François Fillon

Who is François Fillon?

François Charles Armand Fillon is a French lawyer and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 17 May 2007 to 16 May 2012. He was appointed by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. As a member of the UMP, Fillon became Jean-Pierre Raffarin's Minister of Labour in 2002 and undertook controversial reforms of the 35-hour working week law and of the French retirement system.

Fillon became Minister of National Education in 2004 and proposed the much debated Fillon law on Education. In 2005, he was not included in the new government headed by Dominique de Villepin, but was elected Senator for the Sarthe Département. His role as a political advisor in Nicolas Sarkozy's successful race for President led to his becoming Prime Minister. Fillon resigned upon Sarkozy's defeat to François Hollande in the 2012 presidential elections. In 2013 during a visit in Russia, Fillon criticized the French government led by Francois Hollande for its support to a military intervention in Syria.