Catherine Vautrin (born 26 July 1960) is a French politician of the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

(LR) who served as a member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kno ...

, representing the Marne department.

Early life and career

Vautrin was born in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded ...

. Her husband, Jean-Loup Pennaforte is chief of internal medicine at the University Hospital of Reims. They have a daughter, Hortense, born in 2002. Vautrin holds a Master of Business Law. In 1986, she started her professional activity by becoming a product manager in the American insurance company

CIGNA Cigna is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and ser ...

after which she became director of marketing and communication in France and for Europe.

Political career

In 1983, at the request of Jean Falala, Vautrin became a municipal councilor in the city of Reims. At the time, she was the youngest of the team. In 1999, she left her job in the private sector to join the

Regional Council of Champagne-Ardenne The Regional Council of Champagne-Ardenne was the deliberative assembly of the former region of Champagne-Ardenne incorporated in the Grand Est region on 1 January 2016. It was headquartered in Châlons-en-Champagne, at 5 rue de Jéricho at Hôtel ...

, where she held the position of Deputy Director General in charge of directions and operational services.

Member of the National Assembly, 2002–2004

In the

2022 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local ele ...

, Vautrin became member of the National Assembly, representing the second district of the Marne and succeeding

Jean-Claude Etienne Jean-Claude is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Claude Ades, an Italian electronic music producer * Jean-Claude Alibert (died 2020), a French racing driver * Jean-Claude Amiot (born 1939), a French compos ...

. In parliament, she was a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs, as such she was: * Member of la commission sur l’avenir aéroportuaire français (the Commission on the future French airports). * First Vice-President of the mission for study of economic and social consequences of the legislation on working time. * Secretary to the Economic Affairs Committee on the Budget of the Economy, Finance and Industry (post and telecommunications) * Secretary of the project on law concerning economic initiative

Career in government, 2004–2007

During the presidency of

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as ...

, on 31 March 2004, Vautrin was appointed Secretary of State for Integration and Equal Opportunities under minister

Jean-Louis Borloo Jean-Louis Marie Borloo (; born 7 April 1951) is a French politician who served as president of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2012 to 2014. He also was Minister of the Economy, Finance and Employment in 2007 and Minister of ...

in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...

. On October 28, 2004, she became Secretary of State for Seniors. From June 2, 2005, Vautrin served as Minister Delegate for Social Cohesion and Parity in the government of

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...

. In this capacity, she led efforts in 2005 on introducing French language tests for immigrants who apply for a 10-year residence permit. After a feud between the government and aid group

Médecins du Monde ''Médecins du monde'' (MdM; ), or Doctors of the World, is an international humanitarian organization which provides emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. It also advocates to end health inequities. It was f ...

that had been distributing tents to homeless people across Paris in August 2005, she pledged 7 million euros to help 1,000 homeless people get off the city’s streets by offering them long-term housing specially adapted to their needs. In April 2006, Vautrian was elected president of the Federation of the UMP. She was also appointed President Communication and Initiative Marne, club Jean-Pierre Raffarin of which she was a member of the National Office

Member of the National Assembly, 2007–2017

In the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative elec ...

, Vautrin was re-elected with 56.93% of the vote. In the National Assembly, she was elected Vice-President of the Commission of Economic Affairs. She was a board member of the UMP in the National Assembly, under the leadership of the group´s chair

Jean-François Copé Jean-François Copé (; born 5 May 1964) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Meaux since 1995 with an interruption from 2002 to 2005. He was Government Spokesman between 2002 and 2007, when assumed other tenures in the government—inclu ...

. On July 6, 2007, Vautrin officially announced her candidacy for mayor of Reims, in the context of French municipal elections of 2008. After the first round, March 9, 2008, Vautrin obtained 25.19% of the vote. She campaigned in the second round against the candidate of the Left Union

Adeline Hazan Adeline Hazan (born 21 January 1956 in Paris) is a French politician, who was one of the Members of the European Parliament for the east of France from 1999 to 2008, and mayor of Reims from March 2008 to April 2014. She is a member of the Soc ...

, obtaining 43.93% of the vote despite the UMP nomination (given in the first round

Renaud Dutreil Renaud Dutreil (born 12 June 1960) is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Sciences, École Normale Supérieure and École Nationale d'Administration in Paris. He was Lauréat du Concours Général de Philosophie in 1978. Dutreil se ...

) and was elected councilor opposition. On June 25, 2008 Vautrin was designated by the members of the UMP group to become, as of October 2008, Vice-President of the National Assembly, replacing Marc-Philippe Daubresse whose peers did not reelect him. On January 28, 2010, Vautrin was named president of French Commission for the Examination of Unfair Commercial Practices, replacing

Jean-Paul Charié Jean-Paul Charié (25 April 1952, Égry - 3 November 2009) was a member of the National Assembly of France. He represented the 5th constituency in the Loiret department from 1988 to 2009, and was a member of the Union for a Popular Movement ...

who had deceased. Vautrin advanced to the 1st Vice-President of the Assembly when

Marc Laffineur Marc Laffineur (born 10 August 1945) in Maubeuge is a French politician. He was a member of the National Assembly of France from 1988 to 2011, representing the Maine-et-Loire department, and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement ...

was appointed to government in June 2011. In 2012, after switching to the left of the National Assembly, Laurence Dumont succeeded her as First Vice-President and she was appointed the fifth vice-president. At the UMP´s 2012 congress, Vautrin supported the motion

Gaullism, a way forward for France Gaullism, a way forward for France (French: ''Le Gaullisme, une voie d'avenir pour la France'') was a recognised movement within the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). It was created in 2012 to represent Gaullists within the party; it was led by ...

, led by

Michèle Alliot-Marie Michèle Yvette Marie-Thérèse Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie (; born 10 September 1946), known in France as MAM, is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from France. She is a member of the The Republicans (France), Rep ...

Roger Karoutchi Roger Karoutchi (born 26 August 1951) is a French teacher and politician who has been serving as the first Vice President of the Senate since 2020. He previously served as the French Ambassador to the OECD'Karoutchi ambassadeur auprès de l'OCD ...

Henri Guaino Henri Guaino (born 11 March 1957) is a French speechwriter and politician who served as the member of the National Assembly for the 3rd constituency of Yvelines from 2012 to 2017. A member of The Republicans (LR), he previously was a special ...

and

Patrick Ollier Patrick Ollier (born 17 December 1944) is a French politician. He is the Mayor of Rueil-Malmaison. He was a national assembly deputy for Hauts-Alpes's 2nd constituency from 1988 to 2002, as a member of the UMP. Secondly for Hauts-de-Seine's ...

. In December 2012, following the resignation of

Dominique Dord Dominique Dord (born 1 September 1959 in Chambéry, Savoie) is a French politician of the French Republican Party who served as a member of the National Assembly of France between 1997 and 2017. He represented the Savoie department, He is also ...

, she was appointed national treasurer of the UMP under the leadership of the party’s chair

. In 2015, Vautrin and

Monique Rabin Monique Rabin (born 2 July 1954) is a French politician. She was the National Assembly deputy for Loire-Atlantique's 9th constituency from 2012 to 2017, as a member of the socialists. Political career Before her election, she was a parliame ...

co-authored a report on th
financing of consular missions
Vautrin was one of the MPs who lost their seat in the 2017 French legislative election.

President of Grand Reims, 2014–present

Since 2014, Vautrin has been serving as president of

Grand Reims The Communauté urbaine du Grand Reims is the '' communauté urbaine'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Reims. It is located in the Marne department, in the Grand Est region, northeastern France. It was created on 1 January 20 ...

. Ahead of the Republicans’ 2016 primaries, Vautrin managed former 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. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Sei ...

’s campaign for the presidential nomination, alongside

Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti (, ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who has represented the 1st constituency of Alpes-Maritimes in the National Assembly since 2007 and is the president of The Republicans since 2022. Ciotti previously briefly served ...

; Sarkozy eventually lost against

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French 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 Unio ...

. Amid the

Fillon affair The Fillon affair (also the Penelope Fillon affair or Penelopegate) is a political-financial scandal involving allegations that members of the immediate family of French politician François Fillon were given paid jobs that involved no or very lit ...

, she later called on Fillon to resign as the party's candidate. In the run-up to the 2022 presidential elections, Vautrin endorsed incumbent

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017 French presidential election, 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, M ...

for re-election. Following the 2022 legislative elections, Vautrin was considered by national news media a contender to succeed

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who was the country's Prime Minister from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served f ...

as Prime Minister of France.

Controversy

As part of an inquiry into UMP fundraising efforts started in late 2014, Vautrin was formally placed under investigation in April 2015, on suspicion of illicit funding.Chine Labbe and Brian Love (1 April 2015)
France's Sarkozy questioned on suspect political funding
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vautrin, Catherine 1960 births Living people Politicians from Reims The Republicans (France) politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians Gaullism, a way forward for France Government ministers of France Secretaries of State of France Women members of the National Assembly (France) Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic 21st-century French women politicians Women government ministers of France