page_title: François Bayrou
section_title: Political views
hierarchical_section_title: François Bayrou / Political views
caption_attribution_description: English: François Bayrou speaking at the beginning of a national conférence held at Hotel Marriot in Paris, 2 weeks before the 2009 european elections. Français&#160;: François Bayrou lors de l'introduction a la conférence nationale tenue un hôtel Marriot dans Paris, 2 semaines avant les élections européennes de 2009.
context_page_description: François Bayrou is a French centrist politician and the president of the Democratic Movement, who was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 French presidential elections. He is also president of the European Democratic Party.
  From 1993 to 1997, he was Minister of National Education for three governments. He was also a member of the National Assembly for a seat in Pyrénées-Atlantiques from 1986 to 2012, MEP from 1999 to 2002 and is currently the mayor of Pau since 2014.
  It was speculated that Bayrou would be a candidate in the 2017 presidential election, but he decided not to run and instead supported Emmanuel Macron, who – after winning the election – named him Minister of State and Minister of Justice in the Philippe Government. On 21 June 2017, he resigned from the government amid an investigation into MoDem's allegedly fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants, initiated earlier that month.
context_section_description: François Bayrou has been a vocal campaigner on a variety of issues, including reform of the political process, civil liberties, and free software (see DADVSI). During the 2007 presidential election campaign he described the European Union as "the most beautiful construction of all humanity". He called for France to play a greater role in the European Union's affairs, and supports the ratification of a European Constitution, in a more concise and readable form than the one voted down by the French electorate in 2005.
  In an interview with The New York Times in 2007, Bayrou said: "I am a democrat, I am a Clintonian, I am a man of the 'third way'". He positioned himself as a centrist, although he has historic ties to the right. His platform emphasises job creation, improvement of educational standards, improved conditions in the troubled suburbs, reduced government spending, a balanced budget and a stronger European Union, with France as its de facto leader. He has also criticized China's protection of the Sudanese government from UN Security Council sanctions. Bayrou was highly critical of the American economic model under George Bush and of the unregulated free market in general. He described the United States economic model as a "survival of the fittest" system, where it was often stated that money was people's only motivation, where higher education was too expensive, and where the middle class was shrinking. Bayrou criticized the Iraq war, saying it was "the cause of chaos" in the region.
  He criticized Nicolas Sarkozy's foreign policy, including the invitation of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for a week-long state visit to France and the signing of military cooperation agreements with Libya.
  In 2009, he criticized statements by Pope Benedict XVI claiming that condoms promote AIDS. Bayrou called the remarks "unacceptable," adding that "the primary responsibility, particularly of Christians, is the defence of life...This is a continent in which tens of millions of women and men are dying."
  He called for France to boycott the 2008 Summer Olympics, due to the poor human rights record in China and political unrest in Tibet. During a rally in Paris on 21 March he said that "if this drama does not stop, France would do itself credit by not coming to the Olympic Games", criticising China's opposition to sanctions against Sudan over its involvement in the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
  Bayrou is fluent in Béarnese and often expresses his support for regionalism.
  Governmental functions
  Minister of National Education: 1993–1995.
  Minister of National Education, Higher education and Research: 1995–1997.
  Minister of Justice: 2017-2017
  Electoral mandates
  European Parliament
  Member of European Parliament: 1999–2002 (Reelected member in the National Assembly of France in 2002)
  National Assembly of France
  Member of the National Assembly of France for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques' 2nd constituency: 1986–1993 (Became minister in 1993) / 1997–1999 (Became member of European Parliament in 1999) / 2002–2012. Elected in 1986, reelected in 1988, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2007. He lost his seat on 17 June 2012.
  General Council
  President of the General Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 1992–2001. Reelected in 1994, 1998.
  General councillor of Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 1982–2008. Reelected in 1988, 1994, 2001.
  Municipal Council
  Mayor of Pau: since April 2014.
  Municipal councillor of Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 1983–1993 (Resignation) / Since 2008. Reelected in 1989, 2008, 2014.
  Political functions
  President of the Union for French Democracy: 1998–2007.
  President of the European Democratic Party: since 2004.
  President of the Democratic Movement: Since 2007.
caption: François Bayrou in 2009
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