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Jean Castex

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Jean Castex
Castex in 2020
President of RATP
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 November 2022
Preceded byCatherine Guillouard
Prime Minister of France
In office
3 July 2020 – 16 May 2022
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Preceded byÉdouard Philippe
Succeeded byÉlisabeth Borne
President of Conflent Canigó
In office
7 January 2015 – 3 July 2020
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byJean-Louis Jallat
Deputy Secretary-General to the President
In office
28 February 2011 – 15 May 2012
PresidentNicolas Sarkozy
Preceded byXavier Musca
Succeeded byEmmanuel Macron
Nicolas Revel
Mayor of Prades
In office
18 March 2008 – 3 July 2020
Preceded byJean-François Denis
Succeeded byYves Delcor
Personal details
Born (1965-06-25) 25 June 1965 (age 59)
Vic-Fezensac, Gers, France
Political partyRenaissance (2020–present)
Other political
affiliations		UMP (until 2015)
The Republicans (2015–2020)
SpouseSandra Ribelaygue
Children4
Alma materUniversity of Toulouse 2
Sciences Po
École nationale d'administration
Signature

Jean Castex (French: [ʒɑ̃ kastɛks]; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022.[1] He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM).[2] Castex served for twelve years as mayor of the small town of Prades prior to his appointment as prime minister by President Emmanuel Macron. He resigned his post ahead of the 2022 legislative election.[3][4] He has been president of the state-owned RATP since November 2022.

Political career

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Elected in 2008 as the mayor of Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales,[5] Castex served under Health Minister Xavier Bertrand as chief of staff in François Fillon's ministry from 2010 until 2011.[6] He succeeded Raymond Soubie as Secretary-General of the Élysée under President Nicolas Sarkozy between 2011 and 2012. In the UMP 2012 leadership primaries, he endorsed Fillon.[7]

On the local level, Castex was a regional councillor of Languedoc-Roussillon from 2010 to 2015, and has served as department councillor of Pyrénées-Orientales since 2015. In September 2017, Castex was appointed interdepartmental delegate to the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics; he was also appointed as President of the National Sports Agency.[8] On 2 April 2020, he was appointed coordinator of the phasing out of the lockdown implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.

Castex was a member of The Republicans until early 2020, where he was regarded as being socially conservative.[9][10] Following Édouard Philippe's resignation on 3 July 2020, Castex was appointed Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron.[11] His appointment was described as a "doubling down on a course that is widely seen as centre-right in economic terms".[12] Castex subsequently named his government on 6 July.[13][14]

On 25 April 2022, following Macron's re-election as President, Castex agreed to resign as prime minister.[4] Castex had previously pledged to do so if Macron was re-elected.[15][16] Upon his resignation, Castex's government resigned as well, effective on 16 May.[4][3]

Life after politics

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After leaving office, Castex was nominated by his successor Élisabeth Borne as chairman of the board of directors of the Agence de financement des infrastructures de transport de France (AFITF).[17] He left the post on 10 November 2022,[18] to be nominated to the PDG of the RATP, starting on the 28 November.[19]

Personal life

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Castex, whose name means 'castles' in Gascon (castèths), hails from the Gers. He is married to Sandra Ribelaygue;[20] they have four daughters.[21]

A fluent Catalan speaker, Castex is regarded a defender of the Catalan identity in Southern France and other regional sensibilities.[22] He is also friends with the ex-trades union leader Jean-Claude Mailly and the physician Patrick Pelloux, a former columnist at Charlie Hebdo.[20]

Castex tested positive for COVID-19 on 23 November 2021.[23]

Honours

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Ribbon bar Honour Date and comment
Knight of the National Order of Merit 2006
Knight of the Legion of Honour 2020
Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit 2020 (ex officio)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mallet, Victor (3 July 2020). "Macron names Jean Castex as new French prime minister". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Jean Castex, un premier ministre sous les radars". Le Monde.fr (in French). 25 September 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Élisabeth Borne named France's new prime minister". The Local France. thelocal.fr. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Macron set to name France's next PM as focus moves to legislative elections". 25 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  5. ^ Paul Turban (7 April 2020). "Coronavirus: who is Jean Castex, the "Mr. Déconfinement" of the government?". RTL Group. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  6. ^ Michel Rose (3 July 2020), Factbox: Who is France's new prime minister, Jean Castex? Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  7. ^ Copé, Fillon et l'UMP : qui soutient qui ? Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine L'Obs, 17 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Qui est Jean Castex, le nouveau Premier ministre?". BFMTV (in French). Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Macron appoints new PM after Philippe resigns". BBC News. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Jean Castex named as new French prime minister". The Daily Telegraph. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  11. ^ "French president names Jean Castex, who coordinated France's virus reopening strategy, as new prime minister". Associated Press. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  12. ^ Momtaz, Rym (3 July 2020). "Picking low-profile French PM, Macron bets big on himself". Politico. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  13. ^ Government of the French Republic (7 July 2020). "Decree on the composition of the Government". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  14. ^ Pascale Davies & Alasdair Sandford with AFP (6 July 2020). "New French government named under Prime Minister Jean Castex in Macron reshuffle". Euronews. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  15. ^ "French PM announces he will resign if Macron is re-election". thelocal.fr. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  16. ^ "French PM Castex announces government resignation if Macron re-elected". Le Monde. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  17. ^ Arthur Berdah (7 July 2022), Macron veut nommer Castex à la tête de l'Agence de financement des infrastructures de transport de France Le Figaro.
  18. ^ "Décret du 9 novembre 2022 mettant fin aux fonctions de président et de membre du conseil d'administration de l'Agence de financement des infrastructures de transport de France - M. CASTEX (Jean)".
  19. ^ "Décret du 23 novembre 2022 portant nomination du président-directeur général de la Régie autonome des transports parisiens - M. CASTEX (Jean)".
  20. ^ a b Arnaud Focraud (3 July 2020), Les multiples vies de Jean Castex, nouveau Premier ministre d'Emmanuel Macron Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Le Journal du Dimanche.
  21. ^ Braun, Elisa (3 July 2020). "5 things to know about France's new PM Jean Castex". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Le Premier ministre français, défenseur de l'identité catalane". Equinox (in French). 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  23. ^ "French Prime Minister Castex tests positive for coronavirus -PM's office". Reuters. 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jean Castex.
Political offices
Preceded by
Jean-François Denis
 Mayor of Prades
2008–2020 		Succeeded by
Yves Delcor
Preceded by Deputy Secretary-General to the President
2011–2012 		Succeeded by
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
2020–2022 		Succeeded by
Order of precedence
Preceded byas Former Prime Minister Order of precedence in France
Former Prime Minister 		Succeeded byas Former Prime Minister
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