Brice Hortefeux
Encyclopedia
Brice Hortefeux is a French politician
he was Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial collectivities. He was previously Minister for Labour, Labour Relations, the Family, Solidarity and Urban Affairs and Minister-Delegate for Local Government at the Ministry of the Interior and was a Member of the European Parliament
.
, Hauts-de-Seine but was raised in Auvergne
. He is one of the most loyal political allies, and personal friend, of French president Nicolas Sarkozy
. He is the godfather
of one of Nicolas Sarkozy's sons.
On 18 May 2007, he was appointed as the first Minister of Immigration, Integration, National Identity
and Cooperative Development in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon
. As such he has boosted the numbers of illegal immigrants forcibly repatriated from France, extended the network of detention centres (established also outside the larger conurbations in smaller cities such as Blois) and modified the rights of individuals and organizations which visit them.
He is in favor of controls on immigration. He was the promoter of a law that toughens conditions of political asylum
in France. He believes that France has a right to expel or welcome immigrants on a discretionary basis, citing as evidence the high unemployment and criminality rates of foreigners. He also points to the geographical concentration of foreigners in a small amount of towns as evidence that they are not integrated in the country. As he declared in the newspaper Le Parisien
on the 8 November 2007:
« France has the right to choose which immigrants it can accommodate.» [...] « Let's muster the courage to face our problems! Do you find it normal that 60% of immigrants are concentrated in only 3 of our 22 regions ? That the unemployment rate of these people is 22% and that their children are dropping out of school ? No, we will not accept this. ".
On M6's TV show Capital, when asked if there were illegal immigrants in France, he replied: "If you dream of a country where there are only honest and clean citizens[...] In reality, it's a constant struggle."
The 4 June 2010 a French court has fined him 750 euros for making racist comments about a young party activist of Algerian origin.But the court did not issue a criminal conviction, judging that Mr Hortefeux had not intended the comments to be heard in public.
In August 2010 following an earlier fatal incident involving travellers and gendarmerie at Thésée, near St. Aignan, Loir et Cher, Hortefeux has vigorously pursued a policy of destroying illegal travellers' camps and imposing conditions for voluntary repatriations of Roms (or Gypsies) to Romania and Bulgaria, a considerable number of which are in progress. A circular emanating from his office (chef de cabinet: Michel Bart) on 5 August 2010, specifically mentioning an ethnic criterion for these deportations provoked the ire of ministerial colleagues such as Eric Besson and the European commissioner, Viviane Reding. An eirenic exchange with Cardinal André Vingt-Trois,the President of the French Bishops' Conference, representing contrasting reactions within the Catholic community, also ensued.
Governmental functions
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Regional Council
, which is part of the European People's Party
. During his time at the European Parliament, he sat on the European Parliament
's Committee on International Trade, was a substitute for the Committee on Budgets and was a member of the delegation for relations with the Maghreb
countries and the Arab Maghreb Union
.
disclosed a video showing Hortefeux at the UMP
Summer School in Seignosse
, France, on Saturday, 5 September 2009. As he posed for a photograph with a young man of Arabic origin, the following conversation can be heard (translation):
In June 2010, a French court found Hortefeux guilty of a racial insult, and fined him 750 euros with an order to donate 2,000 euros to an anti-racism group. Hortefeux' lawyer said that they would appeal the ruling.
Politics of France
France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
he was Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial collectivities. He was previously Minister for Labour, Labour Relations, the Family, Solidarity and Urban Affairs and Minister-Delegate for Local Government at the Ministry of the Interior and was a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
.
Background
Hortefeux was born in Neuilly-sur-SeineNeuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, Hauts-de-Seine but was raised in Auvergne
Auvergne (région)
Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...
. He is one of the most loyal political allies, and personal friend, of French president Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
. He is the godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
of one of Nicolas Sarkozy's sons.
On 18 May 2007, he was appointed as the first Minister of Immigration, Integration, National Identity
National identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
and Cooperative Development in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
. As such he has boosted the numbers of illegal immigrants forcibly repatriated from France, extended the network of detention centres (established also outside the larger conurbations in smaller cities such as Blois) and modified the rights of individuals and organizations which visit them.
He is in favor of controls on immigration. He was the promoter of a law that toughens conditions of political asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
in France. He believes that France has a right to expel or welcome immigrants on a discretionary basis, citing as evidence the high unemployment and criminality rates of foreigners. He also points to the geographical concentration of foreigners in a small amount of towns as evidence that they are not integrated in the country. As he declared in the newspaper Le Parisien
Le Parisien
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It was established as Le Parisien libéré by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and the name was changed to the current one in 1986...
on the 8 November 2007:
« France has the right to choose which immigrants it can accommodate.» [...] « Let's muster the courage to face our problems! Do you find it normal that 60% of immigrants are concentrated in only 3 of our 22 regions ? That the unemployment rate of these people is 22% and that their children are dropping out of school ? No, we will not accept this. ".
On M6's TV show Capital, when asked if there were illegal immigrants in France, he replied: "If you dream of a country where there are only honest and clean citizens[...] In reality, it's a constant struggle."
The 4 June 2010 a French court has fined him 750 euros for making racist comments about a young party activist of Algerian origin.But the court did not issue a criminal conviction, judging that Mr Hortefeux had not intended the comments to be heard in public.
In August 2010 following an earlier fatal incident involving travellers and gendarmerie at Thésée, near St. Aignan, Loir et Cher, Hortefeux has vigorously pursued a policy of destroying illegal travellers' camps and imposing conditions for voluntary repatriations of Roms (or Gypsies) to Romania and Bulgaria, a considerable number of which are in progress. A circular emanating from his office (chef de cabinet: Michel Bart) on 5 August 2010, specifically mentioning an ethnic criterion for these deportations provoked the ire of ministerial colleagues such as Eric Besson and the European commissioner, Viviane Reding. An eirenic exchange with Cardinal André Vingt-Trois,the President of the French Bishops' Conference, representing contrasting reactions within the Catholic community, also ensued.
Career
- Degree in private lawPrivate lawPrivate law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts, as it is called in the common law, and the law of obligations as it is called in civilian legal systems...
(1982) - Master's degree in public lawPublic lawPublic law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...
(1984) - Studied in Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)
- Local authority administrator (1986–1994) (worked in Neuilly-sur-SeineNeuilly-sur-SeineNeuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
for mayor Nicolas SarkozyNicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
) - Prefect, given responsibility for a government public service mission (1995)
- Special adviser in the office of the President of the Senate (1998–1999)
- Head of office of the Minister for the Budget and Communications and government spokesman (1993–1995)
Governmental functions
- Minister of the Interior, Overseas, Local Authorities and Immigration : 2010–2011.
- Minister of the Interior, Overseas and Local authorities : 2009–2010.
- Minister of Labor, Family and Social Affairs, Solidarity and the City : January–June 2009.
- Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Development Solidarity : 2007–2009.
- Minister of Territorial collectivities : 2005–2007.
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
- Member of European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: 1999–2005 (Became minister in 2005) / Reelected in 2009, but he remains minister in 2009 / And since 2011. Elected in 1999, reelected in 2004, 2009.
Regional Council
- Regional councillor of Auvergne (region)Auvergne (région)Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...
: Since 1992. Reelected in 1998, 2004, 2010.
Hortefeux in the European institutions
He is a member of the Union for a Popular MovementUnion for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
, which is part of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
. During his time at the European Parliament, he sat on the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
's Committee on International Trade, was a substitute for the Committee on Budgets and was a member of the delegation for relations with the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
countries and the Arab Maghreb Union
Arab Maghreb Union
The Arab Maghreb Union is a trade agreement aiming for economic and some sort of future political unity in North Africa between the countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania...
.
Controversial remark
On 10 September 2009, Le MondeLe Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
disclosed a video showing Hortefeux at the UMP
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
Summer School in Seignosse
Seignosse
Seignosse is a commune in the Landes department in Aquitaine in south-western France.Famous for its brilliant surf spots such as Le Penon and Les Bourdaines....
, France, on Saturday, 5 September 2009. As he posed for a photograph with a young man of Arabic origin, the following conversation can be heard (translation):
Female voice – He is Catholic, he eats pork and drinks beer!
Hortefeux – Oh really? Well, he does not match the prototype at all!
Female voice – He is one of us... he is our little Arab.
Hortefeux – We always need one! When there is only one, it's okay. It's when there are many that problems begin.
In June 2010, a French court found Hortefeux guilty of a racial insult, and fined him 750 euros with an order to donate 2,000 euros to an anti-racism group. Hortefeux' lawyer said that they would appeal the ruling.
2010 cargo plane bomb plot
On 4 November 2010, Hortefeux said that one of the two bombs in the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot was defused just 17 minutes before it was set to explode.External links
- Declaration of financial interests (in French; PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file) - Police question Sarkozy's former interior minister, Brice Hortefeux RFI English