is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 elected in the 2009 European election

European Parliament election, 2009 (France)

European elections to elect 72 French Members of the European Parliament were held on Sunday 7 June 2009.Due to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria in the European Union in 2007, the number of seats allocated to France was revised from 78 seats to 72 seats, a loss of 6 seats...

 for the East

East France (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, East France is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the regions of Alsace, Bourgogne, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté and Lorraine-2009:-2004:...

 constituency. He's a former intelligence operative.

As a member of the French foreign intelligence agency DGSE between 1995 and 1996, he carried out many missions in Sarajevo

Sarajevo

Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

, Bosnia; notably during the Siege of Sarajevo

Siege of Sarajevo

The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...

. He later was, between June 1996 and September 1998, a permanent member of the French embassy in Sarajevo. Upon his return to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 2000, he was awarded the National Order of Merit

Ordre National du Mérite

The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...

, at only 29. He later served as an adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...

.

In the French legislative election, 2007

French legislative election, 2007

The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a few weeks after the French presidential election run-off on 6 May. 7,639 candidates stood for 577 seats, including France's overseas possessions...

, he ran against Socialist incumbent Arnaud Montebourg

Arnaud Montebourg

Arnaud Montebourg is a French politician, and a deputy of the fifth district of Saône-et-Loire to the French National Assembly for the Socialist Party. He has also been elected president of the local assembly of Saône et Loire after local elections in 2008...

 in Saône-et-Loire's 6th constituency

Saône-et-Loire's 6th constituency

The 6th constituency of Saône-et-Loire is a French legislative constituency in the Saône-et-Loire département.Following the 2009 redistricting, the constituency is likely to be abolished.-Deputies:-2007: -Sources:...

. Despite a favourable first round, where he won 44% of the vote against 41.3% for Montebourg, Montebourg defeated him in the runoff (a more favourable climate for the left nationwide) by 400 votes.

In the 2009 European elections, he was the third candidate on the Union for a Popular Movement

Union for a Popular Movement

The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...

 list in the East region, and was elected to the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

.