Sophie Joissains (born 25 October 1969) is a French

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and a member of the

Senate of France The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

. She represents the

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...

department and is a member of the Radical Party.

Early life

Sophie Joissains was born on 25 October 1969 to Alain Joissains, mayor of

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

from 1978 to 1983, and Maryse Joissains-Masini, also mayor since 2001. To study the Law, she moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, then

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

, and she eventually received a

Master of Advanced Studies A Master of Advanced Studies or Master of Advanced Study (MAS, M.A.S., or MASt) is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of Advanced Studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working pro ...

. She also worked in

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

for Anatole Dauman, and started a career as a

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

Career

In 2008, she became the youngest female member of the French Senate. She served as the deputy mayor of Aix-en-Provence between 2020 and 2021 and was subsequently elected mayor on 24 September 2021. She has been accused of

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

. She supports the

HADOPI law The French HADOPI law or Creation and Internet law (french: Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Œuvres et la Protection des droits d'auteur sur Internet, ; or, loosely in English, "Supreme Authority for the Distribution of Works and Protection o ...

. Alongside Claude Domeizel, she has proposed a

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

to celebrate

laïcité (; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as discouraging religious involvement in government affairs, especially religious influence in the determin ...

Personal life

She is a

cancer survivor A cancer survivor is a person with cancer of any type who is still living. Whether a person becomes a survivor at the time of diagnosis or after completing treatment, whether people who are actively dying are considered survivors, and whether ...

References

External links

Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joissains, Sophie 1969 births Living people People from Aix-en-Provence Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Radical Party (France) politicians Union of Democrats and Independents politicians Radical Movement politicians French Senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Bouches-du-Rhône French criminologists 20th-century French lawyers 21st-century French lawyers 20th-century French women lawyers 21st-century French women lawyers Women members of the Senate (France) 21st-century French women politicians French women criminologists Aix-Marseille University alumni