Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as Minister of Industrial Renewal from May 2012 to April 2014, then as Minister of Economy, Industrial Renewal and Digital Affairs until August 2014. He is a former member of the Socialist Party (PS), having participated in its 2011 and 2017 presidential primaries, finishing third both times. Following his 2017 primary run, he withdrew from active politics but remained a public commentator, leaving the PS in 2018.
A native of Nièvre, Montebourg grew up in neighbouring Côte-d'Or. He worked as a lawyer in Paris until his election to the National Assembly in the 6th constituency of Saône-et-Loire in 1997, a seat he retained until his appointment to the government to 2012. Locally, Montebourg was elected to the General Council of Saône-et-Loire for the canton of Montret from 2008 to 2015, holding the council's presidency from 2008 to 2012. In 2014, comments he made criticising the government's economic policy led to its resignation the day following, and the formation of a new government. Montebourg had characterised his political action as social-patriotic, criticising the government's austerity measures.
In 2015, Montebourg founded Les Équipes du Made in France, a company designed to support French businesses in agriculture and industry. In the years that followed, he helped launch a number of French businesses, including in the production of honey (Bleu Blanc Ruche) in 2018 and almonds (Compagnie des amandes) in 2023, as well as in railway transport (Ferromobile) in 2022.Jérémy Bruno (28 November 2022). "Avec la "Ferromobile", Arnaud Montebourg veut faire rouler des voitures... sur les rails". BFM TV (in French). Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, he announced his candidacy, before withdrawing.
Early life and education Montebourg was born on 30 October 1962, in the French commune of Clamecy, in Nièvre department. His father, Michel Montebourg, who was a tax inspector for the Ministry of Economy and Finances, was born in 1933. His mother, Leïla Ould Cadi, who was born in 1939 in Algeria, was of Algerian and French descent; she was born into a family of wālis (governors) from Hachem in Northern Algeria.In an interview to an Algerian electronic newspaper in February 2010, Montebourg said, "My grandfather is Algerian. His name was Khermiche Ould Cadi. He is from a family of the Mascara plain, from Dombasle to be precise. "Mon grand père est Algérien. Il s'appelait Khermiche Ould Cadi. Il est issu d'une famille de la plaine de Mascara, de Dombasle, exactement.", in: ; the town named Dombasle during the colonization bears now the name of Hachem His Algerian grandfather fought in the French Army during World War II. His Algerian great-grandfather, Ahmed Ould Cadi, who was an agha (chieftain), fought against the Ottoman caliphate before joining the French Army. He was appointed Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour in 1867.Guy Benhamou, Arnaud Montebourg, l'ambition à tout prix, Stock, 2004, p.12Biography of Ahmed Ould Cadi in Le livre d'or de l'Algérie, A. Challamel, 1890, pp. 499–507Décret impérial 10499, 1860.
Montebourg began working as a lawyer in 1990 with notable lawyer Thierry Lévy in Paris.
He has worked in several publicised cases. In 1995, he worked as the lawyer of Christian Didier, assassin of René Bousquet.MARY DEJEVSKY, "Killer's tale stirs ghosts of Vichy", The Independent (UK), 7 November 1995, 28 May 2012 Bousquet was a former Vichy official who had been indicted for war crimes and was soon to be tried. Didier was convicted in 1995 and received a 10-year sentence.Gary Borg, "Writer Sentenced In Vichy Slaying", Chicago Tribune, 14 November 1995. Retrieved 28 May 2012 Didier did not want to be considered insane, so Montebourg helped get the court to recognise him as responsible for the act.
In the National Assembly Montebourg was first elected to the National Assembly in Saône-et-Loire in the 1997 legislative election. He was reelected in 2002 and 2007.
In 2001, together with Bastien François, a professor of Political Science at Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Montebourg became the cofounder of the Convention pour la VI-ème République (C6R). This convention called for significant constitutional changes, and for a Sixth French Republic. Its objectives were to decrease the power of the president and allow a parliamentary balance.
Montebourg was one of the founding members of the political movement known as the Nouveau Parti Socialiste (New Socialist Party), where he defended economical protectionism and sovereignty. When the movement ended due to internal difficulties, he created a new movement within the Socialist Party called Rénover, Maintenant (Renewal, Now). He was one of the leading opponents of President Jacques Chirac's immunity from prosecution, especially concerning the corruption scandals in the Paris region.
Montebourg also supported reporter Denis Robert for his role in revealing the illegal system of double-accounts maintained by Clearstream, a clearing-house based in Luxembourg, involving high-ranking politicians. He has also been engaged in a campaign against the rules governing taxation of foreign nationals and the banking secrecy of Switzerland."Swiss and French squabble over tax", Al Jazeera, 6 January 2007.
Montebourg was appointed spokesman for Ségolène Royal's presidential campaign following his endorsement of her candidacy during the Socialist Party primary election in November 2006. On 18 January 2007, Royal suspended him from her campaign for one month the day after he gave an interview on a Canal+ talk show, where he said, "Ségolène Royal has only one fault, her partner.""Royal rétablit l'ordre juste en suspendant Montebourg", Le Figaro, 18 January 2007 . He was referring to the contradictory statements on tax policy made by Royal's partner, François Hollande, who was at the time serving as First Secretary of the Socialist Party. Montebourg had offered his resignation, which Royal declined to accept.
In 2008, Monteboug became President of the General Council of Saône-et-Loire, elected in the canton of Montret, while at the same time retaining his mandate as a parliamentarian. In 2011, when Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from prison and flown back to France, Montebourg urged him to apologise for embarrassing the Socialist Party."Strauss-Kahn regrets 'moral failing'" , Hindustan Times, 19 September 2011
In government under the presidency of François Hollande Montebourg finished third in the Socialist Party's primary election for the 2012 presidential election, receiving about 17% of the vote. François Hollande finished first; after Hollande was elected President of France, Montebourg was appointed Minister of Industrial Renewal on 16 May 2012 in the government of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.Profile: Hollande's government for France, BBC News, 16 May 2012. On 2 April 2014, his portfolio was expanded to become the Ministry of Economy, Industrial Renewal and Digital Affairs in the government of Manuel Valls,« Comment Arnaud Montebourg a cultivé sa propre ligne économique », Le Monde, 11 July 2014, corrected on 25 August 2014. following Pierre Moscovici leaving the government.
Montebourg defended nuclear energy, considering it "an industry of the future" despite the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. On national interests in international trade alliances, Montebourg made further controversial statements about Lakshmi Mittal by declaring that "Mittal's lies since 2006 are overwhelming… he has never kept his word", urging him to leave the country: "We no longer want Mittal in France because they don't respect France."
Montebourg considered the General Electric takeover of Alstom a risk to French sovereignty. He notably introduced a decree, the décret Alstom, nicknamed décret Montebourg by the press, extending the French state's right to veto foreign takeovers of assets in the energy, water, transport, telecommunication, public health sectors. Montebourg was quoted as saying the decree protected France's strategic interests and represented the end of laissez-faire economic policy.
On 11 February 2014, Montebourg was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by US President Barack Obama in honour of Hollande at the White House.Expected Attendees at Tonight’s State Dinner Office of the First Lady of the United States, press release of 11 February 2014.
On 28 May 2014, Montebourg said that if the United Kingdom "were to vote to leave the EU, France will roll out the red carpet to British investors who will flee their country. They will all come to France because companies need Europe.""France to 'roll out red carpet' to British investors", The Telegraph, 27 May 2014. Nevertheless, he supports a balance between the EU's interests and states' interests.
On 24 August 2014, Montebourg made public comments disparaging the government's economic policy. He resigned the following day, citing policy differences with Valls; Montebourg had presented himself as a social-patriot, criticising the government's austerity measures."Démission du gouvernement : Montebourg rétablit sa vérité", Le Point (in French), 6 October 2014."Montebourg revendique une action «social-patriote»", Libération (in French), 16 January 2014. Montebourg was supported in this criticism by Education Minister Benoît Hamon and Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti. On 26 August, Valls presented Hollande with the resignation of his government.
Businesses In October 2014, Montebourg enrolled in the INSEAD graduate business school for a four-week course and sought a bursary for his studies.Marie-Pierre Haddad, "Arnaud Montebourg intègre l'école de commerce Insead et demande une bourse" [archive], rtl.fr, 31 October 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
In January 2015, he launched Les Équipes du Made in France with his savings, to "implement French projects", as "a tool for bringing together financial, industrial, production and management teams to either take over or create businesses."Montebourg monte "Les équipes du made in France", Le Point (in French), 12 February 2015. The company's focus lies on agricultural and industrial projects. Between 16 and 26 February 2015, he was invited as a visiting professor of economics at Princeton University."Montebourg va donner des cours d'économie aux États-Unis" [archive], lejdd.fr, 11 February 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
On 19 March 2015, he was appointed vice president of the supervisory board of the furniture chain Habitat.Soizic Briand, Hervé Giaoui: "Pourquoi j'ai embauché Arnaud Montebourg" [archive], Challenges, 19 March 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015. On 26 March, the French-based consulting and business analyst company Talan announced that Montebourg had been given a place on its strategic policy committee."Montebourg. Après Habitat, il va conseiller la société Talan" [archive], sur ouest-france.fr, 26 March 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
In 2023, Les Echos reported Montebourg to be at the helm of ten businesses.Julie Le Bolzer (9 November 2023). "Arnaud Montebourg fait amande honorable ", Les Echos (in French).
Candidacy in the 2017 Socialist primary election On 21 August 2016, he announced his plans to run as a candidate for the Socialist Party's presidential nomination in the 2017 presidential election."Maverick Montebourg enters French presidential race", Agence France-Presse, 21 August 2016. He finished third with 17.8% of the vote.
Candidacy in the 2022 presidential election