Henry de Lesquen

Henry de Lesquen
Lesquen in 2017.
Born	January 1, 1949 Kenitra, Morocco
Nationality	French
Occupation	Civil servant, radio host and politician

Henry de Lesquen (January 1, 1949) is a French high-ranking civil servant, radio host and far-right politician.

Henry de Lesquen was born on January 1, 1949 in Kenitra, Morocco. His father, Pierre de Lesquen du Plessis-Casso, was a general in the French Army. His mother was Anne-Marie Huon de Kermadec.

De Lesquen was a member of the Rally for the Republic (RPR), but left the party in 1984. He has been the president of the Club de l'Horloge, a conservative think tank, since 1985.

In 2001, he became a municipal councillor in Versailles, where he spoke out against the city's public housing projects. In 2007, he became the president of right-wing radio station Radio Courtoisie.

At the end of 2015, de Lesquen announced his candidacy to the 2017 presidential election. In the following months, he attracted media attention by making a number of racist remarks and radical proposals, claiming that as president, he would destroy the Eiffel Tower, "burn" France's labour code and ban "negro music" from the French public media. He was eventually sued for public insults, racist declarations and holocaust denial. In January 2017, he was sentenced to a 16000 euros fine. In March 2017, he withdrew his candidacy in favor of François Fillon.