Jacques Peyrat (born 18 October 1931 in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

) is a French

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

who was

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 ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million 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 ...

from the

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 ...

from 1998 to 2008. Jacques Peyrat came from a military family that settled in Nice in 1946 where he studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

. In 1947 at the age of 16 he joined the

Rally of the French People The Rally of the French People ( , RPF) was a right-wing French political party, existing from 1947 to 1955 and led by Charles de Gaulle. Foundation The RPF was founded by Charles de Gaulle in Strasbourg on 14 April 1947, one year after his resi ...

(Rassemblement du Peuple Français, RPF), the political party that General

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 ...

created that year. In 1953 Peyrat enlisted in the

1st Foreign Parachute Battalion The 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion () was a parachute battalion of the Foreign Legion formed from the Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. History 1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutistes, 1er BEP - I, II, III Formatio ...

of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. It was in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

that he met and became friends with the French politician

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

. Upon his return to civilian life, Peyrat united his social and professional interests. His presidency of parachute and aeronautical groups won him a silver medal for youth and sports. In 1962 Peyrat began his political career, at first as a member of the

National Centre of Independents and Peasants The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (, ; CNIP) is a right-wing agrarian political party in France, founded in 1951 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents (CNI), the heir of the French Republican conservative-liberal ...

(CNIP), and then in the breakaway

Independent Republicans The Independent Republicans (, ; RI) were a liberal-conservative political group in France founded in 1962, which became a political party in 1966 known as the National Federation of the Independent Republicans (''Fédération nationale des ré ...

party of

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 ...

, as a Nice municipal councillor. At the same time, he practiced law with a specialty in penal law. In 1973 Peyrat rejoined the

Front National The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...

's far-right party, and was a Front National deputy from 1986 to 1988, general counsel of the Canton of Nice 14 from 1992 to 1998 and regional councillor. In 1995 Jacques Peyrat left the Front National and was elected Mayor of Nice with the slogan "Divers droite" (figuratively, An Alternative Right). He was reelected in 2001. In 1996 he rejoined the RPR. Since September 27, 1998 he has been senator first with then RPR, then with the center-right

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 ...

(Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, UMP) from the Alpes-Maritimes. In 2002, Peyrat founded la Communauté d'agglomération de Nice-Côte d'Azur and became president of it. He is also a member of the Superior Council of the Military Reserve (Conseil supérieur de la réserve militaire) and a member of the High Court of Justice (Haute Cour de Justice).

Sources

* Entry to Jacques Peyrat in the French Wikipedia, translated from the French
City of Nice
official biographical sketch {{DEFAULTSORT:Peyrat, Jacques 1931 births Living people Politicians from Belfort Rally of the French People politicians National Centre of Independents and Peasants politicians Independent Republicans politicians National Rally politicians Rally for the Republic politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians French senators of the Fifth Republic Mayors of Nice Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion French military personnel of the First Indochina War Members of the Organisation armée secrète Senators of Alpes-Maritimes Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic