Michel Meylan (27 January 1939 – 3 July 2020) was a French politician.

Biography

In 1955, at the age of 15, Meylan organized a trip for his

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

troop to attend the World Scout Jamboree in Canada. Forty years later, he created the Amicale parlementaire scoute in France, which he chaired. This helped him attend meetings with other international scouting organizations in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, Manila, and Warsaw. In 1959, Meylan began fighting in the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. He obtained the rank of second lieutenant following his training. He used his military service to his advantage in his political career as a member of the Cultural, Family and Social Affairs Committee in the National Assembly. He started his political career with the

Independent Republicans The Independent Republicans (french: Républicains Indépendants, RI) were a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative political group in France founded in 1962, which became a list of political parties in France, political party in 1966 known ...

(RI) party, which his family had been a part of for over 70 years. However, when he was elected as Mayor of Bonneville and represented Haute-Savoie's 3rd constituency in the National Assembly, he was a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF). As Mayor of Bonneville, Meylan developed the commune's business district and established the first municipal employment center in France. Meylan created sister cities of Bonneville, such as

Racconigi Racconigi ( pms, Racunis) is a town and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy. It is located in the province of Cuneo, south of Turin, and north of Cuneo by rail. History The town was founded in medieval times. It was a possession of the marquisses of ...

in Italy and

Téra Téra is a city in the Tillabéri Region, Tera Department of Niger. It is situated 175 km north-west of the capital Niamey, close to the border with Burkina Faso. It is mainly inhabited by Songhai, Fulani, Gourmantche and Buzu ethnic gro ...

in Niger. The move with Téra helped improve Franco-Nigerien relations and human development improved in the African city. In 1997, Meylan made a controversial statement in the National Assembly amidst a debate on the civil solidarity pact, saying "If there are queers here, I piss them off". Michel Meylan died on 3 July 2020 at the age of 81.

References

1939 births 2020 deaths People from Ain Independent Republicans politicians Republican Party (France) politicians Liberal Democracy (France) politicians Union for French Democracy politicians Deputies of the 9th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Haute-Savoie French military personnel of the Algerian War {{France-mayor-stub