Christophe Béchu is a French politician, President of the General Council

President of the general council

In France, the President of the General Council is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly governing a departments in France. The position is elected by the general councillors from among their number. If there is a tie, the senior Councillor is elected.The President of the...

 of the Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.- History :Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791....

 department since 2004 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 to 2011 for the West France

West France (European Parliament constituency)

West France is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 MEPs. It includes the French regions of Brittany, Pays de la Loire, and Poitou-Charentes.-2009:-2004:...

 constituency. A former member of DL

Liberal Democracy (France)

Liberal Democracy was a French political party that advocated conservative liberalism and liberal conservatism, headed by Alain Madelin. The party replaced in 1997 the Republican Party, which was the classical liberal component of the Union for French Democracy .It became independent in 1998,...

, he is now a member of the leading centre-right 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...

.

He has represented the Canton of Angers-Nord-Ouest

Canton of Angers-Nord-Ouest

The Canton of Angers-Nord-Ouest is a French administrative division, located in the arrondissement of Angers, in the Maine-et-Loire département .It has 21,124 inhabitants as of 1999.-Composition :...

 since 2001, and was re-elected there during the French cantonal elections, 2008

French cantonal elections, 2008

Cantonal elections to elect half the membership of the general councils of France's 100 departments were held on 9 and 16 March 2008. These elections coincided with the municipal elections, in which the left did well.-Electoral system:...

. However, he was narrowly defeated by the incumbent PS

Socialist Party (France)

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

 mayor of Angers

Angers

Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....

, Jean-Claude Antonini, in the 2008 municipal elections

French municipal elections, 2008

The French municipal elections of 2008 were held on 9 March in that year to elect the municipal councils of France's 36,782 communes...

.

In 2009, the UMP selected him to lead the UMP list in the West

West France (European Parliament constituency)

West France is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 MEPs. It includes the French regions of Brittany, Pays de la Loire, and Poitou-Charentes.-2009:-2004:...

 constituency ahead of the 2009 European elections

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...

. He 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...

 as a result. His list won 27.16% of the vote and three MEPs. He resigned in January 2011. He losted the regional election of 2010 to become president of Pays-de-la-Loire region, but was elected regional councillor. In September 2011, he was elected senator of Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.- History :Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791....

, he resigns from regional council of Pays-de-Loire.