Franck Riester

Franck Riester (born 3 January 1974) is a French politician who has been serving as Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe since 2018. He was a member of the National Assembly of France from 2007 to 2018, representing the Seine-et-Marne department.[1]

Franck Riester
Minister of Culture
Assumed office
16 October 2018
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Prime MinisterÉdouard Philippe
Preceded byFrançoise Nyssen
Member of the National Assembly
for Seine-et-Marne's 5th constituency
In office
20 June 2007 – 16 November 2018
Preceded byGuy Drut
Succeeded byPatricia Lemoine
Mayor of Coulommiers
In office
2008–2017
Preceded byGuy Drut
Succeeded byGinette Motot
Personal details
Born (1974-01-03) 3 January 1974
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Political partyThe Republicans (until 2017)
Agir (2017–present)
Alma materISG Business School
ESSEC Business School

Riester is a former member of The Republicans, previously known as the Union for a Popular Movement. He founded and currently leads the Agir party.

Political career

In the 2009 European elections, Riester was the national campaign manager for Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party.[2] During Sarkozy’s unsuccessful campaign for the 2012 presidential elections, Riester served as the party’s head of communications.[3]

In the Republicans’ 2016 presidential primaries, Riester endorsed Bruno Le Maire as the party's candidate for the office of President of France.[4] When the primaries' winner François Fillon became embroiled in a political affair during his campaign, Riester publicly called on him to step down.[5] In November 2017, he co-founded a new party, Agir.[6]

Riester was named Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on 16 October 2018.[7] During his time in office, he announced in September 2019 a public broadcasting reform project aimed at creating "France Médias", bringing together France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde (Radio France Internationale and France 24) and the National Audiovisual Institute (INA).[8] He also merged the Superior Council of the Audiovisual (CSA) and the Supreme Authority for the Distribution and Protection of Intellectual Property on the Internet (HADOPI).[9]

In addition to his role as minister, Riester was a candidate for mayor of Coulommiers in the 2020 French municipal elections; he won in the first round, with over 50 percent of the vote, but entrusted the role of mayor to Laurence Picard.[10][11]

Political positions

In January 2013, Riester was one of the two UMP deputies, along with Benoist Apparu, to publicly declare his support and vote for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in France which had been proposed by the government of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.[12]

When director Roman Polanski won best directing for his film An Officer and a Spy at the annual César Awards in 2020, his cast and production team boycotted the ceremony after Riester said the success of a director accused of sexual violence would send the wrong signal in the era of the Me Too movement.[13]

Personal life

Riester came out as gay in 2011, the first French MP to do so.[14][15][16]

In March 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic Riester tested positive for COVID-19.[17]

References
  1. "LISTE DÉFINITIVE DES DÉPUTÉS ÉLUS À L'ISSUE DES DEUX TOURS" (in French). National Assembly of France. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  2. Patrick Roger (May 5, 2009), Franck Riester, benjamin aux dents longues Reuters.
  3. Catherine Bremer (February 26, 2012), Low in polls, Sarkozy stakes all on campaign verve Reuters.
  4. Ludovic Vigogne (April 20, 2016), Bataillons: Primaire à droite: la liste des premiers soutiens parlementaires L'Opinion.
  5. «Nous, élus de droite et du centre, demandons solennellement à François Fillon de se retirer» L'Opinion.
  6. Emmanuel Galiero (March 31, 2018), Europe : les Constructifs vantent l'axe Juppé-Macron Le Figaro.
  7. "Communiqué de presse - remaniement et composition du nouveau gouvernement". French Republic (in French). Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  8. Caroline Sallé and Enguérand Renault (September 24, 2019), Franck Riester: «France Médias rassemblera les entités de l’audiovisuel public» Le Figaro.
  9. François Quairel (September 25, 2019), Le CSA et l'Hadopi regroupés au sein de l'Arcom La lettre Pro de la Radio.
  10. Louis Nadau (March 15, 2020), Ministres et candidats : comment se sont-ils débrouillés au premier tour des municipales? Marianne.
  11. Michel Rose and John Irish (March 16, 2020), Socialist Paris Mayor beats Macron's candidate in election 1st round Reuters.
  12. Alexandre Lemarié (February 1, 2013), Portrait de Franck Riester, cet UMP favorable au "mariage pour tous" Le Monde.
  13. Elizabeth Pineau and Richard Lough (February 28, 2020), Polanski wins best director at Cesars, prompting walkout protest Reuters.
  14. Marc Endeweld, 'Le député-maire UMP Franck Riester fait son coming-out', in Têtu, 6 December 2011 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. Jila Varoquier, 'Coulommiers : le député-maire Franck Riester (UMP) fait son coming out', in Le Parisien, 6 December 2011
  16. 'Accrochages au conseil municipal, le maire UMP fait son coming out' on TF1, 6 December 2011 Archived 7 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  17. "#Coronavirus : Franck Riester, le ministre de la Culture, testé positif mais "en forme" (cabinet)". Twitter. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
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