Michel Fournier
MinistrMinister Delegate for Rurality
Sans étiquette (no party affiliation; generally described as divers droite, occasionally classed on the left) · Francie
Jazyk profilu: angličtina
Michel Fournier, born 11 January 1950 in Châtel-sur-Moselle (Vosges), is a French local politician and a leading public figure for rural France (la ruralité). Born into a family of farmers from Bouxières-aux-Bois, he left school without a diploma, worked early jobs as an agricultural labourer and shutter fitter, spent time in Germany at 17, passed the customs service exam in 1968, and did his military service at Yutz in 1969. He settled in Les Voivres in 1972 and worked as a multi-line commercial agent. He entered the municipal council of Les Voivres in 1983 and has been the village's mayor since 1989. He founded and led the Association des maires ruraux des Vosges from 1992, served as secretary-general then first vice-president of the Association des maires ruraux de France (AMRF), and was elected president of the AMRF in November 2020, succeeding Vanik Berberian (presidency held 2020-2025). He has also been vice-president of the Communauté d'agglomération d'Épinal (since 2017, in charge of territorial cohesion and rurality) and vice-president of the Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires (ANCT, 2021-2025). On 12 October 2025 he was appointed Minister-Delegate for Rurality in the second government of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, a post he retained after the 26 February 2026 reshuffle. He sits without party affiliation (sans étiquette). He is married and the father of three children, and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (decree of 31 December 2021).
Volební historie
Municipal elections, Les Voivres (Vosges)
Municipal councillor / Mayor of Les Voivres2026-03
Elected (list re-elected without opposition)
100% (single list)
vs. None (only one list standing)
In the 2026 municipal elections, the list led by Michel Fournier was the only one standing in Les Voivres (a village of around 280 inhabitants) and won 100% of votes cast, taking all 11 municipal council seats. He was subsequently re-elected mayor.
Municipal elections, Les Voivres (Vosges)
Municipal councillor / Mayor of Les Voivres2020-03
Elected; installed as mayor on 18 May 2020
none declared
vs. none declared
Re-elected to the municipal council and installed as mayor of Les Voivres on 18 May 2020 following the 2020 municipal elections. Detailed vote figures for this small commune are not readily available.
Municipal mandate, Les Voivres (Vosges) — successive elections since 1989
Mayor of Les Voivres1989
Elected and re-elected continuously since 1989
none declared
vs. none declared
First elected to the Les Voivres municipal council in 1983 and elected mayor in 1989. Has been continuously re-elected mayor across successive municipal terms. Detailed historical vote shares for this small rural commune are not publicly compiled.
Profesní dráha
Minister-Delegate for Rurality (Ministre délégué chargé de la Ruralité)
12. 10. 2025 – dosudGovernment of France (Lecornu II / post-Feb 2026 government), under the Minister of Territorial Planning and Decentralisation
Appointed Minister-Delegate for Rurality on 12 October 2025, attached to the Minister of Territorial Planning and Decentralisation (Françoise Gatel). Retained the rurality portfolio in the government formed after the 26 February 2026 reshuffle. Sits without party affiliation.
Vice-president of the Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires (ANCT)
2021 – 2025Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires (ANCT)
Elected vice-president of the ANCT board, replacing Vanik Berberian. Served until his entry into government in 2025.
President of the Association des maires ruraux de France (AMRF)
14. 11. 2020 – 2025Association des maires ruraux de France (AMRF)
Elected national president of the AMRF on 14 November 2020, succeeding Vanik Berberian (who had led the association for 12 years and became special delegate / vice-president). Previously secretary-general and then first vice-president of the AMRF since 1993. Stepped down upon entering government in 2025.
Vice-president of the Communauté d'agglomération d'Épinal
2017 – dosudCommunauté d'agglomération d'Épinal (Vosges)
Vice-president of the Épinal agglomeration community in charge of territorial cohesion, rurality and shared services.
Zdroj:info.gouv.frFounder and president of the Association des maires ruraux des Vosges
1992 – dosudAssociation des maires ruraux des Vosges
Founded and became president of the departmental association of rural mayors of the Vosges in 1992.
Mayor of Les Voivres
1989 – dosudCommune of Les Voivres (Vosges)
Mayor of Les Voivres, a Vosges village of roughly 280 inhabitants, since 1989. First elected to the municipal council in 1983.
Multi-line commercial agent (agent commercial multicartes)
1972 – none declaredSelf-employed (Les Voivres, Vosges)
Settled in Les Voivres in 1972 and worked as an independent multi-line commercial agent. Earlier worked as an agricultural labourer and shutter fitter, and passed the customs service exam in 1968.
Zdroj:fr.wikipedia.org
Vzdělání
Collège de Thaon (Thaon-les-Vosges)
circa 1960sNo diploma obtained (left secondary school early) · General secondary education
Attended secondary school at Thaon-les-Vosges. Left the education system without a diploma, reportedly in the première (penultimate) year, and took early jobs as an agricultural labourer and shutter fitter. Passed the customs service exam (concours des douanes) in 1968.
Klíčové zákony
France Ruralités plan / Villages d'Avenir programme (advocacy, not authored legislation)
Rural development policy2023
As AMRF president, Fournier publicly welcomed the government's France Ruralités plan and championed the Villages d'Avenir component, which deploys project officers to help small rural communes carry out local projects. He argued that rural communes had been left without an equivalent of the Action coeur de ville and Petites villes de demain urban programmes.
Význam: Advocacy position; Fournier was not a legislator. The position reflects his role lobbying for a dedicated state programme for rural villages, a theme he later carried into government as Minister-Delegate for Rurality.
Zones de revitalisation rurale (ZRR) reform (advocacy)
Rural fiscal/territorial policy2023
Fournier advocated extending and broadening the ZRR rural revitalisation zoning beyond a purely socio-economic approach to encompass issues such as school closures and access to doctors, and called for mapping at the commune level rather than the intercommunal level (aligning with the Senate's position).
Význam: Advocacy position taken as head of the AMRF, not authored legislation.
Zdroj:banquedesterritoires.frZéro artificialisation nette (ZAN) — opposition (advocacy)
Land use / planning policy2023
Fournier publicly criticised the application of the Zéro artificialisation nette (net zero land take) objective to rural communes, arguing that villages had consumed the least land yet risked bearing the cost, and that the rules rewarded those who had artificialised the most. He warned against an 'effet d'annonce' and demanded that villages be treated fairly.
Význam: Advocacy/critique position as AMRF president; not authored legislation.
Zdroj:lemoniteur.fr
Vyznamenání a ocenění
Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur
2022French Republic (decree of 31 December 2021, published in the 1 January 2022 promotion)
Appointed Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in the New Year promotion (decree of 31 December 2021), recognising decades of service as a local elected official and his commitment to rural France. The insignia were formally presented to him on 14 April 2023 by former Prime Minister Jean Castex.