The LR mayor of Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes), Boris Ravignon, has been officially appointed head of the Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (Ademe), announced Thursday the public body.
“He will put his experience at the service of the projects undertaken by Ademe for the Ecological Transition, in particular the deployment of France2030″, the vast investment plan designed in particular to ensure the decarbonization of the economy, Ademe said on its Twitter account.
“It is because of my local roots, my knowledge of environmental issues and my commitment to the ecological transition of my territory that I am taking the helm of Ademe today,” said Ravignon in a statement, believing that the “role of the Agency is essential to implement solutions towards a carbon-neutral and more sober society.”
“I am very proud and honored to put my energy into the work undertaken by Ademe to help more and more players meet the challenge of climate and resource conservation,” he added.
His nomination had been validated on December 14 by the parliamentarians, despite a majority of votes cast against. However, according to the constitution, parliamentarians must have “at least three-fifths of the votes cast” to oppose a nomination by the president.
In April, the mayor of Charleville-Mézières had given his support to Emmanuel Macron against the LR candidate Valérie Pécresse in the presidential election.
The two men, both enarques of the same generation (Boris Ravignon is 47 years old and Emmanuel Macron 44), worked together at the General Inspectorate of Finance at Bercy in 2004-2005, before Boris Ravignon joined Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior and running for president in 2007.
In 2008, Ravignon joined the President’s cabinet in charge of sustainable development, transport and regional planning and participated in the Grenelle de l’Environnement. He has been mayor of Charleville-Mézières since 2014.
Since September 1, Patrick Lavarde has been acting as chairman of the Ademe’s Board of Directors, following the resignation in June of the previous chairman Arnaud Leroy, another close friend of the President of the Republic and a pillar of the 2017 campaign.