Christophe Béchu

Christophe Béchu (born 11 June 1974) is a French politician who has been serving as President of the General Council of the Maine-et-Loire department since 2004. He briefly served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2011, representing the West France constituency.[1] A former member of DL, he was a member of the leading centre-right Union for a Popular Movement,[1] later the Republicans (LR), until leaving the party in early December 2017.

Christophe Béchu
Mayor of Angers
Assumed office
4 April 2014
Preceded byFrédéric Béatse
Member of the French Senate
for Maine-et-Loire
In office
1 October 2011 – 1 October 2017
Preceded byAndré Lardeux
Personal details
Born (1974-06-11) 11 June 1974
Angers, France
NationalityFrench
Political partyUMP (before 2015)
The Republicans (2015–17)
Alma materSciences Po

Political career

Béchu has represented the Canton of Angers-Nord-Ouest since 2001, and was re-elected there during the 2008 French cantonal elections. However, he was narrowly defeated by the incumbent PS mayor of Angers, Jean-Claude Antonini, in the 2008 municipal elections.

Member of the European Parliament, 2009–2011

In 2009, the UMP selected him to lead the UMP list in the West constituency ahead of the 2009 European elections. He was elected to the European Parliament as a result. His list won 27.16% of the vote and three MEPs. In parliament, he served on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the parliament’s delegation for relations with Japan.[2] He resigned in January 2011. He lost the regional election of 2010 to become President of Pays de la Loire region, but was elected as a regional councillor. In September 2011, he was elected as a Senator of Maine-et-Loire, and thereafter resigned from regional council of Pays-de-Loire.

Mayor of Angers, 2014–present

During the 2014 French municipal elections, Béchu competed against Frédéric Béatse, incumbent, and became the new mayor of Angers on 4 April 2014. Béchu was re-elected in 2020.

Political positions

In 2019, Béchu publicly declared his support for incumbent President Emmanuel Macron.[3]

References
  1. "MEP profile - Christophe BÉCHU". European Parliament.
  2. Christophe Béchu European Parliament.
  3. Voici la tribune des 72 maires et élus locaux de droite et du centre qui annoncent leur soutien à Macron Le Journal du Dimanche, 8 June 2019.
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