# Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

The Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (French: Conseil régional d'Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) is the deliberative assembly of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeast-central France. In 2016, the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes succeeded the Regional Council of Auvergne and Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes.

## History

The Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was created by the act on the delimitation of regions, regional and departmental elections and amending the electoral calendar of 16 January 2015, which went into effect on 1 January 2016 and merged the Regional Council of Auvergne and Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes, consisting of 47 and 156 regional councillors, respectively, into a single body with 204 regional councillors, following regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015.

## Seat

As Lyon was designated as the capital of the new region, the official meeting place of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is at the Hôtel de Région located in the district of La Confluence in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon at 1 esplanade François Mitterrand. Originally built at a cost of €147.1 million as the seat of the regional council of Rhône-Alpes, the construction of the building was approved by the regional council on 7 April 2005, followed by a European-level architecture competition from November 2005 to September 2006, the procurement of a building permit on 30 August 2007, groundbreaking on 8 July 2008, and the relocation of employees over a six-week period starting on 19 May 2011.
On 21 June 2014, the new headquarters of the regional council of Auvergne at the Hôtel de Région in Clermont-Ferrand at 59 boulevard Léon Jouhaux was officially opened, built at a cost of €81 million. The fate of the project, approved in 2007 with unanimous support, was questioned given the selection of Lyon as the capital of the new region. Although Jean-Jack Queyranne, president of the regional council of Rhône-Alpes, suggested that the merged region could alternate between the two seats, with plenary assemblies in Lyon and standing committees in Clermont-Ferrand, the idea was scrapped given the comparison to the experience of the European Parliament with its two seats in Brussels and Strasbourg. With Laurent Wauquiez, promising reduced costs, elected president of the region following the 2015 regional elections, any arrangement involving frequent travel between the two cities was definitively ruled out. The building continues to house administrative functionaries, with space rented out for associations and start-ups and serving as a venue for events and conferences in an effort to make the structure profitable. The standing committee of the regional council also occasionally meets in Clermont-Ferrand.

## Election results
### 2015 regional election

The current regional council was elected in regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015, with the list of Laurent Wauquiez consisting of The Republicans (LR), the Democratic Movement (MoDem), and the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) securing an absolute majority of 113 seats.
Seats :
| Leader | Leader | List | Votes | % | Votes | % | Seats | % |
| | Laurent Wauquiez | LR–MoDem–UDI | 795,661 | 31.73 | 1,201,597 | 40.62 | 113 | 55.39 |
| | Christophe Boudot | FN | 639,923 | 25.52 | 667,102 | 22.55 | 34 | 16.67 |
| | Jean-Jack Queyranne | PS–PRG | 600,112 | 23.93 | 1,089,756 | 36.84 | 57 | 27.94 |
| | Jean-Charles Kohlhaas | EELV–PG–ND | 173,038 | 6.90 | 1,089,756 | 36.84 | 57 | 27.94 |
| | Cécile Cukierman | PCF | 135,274 | 5.39 | 1,089,756 | 36.84 | 57 | 27.94 |
| | Gerbert Rambaud | DLF | 71,538 | 2.85 | | | | |
| | Éric Lafond | NC | 39,187 | 1.56 | | | | |
| | Chantal Gomez | LO | 31,359 | 1.25 | | | | |
| | Alain Fédèle | UPR | 21,723 | 0.87 | | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,507,815 | 100.00 | 2,958,455 | 100.00 | 204 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 2,507,815 | 96.55 | 2,958,455 | 96.58 | | |
| Blank votes | Blank votes | Blank votes | 59,333 | 2.28 | 59,166 | 1.93 | | |
| Null votes | Null votes | Null votes | 30,175 | 1.16 | 45,577 | 1.49 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,597,323 | 48.91 | 3,063,198 | 57.68 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | Abstentions | 2,713,316 | 51.09 | 2,247,266 | 42.32 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 5,310,639 | | 5,310,464 | | | |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior, Le Monde (parties), Le Dauphiné Libéré (merged lists) |||||||||

## Composition
### Political groups

The regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes currently consists of seven political groups.
| Political group | Political group | Members | Parties |
| LR–DVD–SC | The Republicans, Miscellaneous Right and Civil Society | 118 | LR, DVD |
| LE | The Ecologists | 28 | EELV |
| LD | The Democrats | 18 | UDI, MoDem |
| RN | National Rally | 17 | RN |
| SED | Socialists, Ecologists, Democrats | 13 | PS, DVG |
| LFI-PCF | Insoumis and Communists | 6 | PCF, FI |
| PRG | PRG | 4 | PRG |

## Executive
### Presidents

Laurent Wauquiez was elected president of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes at its opening session in Lyon on 4 January 2016.
| Candidate | Party | Party | Votes | % |
| Laurent Wauquiez | | LR | 113 | 55.39 |
| Jean-François Debat | | PS | 42 | 20.59 |
| Christophe Boudot | | FN | 34 | 16.67 |
| Jean-Charles Kohlhaas | | EELV | 8 | 3.92 |
| Cécile Cukierman | | PCF | 7 | 3.43 |
| Votes | Votes | Votes | 204 | 100.00 |
| Blank and null votes | Blank and null votes | Blank and null votes | 0 | 0.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 204 | 100.00 |

### Vice presidents

In addition to the president, the executive consists of 15 vice presidents and 14 advisers.
| Number | Regional councillor | Group | Delegate for | Department |
| 1st vice president | Etienne Blanc | LR–DVD–SC | Finance, general administration, budgetary savings and cross-border policies | Ain |
| 2nd vice president | Brice Hortefeux | LR–DVD–SC | Territorial planning and solidarity with the Auvergnat territories | Puy-de-Dôme |
| 3rd vice president | Béatrice Berthoux | LR–DVD–SC | Lycées | Rhône |
| 4th vice president | Éric Fournier | LD | Environment, sustainable development, energy and regional nature parks | Haute-Savoie |
| 5th vice president | Philippe Meunier | LR–DVD–SC | Security, international partnerships, hunting and fishing, airports and airport areas, forests and woodlands | Lyon Metropolis |
| 6th vice president | Annabel André-Laurent | LR–DVD–SC | Enterprises, employment, economic development, trade, crafts and liberal professions | Haute-Savoie |
| 7th vice president | Martine Guibert | LD | Transport | Cantal |
| 8th vice president | Jean-Pierre Taite | LR–DVD–SC | Agriculture, viticulture and local produce | Loire |
| 9th vice president | Samy Kefi-Jérôme | LR–DVD–SC | Social and family policies | Loire |
| 10th vice president | Yannick Neuder | LR–DVD–SC | Higher education, research and innovation, health and European funds | Isère |
| 11th vice president | Stéphanie Pernod-Beaudon | LR–DVD–SC | Vocational training and apprenticeship | Ain |
| 12th vice president | Juliette Jarry | LR–DVD–SC | Infrastructure, economy and digital usages | Lyon Metropolis |
| 13th vice president | Nicolas Daragon | LR–DVD–SC | Tourism and spa industry | Drôme |
| 14th vice president | Florence Verney-Carron | LR–DVD–SC | Culture and heritage | Lyon Metropolis |
| 15th vice president | Marie-Camille Rey | LR–DVD–SC | Youth, sport and associative life | Loire |

## Committees

The regional council includes 18 thematic committees with advisory roles, each composed of 38 members with a chairperson and two vice chairpersons. The comments of the thematic committees are considered by and submitted to a final vote of the standing committee or in a plenary session. The standing committee consists of the president, 15 vice presidents, and 45 members of the regional council.
| Committee | President | Group | Department |
| Social action, city policy and housing | Jérôme Moroge | LR–DVD–SC | Lyon Metropolis |
| Cultural affairs | Marlène Mourier | LR–DVD–SC | Drôme |
| Agriculture, rurality, viticulture and food | Jean-Pierre Vigier | LR–DVD–SC | Haute-Loire |
| Local economy, trade, crafts and liberal professions | Alain Berlioz-Curlet | LR–DVD–SC | Lyon Metropolis |
| Higher education and research | Pierre Bérat | LR–DVD–SC | Lyon Metropolis |
| Enterprise, economy and employment | Daniel Dugléry | LR–DVD–SC | Allier |
| Environment, sustainable development and energy | Michèle Cedrin | LD | Isère |
| Finance, general administration | Thierry Kovacs | LR–DVD–SC | Isère |
| Continuing education and apprenticeship | Lionel Filippi | LD | Isère |
| Initial education and lycées | Claude Aurias | LD | Drôme |
| Mountain | Gilles Chabert | LR–DVD–SC | Isère |
| Digital | Samy Kefi-Jerome | LD | Loire |
| International relations and agricultural agreements | Alain Marleix | LR–DVD–SC | Cantal |
| Health, family, and disabled persons policy | Isabelle Masseboeuf | LD | Ardèche |
| Security | Yves-Marie Uhlrich | LD | Lyon Metropolis |
| Tourism and spa industry | Annabel André-Laurent | LR–DVD–SC | Haute-Savoie |
| Transport, territorial planning and infrastructure | Jean-Pierre Taite | LR–DVD–SC | Loire |
| Associative life, sport and youth | Xavier Breton | LR–DVD–SC | Ain |