Will Jean-Philippe Désir become the first black president of France

Jean-Philippe Désir. PHOTO/F. Perry/AFP

Late last year, the ruling Socialist Party in France voted anti-racism activist Jean-Philippe Désir as its leader, a move that could potentially put him on track to becoming the country’s first black president.

Désir is the first black man to lead a major political party in France, placing him on a political fast track to the French presidency.

While there is no guarantee the Socialist Party will pick Désir as a presidential nominee in future, recent history suggests he can now aspire to the country’s top job. Current French President François Hollande was the leader of the Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008, and François Mitterrand – the only other Socialist president – was also party leader from 1971 to 1981.

Hollande’s 5-year mandate is still in its infancy, and tradition suggests that the French president will aspire for a second term in 2017. Therefore, it is likely that Désir’s earliest opportunity to run for the presidency would come in 2022.

Désir’s prominent position on the national stage nevertheless raises the question: is France witnessing the making of its first black head of state?

Jean-Philippe Désir is the son of a black father from the French overseas department of Martinique and a white mother from Alsace, he rose to national prominence in the 1980s as one of the leaders of the popular backlash against the then-surging far-right National Front, he then moved on to lead prominent anti-racism watchdog SOS Racisme. His experience in politics matured as a result of being elected to the European parliament in 1999, and subsequently re-elected in 2004 and 2009.

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