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Jean Lassalle
Jean Lassalle 03 (cropped).jpg
Lassalle in 2017
Member of the National Assembly
for Pyrénées-Atlantiques's 4th constituency
In office
16 June 2002 – 21 June 2022
Preceded by Michel Inchauspé
Succeeded by Iñaki Echaniz
Mayor of Lourdios-Ichère
In office
26 March 1977 – 16 July 2017
Personal details
Born (1955-05-03) 3 May 1955 (age 70)
Lourdios-Ichère, France
Political party Résistons! [fr] (2016–present)
Other political
affiliations
Union for French Democracy (until 2007)
Democratic Movement (2007–2016)

Jean Lassalle (born May 3, 1955) is a French politician. He was a member of the French Parliament, called the National Assembly, representing an area in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department from 2002 to 2022.

He used to be part of a political group called the Democratic Movement. In 2016, he started his own political party named Résistons! [fr] (which means "Let's Resist!"). He ran for President of France in both the 2017 and 2022 elections.

Jean Lassalle's Political Journey

Jean Lassalle has had a long career in French politics. He was the mayor of his hometown, Lourdios-Ichère, for 40 years, from 1977 to 2017. He also served on the local council for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques area from 1982 to 2015.

In 2002, Lassalle was elected to the National Assembly, which is a major part of the French Parliament. He represented the 4th constituency of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 2002, he has also led the World Mountain People Association. This group connects people living in mountain areas across more than 70 countries.

Singing in Parliament

In 2003, Jean Lassalle did something unusual in the National Assembly. He stood up and sang a traditional song called Se Canta. He did this to protest a decision about housing police officers near the Somport tunnel in the Pyrenees mountains. He felt the decision disrespected the small mountain villages. His song caused laughter and surprise among other politicians.

MoDem regional elections 2010-01-24 n05
Lassalle at a political event in 2010.

Walking Across France

In 2013, Lassalle decided to walk all around France for eight months. He wanted to meet people and understand their lives. He said he saw problems everywhere, like people struggling with their living costs and feeling a loss of identity. He noticed that many people were unsure about globalization and didn't trust politicians.

Hunger Strike for Jobs

In 2006, Jean Lassalle went on a 39-day hunger strike. He did this to protest a threat to jobs in his local area. A Japanese company, Toyal, had a paint factory near Accous that employed 150 people. The company planned to open a new factory far away, which made Lassalle worry the local factory would close.

His hunger strike ended when the company promised the French government that the factory would not close and that they would continue to invest in the area. Lassalle lost a lot of weight during the strike and was taken to the hospital. Important leaders like the President and Prime Minister of France got involved to help resolve the situation.

Running for President

Jean Lassalle has run for President of France twice.

Résistons!
President Jean Lassalle
Founder Jean Lassalle
Founded 17 March 2016; 9 years ago (2016-03-17)
Headquarters 50, boulevard Malesherbes
75008 Paris
Ideology Ruralism
Humanism
Localism
Sovereignty
Soft Euroscepticism
Social Conservatism
Political position Centre
National affiliation Rural Alliance
National Assembly
1 / 577
Senate
0 / 348
European Parliament
0 / 74
Departmental councils
0 / 4,108
Regional councils
0 / 1,758
Presidency of departmental councils
0 / 101
Presidency of regional councils
0 / 17
Website
http://resistons-france.fr/

The 2017 Presidential Campaign

In 2017, Jean Lassalle ran for President of France. His ideas focused on supporting rural areas, protecting local industries, and preserving the environment. During his campaign, he famously introduced himself as the "son of a shepherd, brother of a shepherd, [former shepherd] myself."

He received 435,301 votes, which was about 1.21% of all votes. This placed him seventh out of eleven candidates. His strongest support came from rural areas and the southwest of France. His campaign was also the least expensive of all candidates.

Jean Lassalle 02
Lassalle at the National Assembly in 2017.

After the 2017 election, Lassalle continued his work. He once wore a yellow vest in the National Assembly to show support for the yellow vest movement, which led to a fine. He also considered running for the European Parliament in 2019 but decided not to due to financial reasons.

The 2022 Presidential Campaign

Jean Lassalle announced his intention to run for president again in the 2022 election. He was approved as a candidate in February 2022. He expressed concerns about media coverage during his campaign.

2022-02-11 21-48-04 meeting-Lassalle-Onans
Lassalle campaigning in Onans in 2022.

In the 2022 election, Lassalle received over 1.3 million votes, which was more than 3% of the total. This was a much better result than his 2017 campaign. He had strong support in areas like Corsica and Occitania.

Législatives 2022 Résistons
Map showing "Résistons!" candidates in Occitania during the 2022 French parliamentary elections.

He did not run in the 2022 French parliamentary election. Instead, he supported his brother for the seat, but another candidate won. Jean Lassalle also ran in the 2024 European Parliament election, but his party did not get enough votes to win seats. He then ran again for his old seat in the 2024 snap legislative election but did not win.

Jean Lassalle's Personal Life

Jean Lassalle was born in Lourdios-Ichère, a village in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region. His father was a shepherd, and Jean himself trained as an agricultural technician. He became the mayor of his hometown at just 21 years old.

His son, Thibault Lassalle, is a professional rugby union player. Thibault was part of the French Under-19 team that reached the semi-finals of the 2006 U19 World Championships.

In 2020, Jean Lassalle had a small incident where he accidentally parked his car on train tracks, causing a short delay for a passenger train. He later apologized for this.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jean Lassalle para niños

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