The merger of the regions of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine necessitated the redistribution of administrative functions between the seats of the former regions. Philippe Richert, president of the newly unified region, proposed designating Strasbourg as the new capital and therefore seat of the regional council, with Strasbourg and Metz sharing the standing committee and plenary assembly. On 12 January 2016, Richert announced that Strasbourg would become the capital of the region and seat of the regional council, standing committee, and thematic committees, while the plenary assembly would convene in Metz. He also stated that there would be a "house of the regional council" in the three former regional capitals, located at 1 place Adrien Zeller in Lyon, 1 place Gabriel Hocquard in Metz, and 5 rue de Jéricho in Châlons-en-Champagne. The finance committee of the regional council was also relocated to Châlons-en-Champagne. These proposals were approved at a session of the plenary assembly on 29 April during which regional councillors also agreed to rename the region – then known as Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine – to Grand Est, following an online consultation in which 75% of participants voted in favor.
Election results
2015 regional election
The current regional council was elected in regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015, with the list of Philippe Richert consisting of The Republicans, the Union of Democrats and Independents, and the Democratic Movement securing an absolute majority of 104 seats. After the first round, Jean-Pierre Masseret of the Socialist Party refused to withdraw his list before the second round, despite calls by the leadership of the party, as well as a number of members of Masseret's list, to vote for Richert's list in order to stop the National Front from winning the region. As a result, the PS renounced its support for Masseret and stated that he would "not have the Socialist label" in the second round.
Composition
Political groups
The regional council currently consists of six political groups, of which two were formed after splits from the National Front group. On 22 September 2017, Florian Philippot, ex-vice president of the National Front, announced the creation of a group of 11 regional councillors under the banner of The Patriots, the party he founded, "despite immense pressure from the leadership of the FN", and on 29 March 2018 another 6 members of the FN group in the region who were "disappointed, but not angry" with the party quit to form a group under the banner of the National Centre of Independents and Peasants presided over by Jordan Grosse-Cruciani. Their departure reduced the FN group to 29 members, compared to the 46 elected under the label of the party in 2015.
Executive
Presidents
On 4 January 2016, Philippe Richert of The Republicans was elected president of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region with 102 votes, against 46 votes for Florian Philippot of the National Front, 20 blank votes, and 1 abstention, with the left not contesting the ballot. On 30 September 2017, Philippe Richert of The Republicans, announced his retirement from politics and resigned his post as president of the regional council. He was replaced in the interim by Jean-Luc Bohl of the Union of Democrats and Independents until Jean Rottner was elected as his successor on 20 October. He received 96 votes, failing to secure the support of 8 members of his own group, against 35 votes for Virginie Joron of the FN and 1 vote for Christophe Choserot, a member of La République En Marche! elected under the banner of the Socialist Party sitting with the left in the regional council. A total of 37 blank and null ballots were cast. The Socialist group did not nominate a candidate and instead submitted blank votes, as did the group of The Patriots in the regional council due to a lack of "credible projects", implicitly rejecting the candidacy of Joron.
Vice presidents
In addition to the president, the executive of the regional council also includes 15 vice presidents delegated to certain policy areas.
Committees
The regional council includes 14 thematic committees which submit deliberations related to various policy areas.
