Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Bayrou government The Bayrou government ( French: ''gouvernement Bayrou'') is the forty-sixth and incumbent government of France. It was formed in December 2024 after President Emmanuel Macron appointed François Bayrou as Prime Minister on 13 December, replacing ...

Barnier government The Barnier government () was the 45th government of France during the period of the French Fifth Republic. It was formed in September 2024 after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September, replacing Gabri ...

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.department in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 1994 to 1997 as

Philippe de Villiers Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist.substitute and in the

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

, from 2004 to 2024. He presided over the Senate Republicans from 2014 to 2024. He also served as

President of the General Council In France, the President of the Departmental Council (French language, French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the Departmental councils (France), departmental council, the assembly governing a Departments ...

of

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.President of the Regional Council of

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

from 2015 until 2017. Following his appointment to the Barnier government, Retailleau was called its most influential figure. He swiftly announced a series of measures to "re-establish order" in France, which were met with massive popular support and bolstered his position. After the fall of the Barnier government and during the formation of the Bayrou government, Retailleau was "at the heart of the political equation". Ideologically, Retailleau is part of The Republicains' conservative wing. He has been vocal on the topic of immigration, denouncing "the French by paper only" ("''les Français de papier''"), French citizens of foreign origin who have never been socially integrated, and also said that France has been "dispossessed of the control" of its borders, in contemporary history. Ahead of his appointment as Interior Minister, he called for "less immigration, more security". He is seen as a rising star and presidential hopeful of LR, and has slammed Islamic headscarves as symbols of oppression, stressing the importance of protecting “the great conquests of the West.”

Early life and education

Bruno Retailleau was born on 20 November 1960 in Cholet,

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...

, to parents who were grain merchants. The eldest child in a family of four siblings, he grew up in Saint-Malô-du-Bois, a village in the bocage of

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Puy du Fou Le Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses, in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2024, it was the third ...

historical theme park, launched by

Philippe de Villiers Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist. Retailleau graduated from

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

in 1985, after a master's degree in economics at the

University of Nantes Nantes University () is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire and La Roche-sur-Yon. The university ...

.

Professional career

In 1985, he became deputy general manager of a local radio station, Alouette; from 1987 to 1994, he was general manager of the Sciencescom communication school, later integrated into Audencia Business School. When the Grand Parc du Puy du Fou corporation was created, which manages the theme park associated with the "Cinéscénie", he became first chairman of the board, as a close associate of De Villiers.

Political career

Early beginnings

A member of the

Movement for France The Movement for France (, MPF; ) was a Conservatism, conservative Soft Euroscepticism, Eurosceptic List of political parties in France, French political party, founded on 20 November 1994, with a marked Regions of France, regional stronghold in ...

(MPF), founded by De Villiers, until 2010, Retailleau became the

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.canton of Mortagne-sur-Sèvre in 1988, a position he retained until 2015.

Member of the National Assembly

Retailleau became the deputy in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

for the 4th constituency of Vendée in 1994. Retailleau became the deputy in the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Vendée in 1994 upon the election of De Villiers as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), a position he did not seek election to in the 1997 election, as De Villiers was running for his old seat. 9

Member of the Senate

Instead, Retailleau joined the

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

in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, where from 2014 he presided over the Union for a Popular Movement group (renamed The Republicans group in 2015), after joining the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

(UMP) of President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

in 2012. In 2010, he succeeded De Villiers as President of the General Council of Vendée.

President of the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire

In the 2015 regional election, Retailleau led a list in

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

with the support of The Republicans (LR) and the

Union of Democrats and Independents The Union of Democrats and Independents (, , UDI) is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in France, political party in France and former electoral alliance founded on 18 September 2012 on the basis of the UDI and Independents group, e ...

(UDI), which received over 42% of the second-round vote. He supported the Aéroport du Grand Ouest project. On 18 December 2015, he became President of the

Regional Council of Pays de la Loire The Regional Council of Pays de la Loire is the deliberative assembly of the Regions of France, French region of Pays de la Loire. The regional council is made up of 93 regional councilors elected for a period of six years by direct universal suffr ...

, an office he resigned from in 2017 to focus on his activities in the Senate. Earlier, Retailleau had held one of the regional council's vice presidencies from 1998 to 2004 under

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

(until 2002) and Jean-Luc Harousseau.

Positions within The Republicans

In The Republicans' 2016 primary, Retailleau endorsed former Prime Minister

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

as the party's candidate for

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

in the 2017 election. He subsequently joined Fillon's team as campaign coordinator. Ahead of The Republicans' 2019 leadership election, Retailleau announced that despite speculation he would not run for the party presidency, calling Christian Jacob the "consensual" candidate. Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, he announced he would also not run for the party nomination. At The Republicans'

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

in December 2021, he was part of the 11-member committee that oversaw the party's selection of its candidate in the upcoming election. On 2 September 2022, Retailleau announced his candidacy for the presidency of The Republicans. In an internal leadership vote, he was eventually defeated by

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 ...

on 11 December 2022. Despite working closely with Ciotti following the latter's election as party president, Retailleau sided against him amid the 2024 The Republicans alliance crisis. In 2025, he decided to run again for the party presidency, this time as favourite in the polls, against former party president

Laurent Wauquiez Laurent Timothée Marie Wauquiez (; born 12 April 1975) is a French politician who has presided over the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes from 2016 to 2024. He is a member of The Republicans (LR), which he led from 2017 to 2019 follow ...

. He secured 76% of the vote to defeat Wauquiez in the May 18 election

Minister of the Interior, 2024–present

On 21 September 2024, Retailleau was appointed

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of Prime Minister

Michel Barnier Michel Jean Barnier (; born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who was Prime Minister of France from September to December 2024. A member of a series of Gaullist parties ( UDR, RPR, UMP, LR), Barnier has served in several French cabinet p ...

, succeeding

Gérald Darmanin Gérald Moussa Jean Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician serving as Minister of Justice (France), Minister of Justice in the Bayrou government. He previously served as Minister of the Interior (France), Minister of the Inter ...

. His appointment marked a shift to the right; shortly prior to his appointment, he had called for "less immigration, more security". Retailleau's first days as Interior Minister were marked by the murder of Philippine Le Noir de Carlan in Paris, by a Moroccan illegal immigrant, who had previously been convicted of rape and imprisoned, but had not been deported following his release. After taking office, Retailleau proposed a number of measures to "take back control" of France's immigration policy, which were met by favourable polls. Ahead of introducing a bill on the subject, he demanded

prefects Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

order a "complete mobilisation" to "speed up the pace of deportations" of illegal migrants. His tenure and popularity made him "unavoidable" after the fall of the Barnier government, with speculations that he would be included in the next government. He was thus retained by

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...

when he succeeded Barnier, with Retailleau titled Minister of State.

Political positions

Retailleau states he belongs to a right-wing movement that does not compromise on its values. A supporter of opposition to President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

's centrist politics, he refused any government agreement with Macron's party,

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, in 2022. In 2024, he joined the

Barnier government The Barnier government () was the 45th government of France during the period of the French Fifth Republic. It was formed in September 2024 after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier as Prime Minister on 5 September, replacing Gabri ...

, a centre-right coalition government which includes Renaissance. Regularly described as a

liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

, Retailleau advocates major reforms of work, of the state and of the French social model, and calls for "a policy of civilisation" against

woke ''Woke'' is an adjective derived from African-American English used since the 1930s or earlier to refer to awareness of racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination, often in the construction ''stay woke''. The term acquired p ...

ism. A proponent of a firmer response to security issues, Retailleau defends a "penal revolution" including measures such as the introduction of short prison sentences from the first acts of delinquency, lowering the

age of criminal responsibility The age of criminal responsibility is the age below which a child is deemed incapable of having committed a criminal offence. In legal terms, it is referred to as a defence/defense of infancy, which is a form of defense known as an excuse so t ...

to 16 years, and suspending social and family benefits to parents who do not endorse their educational responsibilities. Attached to national sovereignty, he regularly denounces the influence of jurisprudence such as that of the ECHR, was opposed to the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states o ...

and refuses any federalist push within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. In 2019, advocating for "an intellectual refoundation" of the right, Retailleau aimed to give back an ideological corpus to his political family, calling on the right to seize new issues, such as environmentalism, to which he devoted a book. In March 2024, Retailleau voted against an amendment that enshrined abortion in the Constitution.

Immigration

Retailleau is a staunch opponent of immigration. He has called for constitutional changes so a referendum can be held on the matter. During one of the debates on an immigration bill in July 2024, which was introduced by his predecessor

Gérald Darmanin Gérald Moussa Jean Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician serving as Minister of Justice (France), Minister of Justice in the Bayrou government. He previously served as Minister of the Interior (France), Minister of the Inter ...

, he stated "immigration is not an opportunity for France." In 2023, following the Nahel Merzouk riots, Retailleau denounced a "regression towards the ethnic origins" of many rioters, adding that although they were French by citizenship, they were in his opinion not culturally so. He called citizens of foreign origin who lack integration "French by paper only" ("''Français de papier''"). His statements received a substantial amount of criticism. He later stated that France had been "dispossessed of the control" of its borders, notably through European jurisprudence. Upon becoming

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in 2024, he ordered the deportation of undocumented immigrants from the overseas island of

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

to the

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. In an interview with French daily newspaper ''

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

'' on 10 October, Retailleau stated his intention of tightening the amount of undocumented immigrants who can see their legal situation change, and be integrated into French society. In October 2024, Retailleau asked to renegotiate the 1968 agreement with Algeria, which governs immigration between Algeria and France. In November 2024, he said he was in favour of its repeal, a result of the deterioration of relations between Algeria and France.

Foreign policy

In a joint letter initiated by

Norbert Röttgen Norbert Alois Röttgen (born 2 July 1965) is a German lawyer and politician who served as Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2009 to 2012. A member of t ...

and Anthony Gonzalez ahead of the

47th G7 summit The 47th G7 summit was held from 11 to 13 June 2021 in Cornwall, England, during the United Kingdom's tenure of the presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations. The participants include ...

in 2021, Retailleau joined some 70 legislators from Europe, the US and Japan, in calling upon their leaders to take a tough stance on China and to "avoid becoming dependent" on the country for technology, including

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

and 5G. Following the

2023 Nigerien coup d'état On 26 July 2023, a coup d'état occurred in Niger when the country's presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, and Presidential Guard commander General Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a new military junta, shor ...

, Retailleau joined forces with fellow Senators Christian Cambon and Roger Karoutchi in an open letter to President Macron, published in ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'', criticising France's Africa policy and arguing that the failure of

Operation Barkhane Operation Barkhane (French language, French: ''Opération Barkhane'') was a counterinsurgency operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's S ...

was mostly the reason why France and its economic, political and military presence had been rejected in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and the Central African Republic; the letter was signed by 91 other senators.

Israel

In 2019, Retailleau wrote to the Israeli ambassador to France, demanding that Christians who live in Gaza be allowed to travel to

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

. Following the

October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

and the ensuing

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, Retailleau expressed strong support for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, which has positioned him as an ally to Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

, echoing sentiments from France's right-leaning political factions.

Personal life

Married to a medical doctor, Retailleau is the father of three children and is a practicing

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. Passionate about horseback riding, Retailleau was spotted by

Philippe de Villiers Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist.Puy du Fou Le Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses, in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2024, it was the third ...

. The creator of the show, who'd quickly made him his second-in-command, later entrusted him with the staging of the Cinescénie for nearly 25 years.

Bibliography

Books

* * *

Notes

References

External links

Page on the Senate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Retailleau, Bruno 1960 births Living people Nantes University alumni Sciences Po alumni People from Cholet Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic 20th-century French politicians 21st-century French politicians Members of the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire Presidents of the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire Politicians from Pays de la Loire Movement for France politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Republicans (France) politicians Senators of Vendée French senators of the Fifth Republic French general councillors Presidents of French departments Members of the Barnier government French interior ministers