Caroline Cayeux (French pronunciation: [kaʁɔlin kajø]; born 1 November 1948) is a French politician who has been serving as Minister for Relations with Local Authorities in the government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne between July 2022 and November 2022.[2]

Caroline Cayeux
Minister for Relations with Local Authorities
In office
4 July 2022[1] – 28 November 2022
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Prime MinisterÉlisabeth Borne
Preceded byChristophe Béchu
Succeeded byDominique Faure
Mayor of Beauvais
In office
18 March 2001 – 31 August 2022
Preceded byWalter Amsallem
Succeeded byFranck Pia
Member of the French Senate for Oise
In office
1 October 2011 – 1 October 2017
Preceded byAlain Vasselle
Succeeded byOlivier Paccaud
Personal details
Born
Caroline Laurence Fournier

(1948-11-01) 1 November 1948 (age 76)
16th arrondissement of Paris, France
Political partyRPR (1981-2002)
UMP (2002-2015)
The Republicans (2015-2018)
Miscellaneous right (since 2018)

Prior to joining the government, Cayeux served as mayor[3] of Beauvais.

Political career

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Cayeux became Departmental President of Oise for the Rally for the Republic in 1998, after the incumbent, Jean-François Mancel was forced to resign for entering into an electoral and political alliance with the far-right FN.

Cayeux defeated the incumbent Socialist Party Mayor of Beauvais Walter Amsallem in the 2001 election and was re-elected with 58% in 2008 against Sylvie Houssin of the PS.

Cayeux was defeated as a RPR dissident candidate in the 2002 French legislative election and as a candidate on the UMP list in the 2004 Senate election. She became regional councilor of Picardy in 2004, on the UMP-UDF list of Gilles de Robien.

Cayeux was the only candidate for the UMP nomination in Picardy for the 2010 regional elections and will thus be the UMP's top candidate.

Controversy

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In 2018, Cayeux made international news playing an April Fools' Day prank via social media, claiming that furniture giant IKEA would be bringing 4,000 new jobs to Beauvais; the prank was not well received across social media [4][5]

Following Cayeux's appointment to the Borne government, more than 100 French public figures signed an open letter denouncing her opposition to a 2013 law for same-sex marriage and adoption which Cayeux had called a "caprice" and "plan that goes against nature".[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Extrêmement honorée d'être nommée ministre déléguée aux collectivités territoriales. Cette marque de confiance m'honore et m'oblige. Je sais la richesse que sont nos territoires pour notre pays. Je les défendrai sans relâche, au service des habitants et des élus locaux". Twitter.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Remaniement : Caroline Cayeux, une élue locale nommée ministre des Collectivités territoriales". Lefigaro.fr. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  3. ^ The economist, Volume 391, Issues 8626-8637. Economist Newspaper Ltd. 2009. p. 28.
  4. ^ "French mayor regrets April Fool's joke about Ikea coming to town". BBC.com. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. ^ "En faisant ce poisson d'avril, la mairie de Beauvais ne pensait pas provoquer autant de colère". Le HuffPost. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  6. ^ Layli Foroudi (16 July 2022), French public figures accuse new minister of homophobic comments Reuters.