Regional Council of Grand Est
# Regional Council of Grand Est

The Regional Council of Grand Est (French: conseil régional du Grand Est), formerly the regional council of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (French: conseil régional d'Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine), is the deliberative assembly of the region of Grand Est. Jean Rottner of The Republicans (LR) is the current president of the regional council. He was elected on 20 October 2017, following the retirement of Philippe Richert on 30 September 2017.

## History

The regional council of Grand Est, previously Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, was created by the act on the delimitation of regions, regional and departmental elections and amending the electoral calendar of 16 January 2015, which went into effect on 1 January 2016 and merged the regional councils of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine, consisting of 47, 49, and 73 regional councillors, respectively, into a single body with 169 regional councillors, following regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015. The number of representatives elected for these three former regions was recalculated as a result of the reform, with Alsace electing 59 seats, Champagne-Ardenne electing 38 seats, and Lorraine electing 72 seats.

## Seat

The merger of the regions of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine necessitated the redistribution of administrative functions between the seats of the former regions. Philippe Richert, president of the newly unified region, proposed designating Strasbourg as the new capital and therefore seat of the regional council, with Strasbourg and Metz sharing the standing committee and plenary assembly. On 12 January 2016, Richert announced that Strasbourg would become the capital of the region and seat of the regional council, standing committee, and thematic committees, while the plenary assembly would convene in Metz. He also stated that there would be a "house of the regional council" in the three former regional capitals, located at 1 place Adrien Zeller in Lyon, 1 place Gabriel Hocquard in Metz, and 5 rue de Jéricho in Châlons-en-Champagne. The finance committee of the regional council was also relocated to Châlons-en-Champagne. These proposals were approved at a session of the plenary assembly on 29 April during which regional councillors also agreed to rename the region – then known as Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine – to Grand Est, following an online consultation in which 75% of participants voted in favor.

## Election results

### 2015 regional election

The current regional council was elected in regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015, with the list of Philippe Richert consisting of The Republicans (LR), the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), and the Democratic Movement (MoDem) securing an absolute majority of 104 seats. After the first round, Jean-Pierre Masseret of the Socialist Party (PS) refused to withdraw his list before the second round, despite calls by the leadership of the party, as well as a number of members of Masseret's list, to vote for Richert's list in order to stop the National Front from winning the region. As a result, the PS renounced its support for Masseret and stated that he would "not have the Socialist label" in the second round.

Seats :

| Leader | Leader | List | Votes | % | Votes | % | Seats | % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Florian Philippot | FN | 641,234 | 36.07 | 790,166 | 36.08 | 46 | 27.22 |
| | Philippe Richert | LR–UDI–MoDem | 459,212 | 25.83 | 1,060,059 | 48.40 | 104 | 61.54 |
| | Jean-Pierre Masseret | PS–PRG | 286,390 | 16.11 | 339,756 | 15.51 | 19 | 11.24 |
| | Sandrine Bélier | EELV | 119,091 | 6.70 | | | | |
| | Laurent Jacobelli | DLF | 84,886 | 4.78 | | | | |
| | Jean-Georges Trouillet | UL–PM–PL–AEI | 84,147 | 4.73 | | | | |
| | Patrick Peron | FG–MRC | 57,165 | 3.22 | | | | |
| | Julien Wostyn | LO | 26,347 | 1.48 | | | | |
| | David Wentzel | UPR | 19,171 | 1.08 | | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,777,643 | 100.00 | 2,189,981 | 100.00 | 169 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,777,643 | 95.49 | 2,189,981 | 95.49 | | |
| Blank votes | Blank votes | Blank votes | 46,404 | 2.49 | 52,078 | 2.27 | | |
| Null votes | Null votes | Null votes | 37,553 | 2.02 | 51,315 | 2.24 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,861,600 | 47.91 | 2,293,374 | 59.02 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | Abstentions | 2,023,930 | 52.09 | 1,592,494 | 40.98 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 3,885,530 | | 3,885,868 | | | |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior, Le Monde (parties) |||||||||

## Composition

### Political groups

The regional council currently consists of four political groups.

| Political group | Members | Parties |
| - | - | - |
| Regional majority | 94 | LR, UDI, DVD |
| National Rally and related | 33 | RN |
| The strength of our territories | 15 | REM |
| It is time for ecology and social justice | 14 | EELV |
| The left, solidarity and ecology | 13 | PS, PCF |

## Executive

### Presidents

| President | Party | Term start | Term end |
| - | - | - | - |
| Philippe Richert | LR | 4 January 2016 | 30 September 2017 |
| Jean-Luc Bohl | UDI | 30 September 2017 | 20 October 2017 |
| Jean Rottner | LR | 20 October 2017 | 30 December 2022 |
| Franck Leroy | DVD | 13 January 2023 | present |

On 4 January 2016, Philippe Richert of The Republicans (LR) was elected president of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region with 102 votes, against 46 votes for Florian Philippot of the National Front (FN), 20 blank votes, and 1 abstention, with the left not contesting the ballot.

| Candidate | Party | Party | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Philippe Richert | | LR | 102 | 60.36 |
| Florian Philippot | | FN | 46 | 27.22 |
| Total | Total | Total | 169 | 100.00 |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | Abstentions | 1 | 0.59 |
| Votes | Votes | Votes | 168 | 99.41 |
| Blank and null votes | Blank and null votes | Blank and null votes | 20 | 11.83 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 148 | 87.57 |

On 30 September 2017, Philippe Richert of The Republicans (LR), announced his retirement from politics and resigned his post as president of the regional council. He was replaced in the interim by Jean-Luc Bohl of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) until Jean Rottner was elected as his successor on 20 October. He received 96 votes, failing to secure the support of 8 members of his own group, against 35 votes for Virginie Joron of the FN and 1 vote for Christophe Choserot, a member of La République En Marche! elected under the banner of the Socialist Party (PS) sitting with the left in the regional council. A total of 37 blank and null ballots were cast. The Socialist group did not nominate a candidate and instead submitted blank votes, as did the group of The Patriots in the regional council due to a lack of "credible projects", implicitly rejecting the candidacy of Joron.

| Candidate | Party | Party | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Jean Rottner | | LR | 96 | 56.80 |
| Virginie Joron | | FN | 35 | 20.71 |
| Christophe Choserot | | REM (PS) | 1 | 0.59 |
| Total | Total | Total | 169 | 100.00 |
| Blank and null votes | Blank and null votes | Blank and null votes | 37 | 21.89 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 132 | 78.11 |

### Vice presidents

In addition to the president, the executive of the regional council also includes 15 vice presidents delegated to certain policy areas.

| Number | Regional councillor | Group | Delegate for | Department |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1st vice president | Jean-Luc Bohl | LR–UDI–MoDem | Attractivity and outreach | Moselle |
| 2nd vice president | Christine Guillemy | LR–UDI–MoDem | Initial training, lycée and apprenticeship | Haute-Marne |
| 3rd vice president | David Valence | LR–UDI–MoDem | Transport, travel and infrastructure | Vosges |
| 4th vice president | Lilla Merabet | LR–UDI–MoDem | Competitiveness, digital sector and excellence | Bas-Rhin |
| 5th vice president | Marc Sebeyran | LR–UDI–MoDem | Finance, management control, public procurement | Aube |
| 6th vice president | Valérie Debord | LR–UDI–MoDem | Employment | Meurthe-et-Moselle |
| 7th vice president | Xavier Albertini | LR–UDI–MoDem | Strategy and forecasting | Marne |
| 8th vice president | Elsa Schalck | LR–UDI–MoDem | Youth and guidance, engagement, citizenship and territorial democracy | Bas-Rhin |
| 9th vice president | Philippe Mangin | LR–UDI–MoDem | Bioeconomy, agribusiness and bioenergy | Meuse |
| 10th vice president | Nicole Muller-Becker | LR–UDI–MoDem | Cross-border cooperation and development of multilingualism | Moselle |
| 11th vice president | Jean-Paul Omeyer | LR–UDI–MoDem | Sport | Haut-Rhin |
| 12th vice president | Pascale Gaillot | LR–UDI–MoDem | Agriculture and rurality | Ardennes |
| 13th vice president | Franck Leroy | LR–UDI–MoDem | Territorial cohesion, contractualization and balance of territories | Marne |
| 14th vice president | Christèle Willer | LR–UDI–MoDem | Ecological and energy transition | Haut-Rhin |
| 15th vice president | François Werner | LR–UDI–MoDem | Coordination of European policy, higher education and research | Meurthe-et-Moselle |

## Committees

The regional council includes 14 thematic committees which submit deliberations related to various policy areas.

| Committee | President | Group | Department |
| - | - | - | - |
| Finance | Jean-Pierre Liouville | PS | Moselle |
| International and cross-border relations | Claudine Ganter | LR–UDI–MoDem | Haut-Rhin |
| Transport and travel | Evelyne Isinger | LR–UDI–MoDem | Bas-Rhin |
| Vocational training | Véronique Marchet | LR–UDI–MoDem | Marne |
| Lycées and apprenticeship | Atissar Hibour | LR–UDI–MoDem | Meuse |
| Youth | Cédric Chevalier | LR–UDI–MoDem | Marne |
| Economic development | Isabelle Héliot-Couronne | LR–UDI–MoDem | Aube |
| Innovation, higher education and research | Rémy Sadocco | LR–UDI–MoDem | Moselle |
| Agriculture and forestry | Patrick Bastian | LR–UDI–MoDem | Bas-Rhin |
| Spatial planning | Martine Lizola | LR–UDI–MoDem | Marne |
| Environment | Christian Guirlinger | LR–UDI–MoDem | Meurthe-et-Moselle |
| Culture | Pascal Mangin | LR–UDI–MoDem | Bas-Rhin |
| Sport | Thierry Hory | LR–UDI–MoDem | Moselle |
| Tourism | Jackie Helfgott | LR–UDI–MoDem | Moselle |
