Lionel Jospin, born on July 12, 1937, died on Sunday, his family confirmed to Agence France-Presse. Jospin served as prime minister from 1997 to 2002, a period marked by significant social reforms. On Thursday, a national tribute ceremony took place at Les Invalides in Paris, with President Emmanuel Macron leading the event and delivering a eulogy.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Jospin's widow, philosopher Sylviane Agacinsky, attended the ceremony. The Republican Guard Band performed 'Les Feuilles Mortes,' a song Jospin had sung on television in 1984. During his premiership, Jospin introduced the 35-hour working week and civil unions, known as PACS, for LGBTQ+ and straight couples.
His government was a coalition of socialists, Greens, and communists in a cohabitation arrangement with center-right President Jacques Chirac. Jospin also enacted France's parity law, requiring political parties to field equal numbers of male and female candidates in national elections, and extended free healthcare. These social reforms laid the groundwork for a gay marriage bill adopted over a decade later.
He served France with constancy, rigour and a sense of responsibility. His actions, guided by a certain vision of social progress and republican values, leave a lasting mark and a model of commitment.
Jospin's political career included being appointed to lead the Socialist Party in 1981 by President François Mitterrand, and he re-established credibility for the Socialists after corruption scandals in the early 1990s. He ran for president in 2002 but was eliminated in the first round, finishing third behind Jacques Chirac and far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen. On the night of his defeat, Jospin announced he would leave politics.
Before entering politics, Jospin was an economics professor, and in his post-political life, he made a cameo appearance playing himself in the 2010 romantic comedy 'Le Nom des gens' (The Names of Love). Jospin will be buried at Montparnasse cemetery in Paris, with several thousand people expected to attend his public funeral. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu paid tribute to Jospin on X, formerly Twitter.
President Macron said that Jospin helped bring France into the new century and modernised the nation's economic, social, and democratic life in an unprecedented manner.