Carole Delga (French pronunciation: [kaʁɔl dɛlɡa] ; born 19 August 1971) is a French politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who has been serving as the President of the Regional Council of Occitania since 2016.[1][2]

Carole Delga
President of the Regional Council of Occitania
Assumed office
4 January 2016
Preceded bycreation of the region
Damien Alary (Languedoc-Roussillon)
Martin Malvy (Midi-Pyrénées and acting)
Member of the National Assembly
for Haute-Garonne's 8th constituency
In office
18 July 2015 – 20 June 2017
SubstituteJoël Aviragnet (2014–2015)
Preceded byJoël Aviragnet
Succeeded byJoël Aviragnet
Parliamentary groupSRC (2015-2016)
SER (2016-2017)
In office
20 June 2012 – 3 July 2014
Preceded byJean-Louis Idiart
Succeeded byJoël Aviragnet
Parliamentary groupSRC
Secretary of State for Trade, Arts and Crafts, Consumption, and Social and Solidarity Economy
In office
3 June 2014 – 17 June 2015
PresidentFrançois Hollande
Prime MinisterManuel Valls
Preceded byValérie Fourneyron
Succeeded byMartine Pinville
Vice-president of the Regional Council of Midi-Pyrénées
In office
26 March 2010 – 1st September 2012
PresidentMartin Salvy
Preceded byAlain Beneteau
Succeeded byViviane Artigalas
Mayor of Martres-Tolosane
In office
16 March 2008 – 4 July 2014
Preceded byBrigitte Redinger
Succeeded byGilbert Tarraube
Personal details
Born (1971-08-19) 19 August 1971 (age 53)
Toulouse, France
CitizenshipFrench
Political partySocialist Party
Alma materToulouse 1 University Capitole
ProfessionLocal civil servant

Delga is considered to be a potential candidate in the 2027 French presidential election.[3]

Political career

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Delga has been a member of the Socialist Party since 2004.

Member of the National Assembly, 2012–2017

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From 2012 until 2017, Delga was a member of the National Assembly, where she served on the Finance Committee (2012–2014) and the Defence Committee (2015–2017).[4]

In 2014, Delga briefly served as Secretary of State for Trade, Crafts, Consumer and Social Economy and Solidarity under Minister of Finance and Public Accounts Michel Sapin in the government of Prime Minister Manuel Valls; she replaced Valérie Fourneyron who had resigned for health reasons. In June 2015, she left the government to launch her campaign for regional elections; she was replaced by Martine Pinville.[5]

President of Occitanie, 2016–present

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Ahead of the Socialist Party's 2017 primaries, Delta publicly endorsed Manuel Valls as the party's candidate for the presidential election later that year.[6] Since 2017, she has been part of the party's leadership.[7]

Delga was re-elected in the 2021 French regional elections. Shortly after, she was also elected as president of Régions de France, a group representing the regions of France; it was the first time since 2016 that the association was led by a left-wing personality, and for the first time by a woman.[8]

Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, Delga endorsed Anne Hidalgo as the Socialist Party's candidate.[9] In 2023, she publicly endorsed Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol as candidate to challenge Olivier Faure for the party's leadership.[10]

Political positions

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Delga is a critic of the New Ecological and Social People's Union.[11]

Controversy

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In April 2019, Delga was sentenced by the Nîmes Court of Appeal to a fine of €8,000 and damages to the municipality of Beaucaire, Gard, for "discrimination based on political opinions" and "obstructing the exercise of an economic activity" after having refused to sign a city contract established by the municipality of Beaucaire led by Julien Sanchez, and not having chosen this municipality to host the future general high school built by the region in the Gard.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Primaire à gauche : Valls présente son QG et son état-major de campagne". Les Échos (in French). 14 December 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  2. ^ Philippe Gagnebet (4 January 2016), La socialiste Carole Delga veut une « République des territoires » Le Monde.
  3. ^ "Les ambitions présidentielles de Carole Delga". Le Monde.fr (in French). 4 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  4. ^ Carole Delga National Assembly.
  5. ^ Fabrice Valery (17 June 2015), Carole Delga a quitté le gouvernement et entre en campagne pour les élections régionales France 3 Midi-Pyrénées.
  6. ^ Primaire à gauche : Valls présente son QG et son état-major de campagne Les Échos, 14 December 2016.
  7. ^ Le Parti socialiste a désigné sa direction collégiale provisoire Le Monde, 8 July 2017.
  8. ^ Dominique Albertini (9 July 2021), Delga, première femme présidente... des régions Libération.
  9. ^ Jannick Alimi (12 July 2021), Présidentielle 2022 : à Villeurbanne, Anne Hidalgo franchit une marche de plus Le Parisien.
  10. ^ Sophie de Ravinel (4 January 2023), Congrès du PS: Carole Delga et Valérie Rabault soutiennent le maire de Rouen, opposant d’Olivier Faure Le Figaro.
  11. ^ "La gauche hors-Nupes tente de se reconstruire autour de Carole Delga". Le Monde.fr (in French). 25 September 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  12. ^ Valérie Luxey (26 April 2019), Beaucaire : Carole Delga condamnée pour discrimination envers le maire RN France 3 Midi-Pyrénées.