Éric Besson

Éric Besson (born 2 April 1958 in Marrakech, Morocco) is a French politician and businessman of French-Lebanese descent. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Minister of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development in the government of François Fillon. He left the Socialist Party (PS) during the first round of the 2007 presidential elections to found The Progressives, a social democratic affiliate party of Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). He has been Deputy Secretary-General of the UMP since 2009. In 2012, Besson established a strategy consulting firm, Eric Besson Consulting, advising international industry and energy firms.