Jean Lassalle (; ; born 3 May 1955) is a French politician who represented the 4th constituency of the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

department in 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 ...

from

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. A former member of the

Democratic Movement Democratic Movement may refer to: *Brazilian Democratic Movement *Democratic Movement (France) *Democratic Movement (Israel) *Democratic Movement (Italy) *Democratic Italian Movement *Democratic Movement (San Marino) *Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzst ...

(MoDem), he was a candidate in the 2017 presidential election, in which he received 435,301 votes (1.21%). Lassalle ran under the banner of (RES), a party he founded and has led since he left the MoDem in 2016. In the 2022 presidential election he received 1.3 million votes constituting over 3% of those cast.

Political career

Lassalle, who held the mayorship of the commune of

Lourdios-Ichère Lourdios-Ichère (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, southwestern France.General Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques from 1982 to 2015, elected in the canton of

Accous Accous (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in southwestern France. Geography Location Accous is located some 30 km ...

. He was one of the general council's vice presidents from 1991 to 2001 under

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...

. Lassalle was elected to the

in the 2002 legislative election, where he represents Pyrénées-Atlantiques's 4th constituency. Since 2002 Lassalle has led the World Mountain People Association, an international network of mountain-dwellers active in more than 70 countries. He also leads a Haut-Béarn cultural association. On 3 June 2003 Lassalle stood up in the National Assembly during questions to

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

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 ...

and sang the

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

anthem ''

Se Canta "Se Canta" (; 'If It Sings'), also known as "Se Chanta" or "Aqueras Montanhas", is an anthem associated with Occitania. It is also a very old popular song, known all over Occitania. According to legend, it was written by Gaston III Fébus (1331 ...

'' in protest at an announcement by Sarkozy concerning the housing of 23

gendarmes A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

tasked with guarding the

Somport Somport or Col du Somport, known also as the Aspe Pass or Canfranc Pass, (el. 1632 m.) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain. Its name is derived from the Latin ''Summus portus''. It was one of the most po ...

tunnel, which links France with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

through the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. The village closest to the French end of the tunnel is

Urdos Urdos (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Its station on the Pau–Canfranc railway was closed after an accident in 1970. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The foll ...

, but it was announced that the gendarmes would be housed in the nearby town of

Oloron-Sainte-Marie Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. History The town was founded by the Romans in the 1st century, then known as ''Illoronensium''. Situated on the Roman way between the ...

, on the grounds that their wives would become bored in Urdos. As he explained in an interview with

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

later that day, Lassalle took exception to what he saw as a slur on the Pyrenean village and decided to interrupt the minister with his song. The protest was met by laughter from other deputies, disapproval from the President of the National Assembly and bemusement from Sarkozy. MoDem regional elections 2010-01-24 n05

In 2013, Lassalle walked around France for eight months from April to December to meet people. He was afterwards quoted, "Everywhere I went I witnessed a crisis in the standard of living, a loss of identity and the loss of a sense of a common destiny". He found the situation equally bad in the cities and the countryside. Scepticism about globalisation, distrust of politicians and latent racism were common among people he spoke to, he said."MP finds France ‘without hope’ after walking tour of country"
.

France24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.

Hunger strike

Lassalle undertook a 39-day

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

in March and April 2006, in protest at a threat to jobs in his constituency.

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese firm Toyal, which owned a paint factory near

in the

Vallée d'Aspe The Aspe Valley (, ; ) is a valley in the French part of the Pyrenees, department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Geography It is one of the three valleys located in the historic region of upper Béarn, along with the Ossau Valley to the east and Ba ...

and employed 150 of Lassalle's constituents, announced plans to open a factory 60 km away. The firm claimed that this relocation of its investment would not result in the closure of the Accous site, but Lassalle's concerns were not assuaged and he embarked on a hunger strike on 7 March. The strike ended on 14 April, when Toyal offered an assurance to Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy that the factory would not close and that it would continue investment in the area before expanding elsewhere. Earlier the same day, Lassalle had been admitted to hospital in

Garches Garches () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, with a population of 17,898 ...

, in the western suburbs of Paris, prompting intervention by

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

and Sarkozy. Lassalle had lost of weight over the course of the strike.

2017 presidential campaign

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Lassalle ran for

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

. He received support from the Association des maires ruraux de France (Association of rural mayors of France). His platform was centre-right, with tenets of agrarianism, protectionism and ecological preservation. His campaign spots included, among other things, him mowing his lawn shirtless. In the 4 April 2017 televised debate on

BFM TV BFM TV (, stylized as BFMTV) is a French news broadcast television and radio network, wholly owned by RMC BFM. The flagship property of the RMC BFM division of CMA CGM, its headquarters are located in Paris. As the country's most-watched new ...

, he introduced himself as the "son of a shepherd, brother of a shepherd, ormer shepherdmyself". After he arrived late at the television studio, several news outlets took a critical stance at his performance. However, following the debate he quickly became the most searched candidate on

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. Lassalle ultimately received 435,301 votes, 1.21% of the electorate, which ranked him seventh out of eleven candidates. Lassalle's support disproportionately came from rural and southwest constituencies. His campaign cost €230,000, the least of any candidate. The bank from which he borrowed the money took his credit card as a guarantee, forcing his mother-in-law to provide groceries for the family during Lassalle's campaign."Jean Lassalle face à Jean-Jacques Bourdin en direct"
,

(in French), 28 September 2017.

Aftermath of the 2017 election

In the 2017 legislative election, Résistons! fielded 21 parliamentary candidates, but only Lassalle was elected. In a 2017 interview with Jean-Jacques Bourdin, Lassalle stated President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

had offered him to be Minister of Territorial Cohesion but he turned the offer down, citing policy differences. In November 2018, Lassalle disrupted the National Assembly by wearing a yellow vest in solidarity with the

yellow vest movement The yellow vests protests or yellow-jacket protests (, ) were a series of Populism, populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 17 November 2018 and ended on 28 June 2020. Some minor protests started again after the restriction ...

, resulting in a €1,500 fine. Lassalle explored a candidacy for the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

, on a platform of Eurosceptism and "a Europe of nations and peoples", but ultimately did not stand in that election, citing financial difficulties.

2022 presidential campaign

2022-02-11 21-48-04 meeting-Lassalle-Onans

On 16 March 2021, Lassalle stated his intention to run again for the presidency in the 2022 presidential election. The Constitutional Council approved his second presidential candidacy on 17 February 2022. In early 2022, Lassalle appeared doubtful about his prospects, as he said: "Macron will be reelected as things stand. The financial powers that have taken over our country have already decided that". A few days later, he publicly stated he was thinking about withdrawing his candidacy for the presidency, citing a lack of sufficient media coverage. He openly criticised his treatment in mainstream media after he failed to be invited to a political evening show on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

. Lassalle ultimately received just over 3 percent of the vote, a significant improvement over his 2017 showing, with his strongest support coming from Corsica, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie. Consequently, it is also in

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

that his party will have the most candidates in the legislative elections. Lassalle received more votes than

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 ...

candidate

Anne Hidalgo Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (, ; born 19 June 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). Hidalg ...

. He made no endorsement in the second round, saying he trusts the French people to do what is right. On the day of the vote, he published a video recorded at the polling station in Lourdios-Ichère in which he acts as if he is about to vote, then retracts and stated his refusal to participate in the vote. In doing so, he violated the French electoral code, which prohibites "messages of an electoral propaganda nature on the eve and on election day", leading to all ballots in Lourdios-Ichère being invalidated. He did not run in the

2022 French legislative election Legislative elections in France, Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 Deputy (France), members of the 16th National Assembly (France), National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic. Th ...

, instead endorsing his brother for the seat, which was ultimately won by

candidate Iñaki Echaniz. Lassalle ran in the

2024 European Parliament election The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...

, where his

Rural Alliance The Rural Alliance (''French'': ''Alliance rurale'') was a list of candidates that stood in the 2024 European elections in France.. The list included representatives of different political parties, including Résistons. It includes personaliti ...

list received 2.35% of the vote, falling short of the 5% threshold required to gain seats. He ran in the 2024 snap legislative election to reclaim his former seat but came third in both rounds of voting, losing to the incumbent, Iñaki Echaniz.

Personal life

Lassalle was born in

Lourdios-Ichère Lourdios-Ichère (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, southwestern France.Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

. Son of an

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

, he is trained as an agricultural technician but got involved in politics very early, becoming at the age of 21 mayor of his native village. His son Thibault Lassalle is a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. He was a member of the French U19 team taking part in the 2006 U19 World Championships in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, in which France reached the semi-final. On 20 September 2020, Lassalle accidentally parked his car on a level crossing that later obstructed a passenger train, which was reported on by multiple news outlets. He later apologized for the incident, which caused a short train delay.

Works

* * * *

References

External links

*
National Assembly site

World Mountain People Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lassalle, Jean 1955 births Living people Shepherds 20th-century mayors of places in France 21st-century mayors of places in France Departmental councillors (France) People from Béarn Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine Union for French Democracy politicians Democratic Movement (France) politicians Mayors of places in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Candidates in the 2017 French presidential election Candidates in the 2022 French presidential election 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 Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Hunger strikers French eurosceptics Members of Parliament for Pyrénées-Atlantiques