Paul Loridant (22 April 1948 – 22 December 2020) was a French politician.
A member of the
Citizen and Republican Movement
The Citizen and Republican Movement ( French: ''Mouvement républicain et citoyen'') is a left-wing political party in France. The party replaced the Citizens' Movement (''Mouvement des citoyens'', MDC) in 2002. The previous party was founded b ...
Essonne
Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.General Councillor for the
Canton of Les Ulis The canton of Les Ulis is an administrative division of the Essonne department, Île-de-France region, northern France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas re ...
, and the
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 ...
of
Les Ulis
Les Ulis () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, France. A planned community, it comprises outer suburbs (banlieues) built in the 1970s on the southwestern ...
.
Biography
Loridant was born on 22 April 1948 in Ille-sur-Têt. In 1971, he earned a degree in economics from the
University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
. He 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 ...
the following year and earned a master's degree from the University of Paris 1 in 1974. He served as Deputy Director of the
Bank of France
The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de F ...
. After his retirement from his political career, he served as an advisor for territorial relations in the executive office. After leaving the Bank in 2012, he was a mediator for the Fédération Bancaire Française.
Loridant was elected to the Senate in 1986 and was one of the youngest members at the time. He was reelected in 1995 with support from the
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...
. During his time as a Senator, he served on the Committee of Cultural Affairs and the Finance Committee. He was the first leader of the
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
-
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
relationship group in the Senate and was the auditor for the 37th session of the
Institut des hautes études de défense nationale
An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes ca ...
, the 26th session of the Centre des hautes études de l'Armement, and the 5th session of the Institut des hautes études de la sécurité intérieure. After failing to be reelected in 2004, he became an honorary Senator and Parliamentarian.
During his political career, Loridant first became a member of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
and became the party's first federal secretary in Essonne. In 1993, he joined the Citizen and Republican Movement. He supported
Ségolène Royal
Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the 2007 French presidential election, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to r ...
in the
2007 French presidential election
Presidential elections were held in France on 21 and 22 April 2007 to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France (and ''ex officio'' Co-Prince of Andorra) for a five-year term. As no candidate received a majority of the vot ...
, although she did not advance to the second round.
Loridant served as a General Councillor for the Canton of Les Ulis and was president of the socialist group in the Departmental Council of Essonne. He served until 1988. He was elected Mayor of Les Ulis in 1977 and reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, and 2001. From 2008 to 2014, he served as a municipal councillor in the commune.
In addition to his political career, Loridant served as Vice-President of the Syndicat intercommunal pour l'aménagement hydraulique de la vallée de l'Yvette. He was also a member of the supervisory board of the Agence centrale des organismes de sécurité sociale, as well as the Observatoire de la sécurité des cartes de paiement.
Paul Loridant died in
Villejuif
Villejuif () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.
Name
The earliest reference to Villejuif appears in a bill signed by the Pope Callixtus II on 27 November 1119. It refers to Villa J ...
on 22 December 2020 at the age of 72.
Decorations
*Knight of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
*Knight of the
Order of Agricultural Merit
The Order of Agricultural Merit () is an order of merit bestowed by the France, French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture. When it was created in 1883, it was second in importance only to the Legion of Honour within the Frenc ...
*Knight of the
Ordre des Palmes académiques
A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...