José Gonzalez (born 28 April 1943 in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

) is a French politician of the

National Rally The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a Far-right politics, far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as fa ...

. In 2022, he was elected to the National Assembly for Bouches-du-Rhône's 10th constituency.

Biography

Gonzalez was born to a pied-noir family in Oran, then in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

.. He moved to metropolitan France with his family and settled in

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

in 1962 as a result of 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 worked in a variety of jobs, including at the port of Marseilles, as a salesman at a furniture manufacturer and then as the director of a

driving school ''Driving School'' is a docusoap that was broadcast on BBC1 in the summer of 1997, which followed a group of learner drivers around Bristol and South Wales. The series was made on a reduced budget but shown in primetime, it created one of the ...

. He was also a member of the Aix Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry until his retirement. He later moved to

Allauch Allauch (; oc, Alaug) is a French commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Allaudiens'' or ''Allaudiennes'' in ...

Political career

Gonzalez has been active in French politics since the 1970s and became an associate of Jean-Marie Le Pen. He was a municipal councilor for the

French National Front The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right: Academic: * ...

in Allauch during the 1990s. In 2015, he became a regional councilor for the party in Bouches-du-Rhône after Laurent Jacobelli resigned his seat. During the

2022 French legislative election Legislative elections in France were held on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth French Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in A ...

, he was elected to the National Assembly Bouches-du-Rhône's 10th constituency, defeating La France Insoumise candidate Marina Mesure in the second round. At the age of 79 at the time of his election, Gonzalez is currently the

father of the house Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...

in the National Assembly.. Gonzalez made the first speech of the sixteenth National Assembly.

References

Living people 1943 births Deputies of the 16th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic National Rally (France) politicians 21st-century French politicians Members of Parliament for Bouches-du-Rhône Pieds-Noirs People from Oran French people of Spanish descent French people of Algerian descent {{France-politician-FN-stub