Francis Mer, who was Jacques Chirac’s Minister of Economy between 2002 and 2004, is dead, former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin announced on Wednesday, November 1 – information that Le Monde was able to confirm. He was 84 years old.
“He was exemplary. Uncompromising ethics, complete loyalty, a desire to serve. He loved France. I offer my deepest condolences to his family,” the former head of government wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter). His former government colleague Dominique Bussereau praised a “great business leader” who “was a great minister and an exemplary colleague”.
Francis Mer spent most of his professional career at Saint-Gobain (1971-1986), before continuing his career in the French steel industry. From 1986 to 2002, he chaired the French public and then private steel group Usinor, before becoming co-chairman of Arcelor.