Benoît Hamon

Benoît Hamon, born on June twenty-sixth, nineteen sixty-seven, is a prominent French politician recognized for his significant contributions to the Socialist Party (PS) and the Party of European Socialists (PES), as well as his founding of the political party Génération.s.

Hamon's political journey began in nineteen eighty-eight when he joined the Socialist Party. By nineteen ninety-three, he had risen to become the leader of the Young Socialist Movement, a position he held until nineteen ninety-five. His political career took a notable turn in two thousand four when he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the East of France, during which he also ran for the leadership of the Socialist Party.

In two thousand twelve, Hamon was elected to the National Assembly representing Yveline's eleventh constituency. He was appointed as junior minister for the Social Economy by President François Hollande, later becoming Minister of National Education. However, he was removed from this role due to his public opposition to the government's economic policies. He returned to the National Assembly later that year, aligning himself with the Frondeurs, a group of socialists who opposed the social-liberal direction of Hollande's administration.

In two thousand sixteen, Hamon announced his candidacy for the Socialist Party primary for the two thousand seventeen presidential election. He was characterized as the 'Jeremy Corbyn of the French-left' and sought to reinvent the French left with progressive ideas, including the legalization of cannabis and the introduction of a universal basic income. Despite winning the primary against former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, he garnered only six point thirty-six percent of the votes in the general election.

Following his electoral defeat, Hamon left the Socialist Party in July two thousand seventeen to establish the 1 July Movement, which was later renamed Génération.s. After a disappointing performance in the two thousand nineteen European elections, he announced his intention to step back and reflect on the future of his political movement.