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Louis Besson

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Louis Besson
Louis Besson in 2004
Secretary of State for Housing
In office
4 June 1997 – 27 March 2001
PresidentJacques Chirac
Prime MinisterLionel Jospin
Preceded byPierre-André Périssol
Succeeded byMarie-Noëlle Lienemann
Personal details
Born(1937-05-06)6 May 1937
Barby, France
Died2 April 2026(2026-04-02) (aged 88)
Chambéry, France
PartySocialist Party
Alma materGrenoble Institute of Political Studies

Louis Besson (6 May 1937 – 2 April 2026) was a French politician who was a member of the Socialist Party. He was a leading figure in French housing policy and one of the most influential housing ministers of recent times. He is most remembered for two particular policies, a law enshrining the broad right to housing, and for restructuring the rules to require municipalities to meet a minimum level of social housing.

Early career

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Louis Besson was born into a staunchly Catholic family on 6 May 1937,[1] in the village of Barby, Savoie, France, of which he was mayor between 1965 and 1989. He then became mayor of the nearby city of Chambéry, from 1989 to 1997, and again from 2001 to 2007. During his time there he built the city's convention centre and library, the latter named after the singer George Brassens.[2] He was president of the Savoie department (1976–1982) and also of the Grand Chambéry urban agglomeration between 2005 and 2014.[1]

Government minister

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From 1973 to 1989 he served five terms in the National Assembly. He was Minister Delegate for Housing from 1989 to 1990 and then Minister of Public Works, Housing, Transport, and Maritime Affairs from December 1990 to May 1991 in Michel Rocard's government. He then served as Secretary of State for Housing under Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2001.[3][4]

His droit au logement (right to housing) law in May 1990 was something of a landmark, in that it enforced the basic right to housing, by establishing access to housing as a legal principle. It was known as loi Besson, Besson's law. The opening two sentences of the legislation set the parameters: "Guaranteeing the right to housing is a duty of solidarity for the entire nation. Anyone experiencing particular difficulties, notably due to inadequate resources or living conditions, is entitled to assistance from the community, under the conditions set forth in this law, to access and maintain decent and independent housing."[5] He supported local housing integration initiatives during his time in office.[1][6]

Besson championed traveller rights, notably through the Besson 2 law, implemented in July 2000, which requires municipalities over 5,000 residents to provide designated traveller sites. This reinforced the 1990 legislation to set a target of 30,000 additional plots for travellers over five years.[7] This was not a particularly popular initiative, but as minister he had visited a traveller site to pay condolences to a family that had lost a child through drowning, and that had an impact on his approach to the issue.[1]

He was a joint author of the Solidarity and Urban Renewal (SRU) law of December 2000, whose Article 55 obliges larger municipalities to meet social housing targets. Municipalities over 3,500 residents would need to ensure at least 20% of housing development fell into the category of social housing.[6] This legislation was credited by the law's supporters with enabling one million social housing units, around half of the total residential building programme in France, over the last 25 years, and it still remains part of French housing policy.[1][2]

Other campaigns

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Besson was known for his support for the protection of agriculture in mountain areas, leading the development of the 1985 Mountain Law, which provided protection to upland areas of France and those who work there. He helped to found the National Association of Elected Mountain Officials, and supporting Albertville's successful bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics. He campaigned for the implementation of the Turin–Lyon high-speed railway, and chaired the Franco-Italian intergovernmental commission promoting the project until his death.[1][8]

In 2014 he retired from all his other public offices.[3]

Death and legacy

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Besson died in Chambéry, France, on 2 April 2026, at the age of 88.[1][6]

He was described as a man of deep humanity. His successor as mayor of Chambéry, and his former chief of staff, Thierry Repentin, said of him: "Louis Besson was incredibly kind, but he never wavered in his convictions, displaying an irresistible force of persuasion."[1] Another former mayor of Chambéry, Michel Dantin, from the opposing Republicans party said: "We had profound differences of opinion, and his convictions led him to make choices of which I disapproved. But I respect the strength and sincerity of his commitment at both the local and national levels, just as I commend his concern for others and his great sensitivity to all forms of distress."[3]

Recognition

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Besson was appointed to the rank of knight within the Légion d'honneur in January 1992.[9] He was later promoted to the rank of officer in April 2003 and then to commander in July 2012.[2][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Lefebvre, Isabelle (2 April 2026). "Louis Besson, ancien ministre socialiste, créateur du droit au logement, est mort" [Louis Besson, former Socialist minister, creator of the right to housing, is dead]. Le Monde (in French). Paris: Société Editrice du Monde. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Grand Chambéry: Décès de Louis Besson" [Greater Chambéry Council - Death of Louis Besson] (in French). Chambéry: Grand Chambéry. 3 April 2026. Archived from the original on 3 April 2026. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "Disparition. Mort de Louis Besson: « Un camarade fidèle », « un grand homme d'Etat » les hommages se succèdent après le décès de l'ancien ministre" [Obituary. Death of Louis Besson: "A loyal comrade," "a great statesman"... tributes pour in following the death of the former minister]. Le Dauphiné Libéré (in French). Grenoble. 2 April 2026. Archived from the original on 2 April 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  4. ^ Michel Germain, Personnages illustres des Savoie, Autre Vue, 2007, 619 p. (ISBN 978-2-9156-8815-3), p. 81.
  5. ^ "LOI n° 90-449 du 31 mai 1990 visant à la mise en oeuvre du droit au logement" [Law 90-449 of 31 May 1990 aimed at implementing the right to housing] (in French). Journal officiel de la République française. 2 June 1990. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  6. ^ a b c Dubernet de Boscq, Maxime (2 April 2026). "Louis Besson, ancien ministre socialiste du Logement, est mort à l'âge de 88 ans" [Louis Besson, former Socialist minister of housing, is dead at the age of 88 years]. Le Figaro (in French). Paris: Société du Figaro. Archived from the original on 2 April 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  7. ^ "Le stationnement des gens du voyage - Sénat" [Parking for travellers - Senate (analysis of existing legislation)] (in French). Paris: Sénat de la République française. 1 April 2005. Archived from the original on 3 April 2026. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  8. ^ Chevalier, Michel (24 July 2008). "La "Loi Montagne" et sa mise en œuvre (1981–1988)" [The Mountain Law and its implementation]. Annales de géographie (in French). 98 (545). Armand Colin: 84–91. ISSN 1777-5884. Retrieved 3 April 2026 – via Persée - Portail des revues scientifiques en SHS [Online portal for French academic journals].
  9. ^ "Légion d'honneur". Le Monde (in French). Paris: Société Editrice du Monde. 3 January 1992. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  10. ^ "Ordre de la légion d'honneur". Le Moniteur (in French). Paris. 27 July 2012. ISSN 0026-9700. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
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