Éric Piolle (French pronunciation: [eʁik pjɔl]; born 6 January 1973) is a French politician of Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) who has been serving as mayor of Grenoble since 2014.[1]. He was Regional Councillor of Rhône-Alpes from March 2010 to April 2014.
Éric Piolle | |
|---|---|
 Éric Piolle in 2013 | |
| Mayor of Grenoble | |
| Assumed office 4 April 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Michel Destot |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 January 1973 Pau, France |
| Political party | Europe Ecology – The Greens |
Education and business career edit
Piolle was born in Pau, France where he attended Lycée Louis-Barthou. After graduating, he went to the Grenoble Institute of Technology to study engineering.
He joined the Hewlett-Packard Company in 2001, and became a senior manager at the Grenoble site.[2] In February 2011, he was fired for refusing to set up a relocation plan.[3]
He co-founded the company Raise Partners, a company specializing in financial risk management.[4]
Political career edit
Early beginnings edit
In 1997, at 24, Piolle was a parliamentary candidate for the eighth district of Isère as a Miscellaneous left, he won 1.35% of the votes.[5] In 2002 he was a substitute candidate during the legislative elections for the first district of Isère.
In March 2010, Piolle was elected as a regional councilor of Isère, which is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region, as a member of Europe Ecology.[6]
In June 2012, Piolle was a parliamentary candidate for the first district of Isère as a member of EELV, he won 7.7% of votes.[7]
Mayor of Grenoble edit
In 2014, Piolle became a candidate for mayor of Grenoble during the municipal elections, his motto being "Grenoble, Une Ville pour Tous" (Grenoble, A City for All).[8] He was the leading candidate throughout the race, gathering support from environmentalists, EELV, the Left Party, The Alternatives, the Anticapitalist Left, and two local associations, ADES and the Citizen Network.[9][10] He was elected during a city council session on April 4, 2014, succeeding Michel Destot (PS) as mayor of Grenoble. He received 50 votes out of the 59 councilors.[11] After this election Grenoble becomes the first French city with more than 100 000 inhabitants to elect an EELV municipal government.[12]
After winning the election, Piolle declined to run for president of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, and resigned from his position as a regional councilor of Rhône-Alpes.[13]
In the French presidential election of 2017, Piolle called on voters to support Jean-Luc Mélenchon.[14]
Following a proposal by Piolle, the municipal council of Grenoble voted in favour of allowing the use of body-covering "burkini" bathing suits for women in municipal pools in May 2022, sparking protest from conservative and far-right politicians. In response, Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin filed an objection against the burkini permit. Shortly after, a French administrative court suspended the city of Grenoble's decision.[15]