'I was a street man for 3 months': France's minister without degrees causes buzz and smiles
Michel Fournier, photographed on October 13, 2025 before a government meeting, PHOTO: Christian Liewig / Bestimage / Profimedia Images
A month into his position as minister delegate for rural areas in the new French government, Michel Fournier has already been through everything in his career. The 75-year-old man's motto: “If I'm told I can't do something, then I do it,” reports La Libre.
He returned to his more than atypical professional path in a new interview with journalists from Le Parisien. Born on the family farm in a small village in northeastern France, Fournier was raised by his grandmother, who ran a café bar. At the age of six, the current minister was already tending chickens and milking cows before going to school.
Michel Fournier later left school without obtaining a degree because he could not accept the authority of the teachers. He did several odd jobs before leaving for Germany at 17. “I was a street person (no he used the pejorative term 'clochard') for 3 months,” Fournier confessed to the French publication.
“I understood what it really means to be hungry and cold, you can be willing to do reprehensible things like 'stealing food,'” he added.
After returning to France, it took him a while to find his way, but today he is known as “the politician with a thousand and one lives”.
A minister good at everything
The 75-year-old man did everything – he was an agricultural worker, a flower seller and an electric shutter seller. “I sold everything that could be sold: chewing gum, electric radiators, suitcases. During that time I never had a fixed salary,” he said.
At 33, Fournier launched himself into local politics. Although he has never been affiliated with a party, he is highly regarded and has been re-elected five times as mayor of Voivres, a position he has held for 36 years.
Last month, Emmanuel Macron appointed him minister without prior notice. “I found out about my appointment on Sunday night on TV,” he recounted.
Since his appointment, Fournier has not changed his style and bypasses, sometimes inadvertently, certain formalities of the French capital. He applauded, for example, after the speech of the president of the Senate – a gesture forbidden to a member of the government. He also took photos in the National Assembly, which is also prohibited.
The 75-year-old minister humorously takes on the different style: “I may not have degrees, but my hands are dirty with oil.”
