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Jean Peyrelevade (born 24 October 1939) is a senior French
center-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commonl ...
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 business leader.


Beliefs and political career

In 1981 Peyrelevade was appointed deputy director of the cabinet and economic adviser to French Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy, and, while professing scepticism about its extent, oversaw the
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...
. He was previously a teacher of economics at the ''
École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...
'', and has written on the evolution of contemporary
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
, particularly in his 2005 book ''Le capitalisme total'', published by the ''La République des idées''
think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
. In the book he criticises exaggerated forms of
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
, and proposes a ban on
stock options In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the ''holder'', the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified dat ...
as part of
executive compensation Executive compensation is composed of both the Salary, financial compensation (executive pay) and other non-financial benefits received by an Senior management, executive from their employing firm in return for their service. It is typically a mix ...
, thereby avoiding
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
, and a lowering of
dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders, after which the stock exchange decreases the price of the stock by the dividend to remove volatility. The market has no control over the stock price on open on the ex ...
s to
shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...
s to limit
speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...
. He supported Francois Bayrou in the 2007 French presidential election, and joined Bayrou's campaign team with a view to influence its economic programme. In the 2008 French municipal elections Peyrelevade led the Democratic Movement party (MoDem) list in the
16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (; ) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the ...
– he polled 8.64% of votes in the first round, ranking fourth after the lists of Claude Goasguen ( UMP), 51.71%; Jean-Yves Mano ( PS), 17.08%; and David Alphand (
Miscellaneous right Miscellaneous right (', ''DVD'') in France refers to centre-right or right-wing candidates who are not members of any large party. This can include members of small right-wing parties, dissidents expelled from their party for running against thei ...
), 13.22%. He was elected through the list and became a borough councilor, and on 13 June 2008 was appointed a vice president of MoDem. He resigned from the board of the 16th arrondissement, and all positions within MoDem, on 6 January 2009. He no longer has partisan ties but is an active participant of the left-leaning Terra Nova think tank. In an opinion 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'', ...
'' in 2009, he advocated a separation between deposit and investment banks – believing banks to be a true public service which should be managed as such – and a regulation of the financial system to prevent further financial crises. On 7 September 2011 Peyrelevade supported the candidacy of
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
in the 2011 Socialist Party presidential primary. However, during the 17 September 2011 MoDem summer conference, and in radio interviews, he said he would support
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (born 13August 1962) is a French–Spanish politician who serves as Minister of the Overseas in the Bayrou government since 2024. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president Françoi ...
in the first round of voting, and probably Francois Hollande in the second. On 5 January 2012 he stated that he had changed his mind in his support for François Hollande, saying candidate "Bayrou's speech is more consistent, clearer".”Jean Peyrelevade : Il faut une période de modération salariale”
Lepoint.fr, 17 January 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013
In 2012 Peyrelevade stated that France needed a period of wage moderation to re-vitalize the economy. He believes that the 35-hour working week introduced by President
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...
in 2000 was destructive of French competitiveness within the
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
, while "Germans were seriously putting their affairs in order". Although he saw improvements during the Premiership of
Édouard Balladur Édouard Balladur (; born 2 May 1929) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1995 French presidential election, co ...
(1993–95) and
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 ...
(2005-07), he feels that not enough progress was made in lowering taxes to boost demand.
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 ...
, he felt, had "all the time to address these issues" but didn't. Peyrelevade promotes re-industrialisation, innovation, increased spending on research and promotion of private enterprise. He believes that French employment law keeps wages high relative to other countries, discouraging employment at a time of unemployment. He sees the high cost of social protection as an economic burden, and would reduce these costs while lowering taxes on households. Although Peyrelevade had personal sympathy for 2012 President François Hollande, he was sceptical of his dialogue with the French
Green party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
who advocate a 32-hour working week with a refusal to contemplate austerity and high productivity.


Corporate career

While being associated with left-wing governments Peyrelevade was considered competent by the business community, and was appointed and confirmed head of large state-controlled companies: Chairman of the Suez Company from 1983 to 1986; Stern Bank from 1986 to 1988; the Union des assurances de Paris from 1988 to 1993; and Credit Lyonnais from 1993 to 2003. In 1985, on behalf of the French authorities, Peyrelevade was responsible for negotiating agreement on the establishment of
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
. Peyrelevade became chairman of the French Government-controlled bank
Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cen ...
in 1993. Previously, in 1991, the bank had acquired the then insolvent and now-defunct
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
n insurance company Executive Life. Banks in the US at the time were legally barred from buying insurers. In 2006 the bank and Peyrelevade were charged in the federal court of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
with two felonies concerning false statements to the
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...
. For failing to alert the authorities of the acquisition, Peyrelevade, through a
plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...
with the court, was banned from entering the US for three years and fined $500,000., US Department of Justice press release, 18 December 2003
Internet archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
Peyrelevade joined the European
investment bank Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
Leonardo & Co. in 2004, and is now the bank's chairman of the board, and president of Leonardo Midcap Cf. He is a director of other French and European leading companies, including
Bouygues Bouygues S.A. () is a French engineering group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext, Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip (stock market), blue chip in the ...
, DNCA Finance, and BG Bonnard & Gardel Holding SA, and is a member of the supervisory board of KLM. Jean Peyrelevade is a member of the think tank
Le Siècle ("''The Age''") was a daily newspaper that was published from 1836 to 1932 in France. History In 1836, was founded as a paper that supported constitutional monarchism. However, when the July Monarchy came to an end in 1848, the paper soon ch ...
.


Education

* 1958 –
École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...
* 1961 –
École nationale de l'aviation civile École nationale de l'aviation civile (; "National School of Civil Aviation"; abbr. ENAC) is one of 205 colleges (as of September 2018) accredited to award engineering degrees in Education in France, France. ENAC is designated as a grande école ...
* 1963 – University of Paris-Sorbonne * 1963 –
Institut d'études politiques de Paris 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 ...


Bibliography

* ''Pour un capitalisme intelligent'', ed. Grasset, 1993 * ''La république silencieuse'', (with Denis Jeambar), ed. Plon, 2002 * ''Le capitalisme total'', ed. Seuil, 2005, * ''Seul face à la justice américaine'', ed. Plon, 2007 * ''Sarkozy : l'erreur historique'', ed. Plon, 2008 * ''France, état critique'', ed. Plon, 2011


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peyrelevade, Jean French aerospace engineers École Polytechnique alumni École nationale de l'aviation civile alumni Corps de l'aviation civile Corps des ponts Living people 1939 births French economists Businesspeople from Marseille Democratic Movement (France) politicians Politicians from Marseille