Former socialist, Patrice Vergriete, mayor of Dunkirk (North) for almost ten years, was appointed housing minister on Thursday July 20. He thus took over part of the portfolio of Olivier Klein, who left the government.
Former deputy of the socialist baron Michel Delebarre, who entered the dissidence of the Socialist Party under the colors “various left” in 2014, he had stolen the town hall from his mentor, before being re-elected in 2020 with more than 64% of the votes collected in the first round. A remarkable performance in a region marked by the inexorable progress of the National Rally.
The mayor, also president of the Urban Community of Dunkirk, can also be proud of a fall in the unemployment rate in his employment zone, which fell from 11.7% in 2014 to 8.6% at the end of 2021. Better: he managed to change the image of his city by successfully opening it up to tourism. Courted by Macronie, Patrice Vergriete, had until then wanted to cultivate a certain independence.
The one who distinguished himself for having equipped his city with the largest free transport network in Europe had taken over in November the head of the Agency for the financing of transport infrastructures of France (AFIT), an establishment under the supervision of the State responsible for coordinating the financing of major transport infrastructure projects.
Champion of low-carbon industry
Born in a popular district of Dunkirk fifty-five years ago, the new member of the government is the son of a shipyard boilermaker and a stay-at-home mother. A graduate of Polytechnique and Ponts et Chaussées after a scientific preparation at the Parisian high school Louis-le-Grand, this urban planning specialist began his career at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), before joining the cabinets of the socialists Martine Aubry and Claude Bartolone under the Jospin government. In 2000, he became director of the Dunkirk Urban Planning Agency, before working for the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (2008-2012).
A champion of carbon-free industry thanks to a mix of nuclear and renewable energies, the mayor of Dunkirk has managed to have his city labeled a “territory of innovation” by the State and benefit from an investment plan of nearly 300 million euros to implement an ecological transition program.
In particular, the government has announced a vast investment plan to decarbonize steel production at the ArcelorMittal plant, or the establishment of three production plants for low-carbon battery cells, new generation so-called “solid” batteries and cathode materials for lithium batteries.
Claiming to be committed to an “ecological and social transition”, Mr. Vergriete supports the offshore wind farm project off the coast, contested by several local associations. His positions in favor of the installation of two EPR reactors in the neighboring town of Gravelines, and his support for Emmanuel Macron’s candidacy for the presidential election of 2022 had earned him the departure of the elected EELV of the municipal majority.
