children, Chloé Fontimp on 26 September 2008 and then to Thomas Fontimp on 13 January 2011.

Professional career

Alexandra Borchio Fontimp began her professional career as a journalist covering French local news in the Alpes-Maritimes. She became reporter and editor in 2005 thanks to her graduation following the obtention of her master's degree named "Information and communication sciences" issued by the Faculty of Arts in Nice. She invested herself in politics during 2008, first as a member of the French right-wing party, UMP and then as an advisor in the municipal council of

Vallauris Vallauris (; ; Niçard subdialect: ''Valàuri'') is a seaside commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is located in the metropolitan area (and is today effectively an ext ...

Golfe-Juan. In 2015, she is working part-time in the Provencale radio Kiss FM, covering the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

and the

Mercantour The Mercantour-Argentera massif (, ) is a massif in the Maritime Alps located astride the French departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and the Italian region of Piedmont. The name of the massif comes respectively from the sum ...

’s area as head of business partnerships. In 2017, when Eric Pauget is elected as deputy (MP) in the

Alpes Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it encompasses the French Riviera alongside neighbou ...

’s seventh district, she became her

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

substitute.

Political career

Alexandra Borchio Fontimp, candidate in the French senatorial elections, became Senator of

on 27 September 2020. She is a member of the French Senate's "Culture, Education and Communication" commission and "Women's Rights" delegation, she holds two mandates. A national mandate at the

Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...

and a local mandate in the

department. Furthermore, due to her commitment to the fight against violence towards women and for her implication for the equality between women and men, she was appointed a member of the French High Council for Equality in 2019. Following the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic, the

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

takes up the cause of students without a master's degree. From the rostrum of the Senate, she questioned the Minister of Higher Education, at that time Frédérique Vidal, on the situation of thousands of students who find themselves without access to a master's degree for the next academic year. She declares then that "The Republic shall not tolerate a nebulous system telling our youth that they're not qualified.” On 28 September 2022, Alexandra Borchio Fontimp, Laurence Cohen and Laurence Rossignol were assigned rapporteur of women's right and gender equality delegation. Together, they exposed to the media their Senate committee report condemning sexual abuse in the French pornography industry. The following resolution was unanimously voted favorably by the assembly, an unprecedented event in the history of the fifth republic. During July 2022, she publicly called for laws to be introduced to extend legal protection to traditional French recipes, such as salade niçoise, to prevent restaurants or food manufacturers from altering their recipes.

Local mandates

Alexandra Borchio Fontimp was a candidate in the 2015 departmental elections and has since been a member of the departmental majority, chaired by Charles Ange Ginesy. Chairwoman of the "Education, Research and Higher Education" commission, she was also elected vice-president of the ''Côte d'Azur France'' regional tourism committee, destined to promote tourism in the French riviera. She is also head of the "gender equality" delegation. Alexandra Borchio Fontimp is elected president of the

territorial hospital group in 2019 and vice-president of the French hospital federation in 2019. Together with Jacques Gente, she became a departmental councillor, elected with 68.19% of the votes cast in the Antibes-2 canton. Afterwards, she takes on the presidency of the "Education and Smart Deal" commission. On 13 January 2022, Alexandra Borchio Fontimp succeeded David Lisnard as head of the Côte d'Azur France regional tourism committee, of which she had already been vice-president since 2015.

Associative activity

Alexandra Borchio Fontimp is committed to education and helping sick children, and became patron of the Adrien association in 2013. She is also a volunteer with the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, where she organizes a number of rounds of assistance for the homeless.

Mandate details

At the French Senate

· Since 27 September 2020 :

On a local level

2008 – 2014:

town councillor 2014 – 2020: Antibes Juan-les-Pins town councillor in charge of youth affairs 28 June 2020 – 27 September 2020: Deputy Mayor of

Juan-les-Pins in charge of Economic Affairs since 2015: Alpes-Maritimes departmental councillor (Antibes-2 canton) and vice-president of the Côte d'Azur France regional tourism committee since January 2022: President, regional tourism committee, French Riviera

Within political parties

· 2019: appointed "deputy general secretary" of the

party · September 2021: appointed campaign manager for

Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti ( or , ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who led The Republicans (LR) from 2022 to 2024. He has represented Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency in the National Assembly since the 2007 legislative election. Once a m ...

's Les Républicains congress · December 2021: appointed deputy director of

Valérie Pécresse Valérie Anne Émilie Pécresse (; Birth name, née Roux ; 14 July 1967) is a French politician who has been the President of the Regional Council (France), President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France since 2015. A member of The Republic ...

's 2022 presidential campaign · October 2022: appointed campaign manager for

's campaign for the presidency of the Républicains · since 18 January 2023: appointed spokesperson for

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borchio-Fontimp, Alexandra 1981 births 21st-century French women politicians French senators of the Fifth Republic French women journalists Living people People from Antibes Senators of Alpes-Maritimes The Republicans (France) politicians Women members of the Senate (France)