Jacques Toubon (born 21 June 1941) is a French right-wing politician who held several major national and Parisian offices. He served as Defender of Rights, the country's official

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

, from 2014 to 2020.

Political career

He was

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

for 1993–1995; and Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice : 1995–1997. He was a Member of

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

: 2004–2009, Elected in 2004. He was a Member of 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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

: 1981–1993 (became minister in 1993), Elected in 1981, reelected in 1986, 1988, 1993. He was Deputy-mayor of Paris : 1983–2001, reelected in 1989, 1995. Councillor of Paris : 1983–2008, reelected in 1989, 1995, 2001. Mayor of the

13th arrondissement of Paris The 13th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris. In spoken French, the arrondissement is referred to as ''le treizième'' ("the thirteenth"). The arrondissement is ...

: 1983–2001, reelected in 1989, 1995. Councillor of the

: 1983–2001, reelected in 1989, 1995.

Controversies

Toubon is known for the controversial so-called Toubon Law, enforcing the use of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

in official French government publications, and advertisements published in France. Since the law can largely be described as being hostile to the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

, Toubon is sometimes referred to, jokingly, as "Mr. Allgood" ("All Good" being a translation of "Tout bon", a

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

of his surname). He is also known for the "helicopter affair". In 1996, an initial criminal enquiry had been opened by Laurent Davenas, then head prosecutor of Évry for alleged misuse of government funds, in which

Xavière Tiberi Xavière Tiberi (born 22 August 1936) is the widow of the former mayor of Paris Jean Tiberi. She is mostly known for being involved in corruption scandals in the Paris region. Xavière Tiberi received 200,000 French Francs for a report on fra ...

, the wife of then-mayor of Paris

Jean Tiberi Jean Tiberi (; 30 January 1935 – 27 May 2025) was a French politician who served as mayor of Paris from 1995 to 2001.

(from Toubon's party), was involved. However, this was not a full criminal investigation and no investigative magistrate had been named. Davenas then vacationed in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

. His deputy then announced his decision to open a full investigation. The

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

leaders were frightened by the possible implications of such an investigation, and Toubon, then minister of justice, famously hired a helicopter to fetch Davenas and convince him to rein in his deputy; he refused. Toubon has been the topic of much lampooning. In addition to "Mr Allgood", '' Les Guignols de l'info'' have referred to him as "M. Bouffon" ("Mr Buffoon").

Personal life

He was married to art expert Lise Toubon.

References

External links

Former official page
as Minister of Justice {{DEFAULTSORT:Toubon, Jacques 1941 births Living people Politicians from Nice Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur MEPs for Île-de-France 2004–2009 Ministers of justice of France Ministers of culture of France Ombudsmen in France École nationale d'administration alumni Rally for the Republic politicians Union for a Popular Movement MEPs Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Officers of the Legion of Honour Mayors of arrondissements of Paris French people of Spanish descent