Éric Besson

Éric Besson (born 2 April 1958 in Marrakesh) is a French politician and businessman.

Eric Besson was born in Morocco, on 2 April 1958.

His mother is of Lebanese origin.

His father, an officer in the French Air Force, was killed in a flight accident three months before Éric Besson's birth.

After graduating high school in Casablanca, he moved to France to attend the Montpellier Business School.

He then studied at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), before unsuccessfully applying to the École nationale d'administration (ENA).

Besson subsequently joined the French car company Renault, then was editor-in-chief of business magazine Challenges, before joining the Vivendi foundation.

Besson was a member of the Socialist Party from 1993 to 2007.

He has been mayor of Donzère since 1995 and was the député for the Drôme between 1997 and 2007, when he did not stand for re-election.

During his time as a Member of Parliament, Besson was a member of the National Commission for Defense and the Armed Forces from 1997 to 1998, the Financial and Economic Planning Commission from 1998 to 2002, the Commission of Inquiry on the Activity and Functioning of Commercial Courts, and the Commission of Inquiry on Superphénix and fast neutron reactors (both in 1998).

Following his re-election in 2002, he became a full member of the Supervisory Board of the Social Debt Amortizement Fund and the Supervisory Board of the Agency for Industrial Innovation.

Besson was appointed the PS National Secretary for the Economy, Employment and Business in 2003, and National Secretary for the Economy and Taxation in 2005.

He left the Socialist Party (PS) during the first round of the 2007 presidential elections to found The Progressives, a social democratic affiliate party of Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

Besson began the 2007 French presidential election as a member of Ségolène Royal's campaign team.

However, he resigned as the PS finance secretary on 14 February 2007 over frustration about Royal's presidential campaign, which he saw as "badly organised".

He then quit the Socialist Party on 21 February and supported Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential bid for which he was harshly criticized.

In May 2007, he was appointed as State Secretary for Prospectives and Evaluation of Public Policies under the government of Francois Fillon.

That year, he also launched a new political party, The Progressives, affiliated with the Union for a Popular Movement, Nicolas Sarkozy's party, through the Liaison Committee for the Presidential Majority.

In March 2008, he was re-elected as mayor of Donzère after the first round with 69.92% of the votes.

On 18 March 2008, following a ministerial reshuffle, the position of Secretary of State for the Digital Economy was created and subsequently given to Besson.

The creation of the post was a response to the Attali report that stressed the importance of digital development for France's economic future.

In this capacity, Besson conducted a strategic analysis of 10 challenges facing France until 2025.

In October 2008, the "2012 Digital France" plan was released.

The plan sought to reduce "the gap between France and its international competitors" in this sector.

The strategy to achieve this was based around three major objectives: ensuring far-reaching access to broadband Internet, ensuring production and supply of digital content, and reducing the digital divide.

The purpose was to increase economic growth and modernize the country.

From 2009 to 2010, he was the Minister of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development in the government of François Fillon.

He has been Deputy Secretary-General of the UMP since 2009.

In January 2009, he was appointed Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development in the second government of Prime Minister François Fillon.

His tenure was characterized by a stronger fight against illegal immigration and human trafficking.

While a guest on a French TV show, Besson described the immigration policy as based on "firmness and humanity".

In September 2009, an area known as "the Jungle" near Calais, where many illegal immigrants had settled in order to cross the British channel to the UK, was cleared.

According to Besson, the operation was targeting the "logistical infrastructure and mafia-style networks of people traffickers who sell the trip to England at a very high price".

An immigration bill was presented in 2010 that prolonged the detention period of illegal immigrants, penalized employment of illegal immigrants, and called on immigrants wishing to acquire French citizenship to adhere "to the essential principles and values of the republic".

Furthermore, Sarkozy gave the immigration ministry a target of 30,000 repatriations per year.

At the same time, the state budget for the reception and integration of those entering France legally was increased by more than 20% in order to discourage illegal immigration and, in turn, promote lawful ways of entering and settling in France.

Entry formalities for foreigners were simplified, a long-term visa system was established, and 1,000 additional places in reception centers were opened to raise their capacity to absorb asylum seekers.

As part of an EU-wide resettlement system to distribute refugees in highly exposed countries such as Greece, Malta and Italy more evenly across the EU, Besson agreed to the resettlement of refugees from Malta to France, making France the first country to act on the scheme.

Besson subsequently supported the creation of a common European asylum system and advocated for Malta to host the newly established European Asylum Support Office.

In 2012, Besson established a strategy consulting firm, Eric Besson Consulting, advising international industry and energy firms.