Alain Joyandet

Who is Alain Joyandet?

Alain Joyandet is a French politician who was appointed Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophony in the government of François Fillon from March 18, 2008 to July 2010. Prior to that, he was CEO of the Société Nouvelle des Éditions Comtoises, a publisher of weekly newspapers and journals. He is a journalist by training.

He has been mayor of Vesoul since 1995 and senator of Franche-Comté from 1995 to 2002.

In 2010, he won the UMP nomination for President of Franche-Comté, but lost to socialist candidate Marie-Guite Dufay in the general election.

At the end of March 2010 Joyandet made headlines for spending 116,500 euros of taxpayers' money chartering a private jet to fly him to Martinique to an international conference on Haiti and back to Paris.

On 4 July 2010, he resigned his government post, the same day as Christian Blanc, Secretary of State for Development of the capital region. The French press had reported the suspected misuse of public money by the two ministers. Alain Joyandet was accused of renting a private jet to € 116,500 to travel to Martinique, where he was to attend an international conference for reconstruction after the earthquake of Haiti. An article in the Canard Enchaîné also suspected of having received an illegal building permit for his house of Grimaud, which he abandoned shortly after.