The former mayor of Evry and former deputy of Essonne Francis Chouat, who spent part of his political career in the wake of Manuel Valls, died on Saturday July 27 at the age of 75, announced the current mayor of the city, Stéphane Beaudet.
“Our friend Francis Chouat lost the only battle he could not win, although he was still an outstanding fighter here. He left this morning, around 8 o’clock.”wrote Mr. Beaudet on his page FacebookMr. Chouat had announced on X that he would have cancer in April 2023.
He was elected mayor of Evry in 2012, succeeding Manuel Valls, who was then appointed Minister of the Interior in Jean-Marc Ayrault’s government. Re-elected in 2014, Mr. Chouat left his mandate after being elected as a member of parliament in November 2018, also succeeding Mr. Valls. He then joined the ranks of La République en Marche (LRM, since renamed Renaissance), becoming a member of parliament affiliated with the Macronist party, after years of campaigning on the left.
Member of the PS and the PCF
He had briefly joined the Socialist Party (PS), before joining the ranks of the PCF in 1972, which he left seventeen years later. He joined the PS again in 1995. He did not stand for re-election in the 2022 legislative elections, but was still a municipal councilor in Evry-Courcouronnes.
” He leaves (…) a great void in the hearts of the inhabitants of Evry-Courcouronnes and the first constituency of Essonnewrote Mr. Valls on his page Facebook. His culture, his political experience, his commitment to the PCF and then to the PS – which he ended up leaving –, his left-wing and republican values, were put to the service of the general interest.
“A figure of a republican and universalist left that does not compromise on principles, the name of Francis Chouat will remain inseparable from that of the city of Evry, of which he was mayor. I extend my condolences to his loved ones.”has posted on X the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse (The Republicans).