François Patriat
François Patriat is a French politician serving as President of the La République En Marche group in the Senate since 2017. He has represented the Côte-d'Or department in the Senate since 2008. Patriat also served as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in 2002 and President of the Regional Council of Burgundy from 2004 until 2015. He was a member of the Socialist Party before joining La République En Marche! in 2017.Biography
Early career
Born in Semur-en-Auxois, Côte-d'Or, Patriat graduated from École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort in 1968. He joined the Socialist Party in 1974 and was elected to the General Council of Côte-d'Or for the canton of Pouilly-en-Auxois in 1976, a position he retained until 2008. In 1981, he was elected to the National Assembly. In 1989, Patriat became Mayor of Chailly-sur-Armançon, an office he held until 2001.In 2000, he was appointed Secretary of State in charge of small and medium-sized businesses, trade and crafts at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. In 2002, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. He left office when Jean-Pierre Raffarin became Prime Minister.In the 2004 regional elections, Patriat led a list that defeated the list conducted by incumbent Regional Council President Jean-Pierre Soisson. Reelected in 2010, he left the position in 2015, before the region was merged with Franche-Comté.Senate activities
Patriat was elected to the Senate in 2008. Reelected in 2014, he joined La République En Marche! in 2017. The same year, he became President of the La République En Marche group in the Senate, after supporting Emmanuel Macron's successful candidacy for the presidency of the French Republic in the 2017 presidential election.
