The Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes () is the deliberative assembly of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeast-central France. In 2016, the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes succeeded the Regional Council of Auvergne and Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes.
History The Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was created by the act on the delimitation of regions, regional and departmental elections and amending the electoral calendar of 16 January 2015, which went into effect on 1 January 2016 and merged the Regional Council of Auvergne and Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes, consisting of 47 and 156 regional councillors, respectively, into a single body with 204 regional councillors, following regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015.
Seat As Lyon was designated as the capital of the new region, the official meeting place of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is at the Hôtel de Région located in the district of La Confluence in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon at 1 esplanade François Mitterrand. Originally built at a cost of €147.1 million as the seat of the regional council of Rhône-Alpes, the construction of the building was approved by the regional council on 7 April 2005, followed by a European-level architecture competition from November 2005 to September 2006, the procurement of a building permit on 30 August 2007, groundbreaking on 8 July 2008, and the relocation of employees over a six-week period starting on 19 May 2011.
On 21 June 2014, the new headquarters of the regional council of Auvergne at the Hôtel de Région in Clermont-Ferrand at 59 boulevard Léon Jouhaux was officially opened, built at a cost of €81 million. The fate of the project, approved in 2007 with unanimous support, was questioned given the selection of Lyon as the capital of the new region. Although Jean-Jack Queyranne, president of the regional council of Rhône-Alpes, suggested that the merged region could alternate between the two seats, with plenary assemblies in Lyon and standing committees in Clermont-Ferrand, the idea was scrapped given the comparison to the experience of the European Parliament with its two seats in Brussels and Strasbourg. With Laurent Wauquiez, promising reduced costs, elected president of the region following the 2015 regional elections, any arrangement involving frequent travel between the two cities was definitively ruled out. The building continues to house administrative functionaries, with space rented out for associations and start-ups and serving as a venue for events and conferences in an effort to make the structure profitable. The standing committee of the regional council also occasionally meets in Clermont-Ferrand.
Election results 2015 regional election The current regional council was elected in regional elections on 6 and 13 December 2015, with the list of Laurent Wauquiez consisting of The Republicans (LR), the Democratic Movement (MoDem), and the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) securing an absolute majority of 113 seats.
Leader List First round Second round SeatsVotes%Votes%Seats% Laurent Wauquiez LR–MoDem–UDI 31.73 40.62 113 55.39 Christophe Boudot FN 25.52 22.55 34 16.67 Jean-Jack Queyranne PS–PRG 23.93 36.84 57 27.94 Jean-Charles Kohlhaas EELV–PG–ND 6.90 Cécile Cukierman PCF 5.39 Gerbert Rambaud DLF 2.85 Éric Lafond NC 1.56 Chantal Gomez LO 1.25 Alain Fédèle UPR 0.87 Total 100.00 100.00 204 100.00 Valid votes 96.55 96.58 Blank votes 2.28 1.93 Null votes 1.16 1.49 Turnout 48.91 57.68 Abstentions 51.09 42.32 Registered voters Source: Ministry of the Interior, Le Monde (parties), Le Dauphiné Libéré (merged lists)
Composition Political groups The regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes currently consists of seven political groups.
Political group Members Parties LR–DVD–SC The Republicans, Miscellaneous Right and Civil Society 118 LR, DVD LE The Ecologists 28 EELV LD The Democrats 18 UDI, MoDem RN National Rally 17 RN SED Socialists, Ecologists, Democrats 13 PS, DVG LFI-PCF Insoumis and Communists 6 PCF, FI PRG PRG 4 PRG
Executive Presidents Laurent Wauquiez was elected president of the regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes at its opening session in Lyon on 4 January 2016.
Candidate Party Votes% Laurent Wauquiez LR 113 55.39 Jean-François Debat PS 42 20.59 Christophe Boudot FN 34 16.67 Jean-Charles Kohlhaas EELV 8 3.92 Cécile Cukierman PCF 7 3.43 Votes 204 100.00 Blank and null votes 0 0.00 Valid votes 204 100.00
Vice presidents In addition to the president, the executive consists of 15 vice presidents and 14 advisers.
Number Regional councillor Group Delegate for Department 1st vice president Etienne Blanc LR–DVD–SC Finance, general administration, budgetary savings and cross-border policies Ain 2nd vice president Brice Hortefeux LR–DVD–SC Territorial planning and solidarity with the Auvergnat territories Puy-de-Dôme 3rd vice president Béatrice Berthoux LR–DVD–SC Lycées Rhône 4th vice president Éric Fournier LD Environment, sustainable development, energy and regional nature parks Haute-Savoie 5th vice president Philippe Meunier LR–DVD–SC Security, international partnerships, hunting and fishing, airports and airport areas, forests and woodlands Lyon Metropolis 6th vice president Annabel André-Laurent LR–DVD–SC Enterprises, employment, economic development, trade, crafts and liberal professions Haute-Savoie 7th vice president Martine Guibert LD Transport Cantal 8th vice president Jean-Pierre Taite LR–DVD–SC Agriculture, viticulture and local produce Loire 9th vice president Samy Kefi-Jérôme LR–DVD–SC Social and family policies Loire 10th vice president Yannick Neuder LR–DVD–SC Higher education, research and innovation, health and European funds Isère 11th vice president Stéphanie Pernod-Beaudon LR–DVD–SC Vocational training and apprenticeship Ain 12th vice president Juliette Jarry LR–DVD–SC Infrastructure, economy and digital usages Lyon Metropolis 13th vice president Nicolas Daragon LR–DVD–SC Tourism and spa industry Drôme 14th vice president Florence Verney-Carron LR–DVD–SC Culture and heritage Lyon Metropolis 15th vice president Marie-Camille Rey LR–DVD–SC Youth, sport and associative life Loire
Committees The regional council includes 18 thematic committees with advisory roles, each composed of 38 members with a chairperson and two vice chairpersons. The comments of the thematic committees are considered by and submitted to a final vote of the standing committee or in a plenary session. The standing committee consists of the president, 15 vice presidents, and 45 members of the regional council.
Committee President Group Department Social action, city policy and housing Jérôme Moroge LR–DVD–SC Lyon Metropolis Cultural affairs Marlène Mourier LR–DVD–SC Drôme Agriculture, rurality, viticulture and food Jean-Pierre Vigier LR–DVD–SC Haute-Loire Local economy, trade, crafts and liberal professions Alain Berlioz-Curlet LR–DVD–SC Lyon Metropolis Higher education and research Pierre Bérat LR–DVD–SC Lyon Metropolis Enterprise, economy and employment Daniel Dugléry LR–DVD–SC Allier Environment, sustainable development and energy Michèle Cedrin LD Isère Finance, general administration Thierry Kovacs LR–DVD–SC Isère Continuing education and apprenticeship Lionel Filippi LD Isère Initial education and lycées Claude Aurias LD Drôme Mountain Gilles Chabert LR–DVD–SC Isère Digital Samy Kefi-Jerome LD Loire International relations and agricultural agreements Alain Marleix LR–DVD–SC Cantal Health, family, and disabled persons policy Isabelle Masseboeuf LD Ardèche Security Yves-Marie Uhlrich LD Lyon Metropolis Tourism and spa industry Annabel André-Laurent LR–DVD–SC Haute-Savoie Transport, territorial planning and infrastructure Jean-Pierre Taite LR–DVD–SC Loire Associative life, sport and youth Xavier Breton LR–DVD–SC Ain
References
External links Official website of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region