Alexandre Varaut

Alexandre Varaut
Member of the European Parliament
for France
Assumed office
16 July 2024
In office
17 December 1999 – 19 July 2004
Preceded byPhilippe de Villiers
Personal details
Born (1966-01-18) 18 January 1966
PartyMovement for France (1995–1999, 2000–2004)
Rally for France (1999–2000)
Union for a Popular Movement (2004–2015)
National Rally (2021–present)
Other political
affiliations
Union for Europe of the Nations (1999–2001)
Patriots for Europe (2024–present)
Parent
Alma materPanthéon-Assas University
OccupationLawyer

Alexandre Varaut (French pronunciation: [alɛksɑ̃dʁ(ə) vaʁo]; born 18 January 1966) is a French lawyer and politician of the National Rally (RN) who was elected a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2024. He was previously an MEP from 1999 to 2004, representing the Rally for France (RPF) and Movement for France (MPF).[1][2]

Career

Varaut was born in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1966,[3] as the son of lawyer Jean-Marc Varaut.[4] Having been a fierce opponent of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, he joined the Movement for France in 1995, shortly after the 1995 French presidential election.[1]

He became a member of the European Parliament in 1999, after Philippe de Villiers resigned his seat.[5] In 2004 he was a candidate for the Union for a Popular Movement in the French regional election in Île-de-France, and in the 2007 legislative election he contested Seine-Saint-Denis's 5th constituency.[1] He was appointed national secretary of the Union for a Popular Movement in 2013,[4] and held the position for 18 months.[6]

Varaut has been described as "the National Rally's favourite lawyer."[2] He has represented Marine Le Pen, David Rachline, Frédéric Chatillon, Guillaume Peltier and La Manif pour Tous, among others.[1] In 2018 he became an advisor to Le Pen, as a member of Les Horaces.[7] He joined the National Rally in 2021, and returned to the European Parliament in 2024.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Alexandre Varaut : qui est l'ex-avocat du RN élu lors des européennes ?". L'Internaute (in French). 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Européennes : le RN recrute Alexandre Varaut, ex-avocat de la Manif pour Tous et de Frédéric Chatillon". Le HuffPost (in French). 7 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Alexandre Varaut". European Parliament.
  4. ^ a b "Alexandre Varaut nommé secrétaire national de l'UMP". Le Figaro (in French). 21 November 2013.
  5. ^ "M. Pasqua reste à Strasbourg, M. de Villiers s'en va". Le Monde (in French). 14 December 1999.
  6. ^ "Alexandre Varaut : « Après Philippe de Villiers et Charles Pasqua, je rejoins Jordan Bardella »". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). 9 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Européennes 2024. L'avocat Alexandre Varaut bat la campagne pour le Rassemblement national". Ouest-France (in French). 9 April 2024.