French Prime Minister loves boxing and football

The new French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe is a big sports fan. He trains in boxing three times a week and is also a football fan.

Édouard Philippe (left) and world-famous boxer Jérôme Le Banner spar in Le Havre (France). Photo: Europe1

Édouard Philippe was little known to the public until French President Emmanuel Macron appointed him prime minister on May 15. So it makes sense that the daily newspaper Le Parisien likened his premiership to a heavyweight boxing match. He started out playing tennis, then switched to boxing.

Football fanatic

Jérôme Le Banner, a former world-famous French kick-boxer, told Europe 1 that two and a half years ago, when he was mayor of the port city of Le Havre (2010-2016), Édouard Philippe took up boxing after making a bet with a friend.

Three times a week at 7am, he goes to the gym in Mont-Gaillard, puts on boxing gloves and practices with coach Madjid Nassah, the teacher of boxer Jérôme Le Banner.

“Every sport helps you relax, but boxing gives you confidence because it requires physical strength. It requires self-control. You have to control your own aggression and that of the person you are fighting against. That has helped me become calmer,” explains Édouard Philippe.

The French Prime Minister confided that he is very fond of the legendary American boxer Muhammad Ali. Although he is busy with his work as Prime Minister, he can still practice boxing from now on because the Prime Minister's residence has a gym that dates back to the time of Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

Passionate about boxing, the new French prime minister’s heart beats for football, a sport of which he has become a fanatic. Speaking to France Bleu in April 2016, he confessed that he once dreamed of following in the footsteps of his idol Michel Platini.

“I have always loved football,” he confided. “When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. I always dreamed of playing in midfield.” He loves Le Havre AC, the team from the city of Le Havre that plays in Ligue 2. He still often plays football with his children or plays for the National Assembly team, which often plays against the veteran Variétés Club de France.

Mr. Philippe (left) once put on his shoes and went onto the football field for the French parliamentary team. Photo: FEP

From sports to politics

Édouard Philippe's passion for football will be very compatible with the new President Emmanuel Macron because Mr. Macron is also a football fan, a fan of the Olympique de Marseille team.

Like President Macron, Mr. Philippe graduated from the Paris Political Institute and the National Institute of Public Administration. He is also a political descendant.

Born on 28 November 1970 in Rouen, Philippe is the great-grandson of one of the founders of the Le Havre branch of the French Communist Party. His grandfather was a dock worker and his parents were teachers. He initially joined the Socialist Party, then joined the centre-right Alliance for a Popular Movement (later renamed the Republicans). The father of three was a lawyer and director of the Areva Group. He served as mayor of Le Havre in 2010, was elected to the National Assembly in 2012 and was appointed prime minister on 15 May 2017.

In politics, he was appointed as the head of the government without ever having held a ministerial position. However, many people commented that he had accumulated a lot of practical experience from his role as a local representative, a member of the National Assembly, and working in the private sector.

Édouard Philippe first met Macron in 2011 and has been in regular contact ever since. Will the relationship between the president and head of government be as smooth as their love of football?

Le Parisien newspaper quoted a parliamentarian who knows both of them as very optimistic: “They are compatible (in their views) on many things such as the wealth tax (ISF), reducing public spending, reducing the number of civil servants. In the end, both are full of hope. We will see what the future holds...”.

According to TTO