Robert Ménard
| Robert Ménard | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Mayor of Béziers | |
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Assumed office 4 April 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Raymond Couderc |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 July 1953 Oran, French Algeria |
| Nationality | French |
| Political party | National Front |
| Spouse(s) | Emmanuelle Duverger |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Journalist |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Robert Ménard (born 6 July 1953) is a French politician and former journalist. One of the founders and the former secretary-general of the Paris-based international NGO Reporters Sans Frontières, he currently is mayor of the town of Béziers in the south of France and was elected with the support of the party National Front.
Ménard comes from a Catholic French Pied-Noir family which settled in Algeria in the 1850s. Around the time of the Independence of Algeria and when he was nine years old, the family moved to Brusque, Aveyron. He studied religion, and planned on becoming a priest.
Ménard is married to Emmanuelle Duverger. He has one daughter with her and two children from previous relationships.
While in college, he became aligned with Trotskyist elements, and joined the Socialist Party.
In 2013, he announced he would be a candidate for the position of mayor of Béziers in the 2014 municipal elections. He launched his campaign with the support of the sovereigntist right-wing party Arise the Republic, and subsequently welcomed the support of the far-right National Front, who endorsed him as their candidate although he was not a member. His move to the far right attracted media attention. He described himself publicly as a "reactionary", supporting the reintroduction of the death penalty and objecting to the legalisation of gay marriage in May 2013. He was elected mayor on 30 March in the second round with 47% of the vote.
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