Valérie Boyer
Valérie Boyer (born 11 June 1962) is a French politician serving as a member of the National Assembly for the Bouches-du-Rhône department since 2007.[1] She is a member of The Republicans party.[2]
Valérie Boyer | |
---|---|
Member of the National Assembly for Bouches-du-Rhône's 1st constituency | |
Assumed office 20 June 2012 | |
Preceded by | Roland Blum |
Member of the National Assembly for Bouches-du-Rhône's 8th constituency | |
In office 20 June 2007 – 19 June 2012 | |
Preceded by | Christophe Masse |
Succeeded by | Olivier Ferrand |
Personal details | |
Born | Bourges, France | 11 June 1962
Nationality | French |
Political party | The Republicans |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Sciences Po Aix |
Early life
Boyer was born on 11 June 1962 in Bourges, France. Her parents were born in Algeria and Tunis during French Colonial occupation. They were pieds noirs who fled from Algeria in 1962.[3]
Political career
Ahead of the presidential election in 2017, Boyer served as campaign spokesperson for François Fillon.[4] In the Republicans’ 2017 leadership election, she endorsed Laurent Wauquiez. Following his election, she was appointed the party's deputy secretary general in charge of relations with civil society.[5]
In parliament, Boyer serves as member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.[6] In addition to her committee assignments, she is a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with Jordan, Armenia and South Sudan.
Political positions
Boyer first drew attention in 2008 when she drafted a law which would make the promotion of extreme dieting a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of some $45,000; it passed the French lower house, but later failed in the Senate.[7] In 2009, she proposed a bill to punish advertisements which include anorexic models.[8] She proposed to fine offenders with up to 30,000 euros.
On 22 December 2011, the National Assembly adopted a bill presented by Boyer, penalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide. This decision caused a controversy between France and Turkey. In the days that followed, she claimed to have received death and rape threats. No one was actually charged with these allegations. Turkish hackers took down the French Senate's website in order to protest the bill.[9][10]
In 2019, Boyer opposed a bioethics law extending to homosexual and single women free access to fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) under France's national health insurance; it was one of the campaign promises of President Emmanuel Macron and marked the first major social reform of his five-year term.[11]
Personal life
Boyer is a divorced mother of three.[12]
References
- Office of the Secretary General (2012). "Valérie Boyer". Assemblee-nationale.fr (in French). National Assembly of France. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- French MP of the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party Valeri...| World news | gettyimages.com. gettyimages. Retrieved on 13 March 2017.
- Steven Erlanger (December 2, 2009), Point, Shoot, Retouch and Label? The New York Times.
- Ingrid Melander (November 22, 2016), I am no 'medieval reactionary', says France's Fillon ‘‘Reuters.
- Ludovic Vigogne (October 11, 2017), La liste des 136 parrains de Laurent Wauquiez L'Opinion.
- Valérie Boyer French National Assembly.
- Steven Erlanger (December 2, 2009), Point, Shoot, Retouch and Label? The New York Times.
- French fight anorexia on the fashion pages | World news | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 23 January 2012.
- EUROPE – French MP receives death threats. Hurriyetdailynews.com (13 September 2011). Retrieved on 2012-01-23.
- Turkish Hackers Target ‘Pitiful, Pathetic’ French For Armenian Genocide Vote – Worldcrunch – All News is Global Archived 12 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Worldcrunch (29 December 2011). Retrieved on 2012-01-23.
- Harriet Agnew (September 24, 2019), France moves to extend IVF to gay and single women Financial Times.
- Steven Erlanger (December 2, 2009), Point, Shoot, Retouch and Label? The New York Times.