François-Noël Buffet appointed Defender of Rights despite opposition from associations

Parliament on Tuesday approved the appointment of LR senator François-Noël Buffet as Defender of Rights, a nomination proposed by Emmanuel Macron. The former minister, whose conservative views have raised concerns among civil society organizations, succeeds Claire Hédon.

The law committees of the National Assembly and the Senate approved François-Noël Buffet's candidacy by a vote of 43 to 39. To block the presidential proposal, opponents needed to secure at least three-fifths of the votes cast in the two committees, or 50 votes. This threshold was not reached.

Early in the morning, around twenty activists from associations such as Aides, SOS Racisme, Utopia 56, Act Up Paris or InterLGBT had deployed a banner "Defender of rights, stop the democratic shipwreck" in the Luxembourg garden, opposite the Senate.

The 62-year-old senator, who claims to be a proponent of "social Gaullism," is the focus of criticism from the left, the labor movement, associations, and even agents of the Defender of Rights. A former lawyer at the Lyon bar, he demonstrated against the law opening marriage to same-sex couples in 2013, voted against extending medically assisted procreation (MAP) to all women in 2020 and 2021, advocated for reforming State Medical Aid for undocumented immigrants, and abstained during the vote on enshrining abortion in the constitution.

Before the National Assembly on July 15, he stated that he had "evolved" on "a number of social issues." On Tuesday, before the Senate's Law Committee, he reaffirmed his vision of the position: "The truth has no political affiliation" and "the role of the Defender of Rights is first and foremost to try to grasp that truth."

François-Noël Buffet succeeds Claire Hédon, whose six-year term is ending. The former journalist and president of ATD Fourth World sounded the alarm in June, deploring "a worsening situation in access to rights in our society, in all areas." During her tenure, complaints to the institution increased by 70% and are expected to reach 200,000 in 2026, compared to 100,000 in 2020.