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Charles Josselin

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Charles Josselin
Member of the French Senate for Côtes-d'Armor
In office
24 September 2006 – 21 September 2008
Preceded byPierre-Yvon Trémel [fr]
Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophonie
In office
4 June 1997 – 6 May 2002
PresidentJacques Chirac
Prime MinisterLionel Jospin
Preceded byJacques Godfrain [fr]
Margie Sudre
Succeeded byPierre-André Wiltzer [fr]
Secretary of State for the Sea
In office
4 April 1992 – 30 March 1993
PresidentFrançois Mitterrand
Prime MinisterPierre Bérégovoy
Preceded byJean-Yves Le Drian
Succeeded byNicole Ameline
Secretary of State for Transport
In office
15 November 1985 – 20 March 1986
PresidentFrançois Mitterrand
Prime MinisterLaurent Fabius
Preceded byJean Auroux
Succeeded byJacques Douffiagues [fr]
Deputy of the French National Assembly
In office
2 April 1993 – 4 July 1997
Preceded byJean Gaubert
Succeeded byJean Gaubert
ConstituencyCôtes-d'Armor's 2nd constituency
In office
2 April 1986 – 4 May 1992
Preceded byconstituency re-established
Succeeded byJean Gaubert
Constituencyproportional representation (1986–1988)
Côtes-d'Armor's 2nd constituency (1988–1992)
In office
2 July 1981 – 16 December 1985
Preceded byRené Benoît [fr]
Succeeded byJean Gaubert
ConstituencyCôtes-d'Armor's 2nd constituency
In office
2 April 1973 – 1 April 1978
Preceded byRené Pleven
Succeeded byRené Benoît
ConstituencyCôtes-d'Armor's 2nd constituency
Member of the European Parliament for France
In office
17 July 1979 – 15 July 1981
Succeeded byHenri Saby [fr]
Mayor of Pleslin-Trigavou
In office
22 March 1977 – 19 Juny 1997
Preceded byJean Ohier
Succeeded byJean-Paul Leroy
President of the General Council of Côtes-d'Armor
In office
17 March 1976 – 4 June 1997
Preceded byRené Pleven
Succeeded byClaudy Lebreton [fr]
Member of the General Council of Côtes-d'Armor for the Canton of Ploubalay [fr]
In office
3 October 1973 – 2 April 2015
Preceded byErnest Rouxel
Succeeded byconstituency abolished
Member of the Regional Council of Brittany
In office
January 1974 – 1985
Personal details
Born(1938-03-31)31 March 1938
Pleslin-Trigavou, France
Died1 September 2026(2026-09-01) (aged 88)
PartyPS (1971–2026)
EducationUniversity of Rennes 1 (Lic.)
Sciences Po
OccupationEconomist

Charles Josselin (French: [ʃaʁl ʒɔslˈɛ̃]; 31 March 1938 – 1 September 2026) was a French politician of the Socialist Party (PS).[1]

Having been elected to the National Assembly in 1973, he held multiple political offices, including Deputy of the National Assembly, President of the General Council of Côtes-d'Armor, and Secretary of State for Transport. At various times in his political career he was a member of the European Parliament, the Regional Council of Brittany and the French Senate. He was linked to the Côtes-d'Armor region throughout.

As mayor of Pleslin-Trigavou he handled the Amoco Cadiz oil spill in 1978. In 1993 during his term as the Secretary of State for the Sea he secured parliamentary approval for reform to dockers' labor rights. In the 2000s he negotiated with francophone African nations in his role as Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophonie.

Early life, family and education

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Josselin was born in Pleslin-Trigavou on 31 March 1938 into a family of farmers. He earned a licentiate from the University of Rennes 1; there, he joined the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France.[2]

Career

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He published a brochure against the Algerian War and supported reconciliation with the National Liberation Front.[3] After law school in Rennes and further studies at the Sciences Po, he was employed from 1965 to 1968 as a financial secretary with the Banque de l'Union Parisienne.[3]

In 1971, he joined the PS and entered politics in 1973, following his election to the National Assembly in Côtes-d'Armor's 2nd constituency, defeating incumbent René Pleven by 51 votes.[4] In 1976, he became president of the General Council of Côtes-d'Armor, a capacity in which he served until 1997.[5] He was defeated in the 1978 legislative election by René Benoît [fr] before returning in 1981.[6] From 1979 to 1981, he served as a member of the European Parliament.[7] In his capacity as mayor of Pleslin-Trigavou, he handled the Amoco Cadiz oil spill,[8] where Royal Dutch Shell was ordered to pay 220 million francs to the Breton municipalities and 1.05 billion francs to the French state in compensation for the damage caused by the oil spill.[9] As president of the General Council of Côtes-d'Armor, he oversaw the renaming of the department from Côtes-du-Nord to Côtes-d'Armor.[4]

From 1985 to 1986, Josselin served as Secretary of State for Transport under Prime Minister Laurent Fabius before returning to the National Assembly, where he served from 1986 to 1992.[10] He then served as Secretary of State for the Sea under Prime Minister Pierre Beregovoy.[11] He secured parliamentary approval for reform to dockers' labor rights, merging them with those of standard French laws.[12] However, he faced opposition from the General Confederation of Labour for his monopolistic power over the hiring of dockers. His chief of staff was notably future Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.[13]

In 1997, Josselin was named Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophonie, where he served as chair of the Commission on Decentralized Cooperation within the Assembly of the Departments of France [fr].[14] In January 2000, he travelled to the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, and Chad, reiterating France's African policy as one of "neither interference nor indifference", expressing a desire for the end of French inverventionism on the continent.[15] He had been awarded a distinction by President of Cameroon Paul Biya in 1998 when France was drafting a debt relief plan for Yaoundé.[16] He did not stand in the 2002 legislative election, but held a seat in the Senate from 2006 to 2008 following the death of Pierre-Yvon Trémel [fr].[17][18]

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On 4 April 2008, Josselin was convicted of breach of trust by a criminal court in Paris for the improper use of two government vehicles during his time as president of the General Council of Côtes-d'Armor, as well as fuel and highway toll costs, resulting in a loss of 99,000 francs.[19] Prosecuted alongside Claudy Lebreton [fr] and Alain Gouriou [fr], he was exempted from punishment due to the fact that he had remedied these offenses and the events were "isolated incidents" and had occurred "long ago".[20]

Personal life and death

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Josselin died on 1 September 2026, at the age of 88.[21]

Medals

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References

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  1. ↑ Belleville, Valentic; Guellec, Loïck (1 September 2026). "Figure socialiste bretonne, Charles Josselin est mort à l'âge de 88 ans". Ici (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  2. ↑ "LA NOMINATION DES SECRÉTAIRES D'ÉTAT Les nouveaux MER : M. Charles Josselin L'ancrage au pays". Le Monde (in French). 7 April 1992. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 "JOSSELIN Charles". Le Maitron (in French).
  4. 1 2 Catheline, Gwen (24 February 2015). "Charles Josselin. La retraite à 77 ans !". Le Télégramme (in French). Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "Ministres délégués et secrétaires d'Etat: Charles Josselin, Coopération". Libération (in French). 5 June 1997. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  6. ↑ "Charles Josselin". Institut national de l'audiovisuel (in French). 15 June 1981. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "Charles JOSSELIN". European Parliament. 31 March 1938. Archived from the original on 26 July 2026. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Queillé, Hervé (11 March 2018). "Amoco. Charles Josselin : « Un dur combat de 14 ans »". Le Télégramme (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  9. ↑ Nedjar, Eric (16 March 2018). "Alphonse Arzel : son long combat contre le géant Amoco". France 3 Bretagne (in French). Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  10. ↑ "Charles Josselin". National Assembly (in French).
  11. ↑ Ottenheimer, Ghislaine (14 August 1997). "Josselin: un néophyte en Afrique". L'Express (in French). Archived from the original on 26 April 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  12. ↑ "Le statut des dockers est aboli". Les Echos (in French). 7 January 1993. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  13. ↑ "Mer Cabinet de Charles Josselin". Les Echos (in French). 22 April 1992. Archived from the original on 22 December 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  14. ↑ Valo, Martine (6 June 1997). "Charles Josselin, secrétaire d'État chargé de la coopération". Le Monde (in French).
  15. ↑ Prier, Pierre (31 January 2000). "Dernière chance pour des États en sursis". Le Figaro (in French).
  16. ↑ "Biya décore Charles Josselin". Africa Intelligence (in French). 23 April 1998. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "L'ancien ministre Charles Josselin entre au Sénat". Le Figaro (in French). 25 September 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  18. ↑ "JOSSELIN Charles". Senate (in French). Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  19. ↑ "3 mois de sursis pour Charles Josselin". Le Figaro (in French). 17 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 December 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  20. ↑ "Charles Josselin et Claudy Lebreton dispensés de peine". La Gazette des communes (in French). 3 April 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  21. ↑ "Charles Josselin, ancien ministre socialiste et figure du PS en Bretagne, est mort à l'âge de 88 ans". Le Figaro (in French). 1 September 2026. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
  22. ↑ "Décret n° 53-549 du 5 juin 1953 relatif aux conditions d'attribution de la médaille d'honneur des chemins de fer". Journal officiel de la République française (in French).
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