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Marie-George Buffet.

Marie-George Buffet (born May 7, 1949 in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French politician, currently the head of the French Communist Party (PCF). She joined the Party in 1969, and was the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from June 4, 1997 to May 5, 2002. Ms. Buffet was re-elected on June 16, 2002 to another five-year term in the National Assembly, as a representative of Seine-Saint-Denis.

Buffet was elected in 2001 as National Secretary of the Party, succeeding Robert Hue, who assumed the newly-created presidency of the party. When Hue resigned after his poor score in the 2002 presidential elections, the presidency was suppressed, leaving Buffet as sole leader of the Party.

As head of the French Communist Party, Buffet speaks regularly on a variety of topics relating to the plight of the working people. Most recently, she commented on the effects of Hurricane Katrina as being worsened by "Bush's indifference". Most of Buffet's speeches tend to focus upon practical implementations of the government’s duty to provide for its citizens. In one recent speech, Buffet exclaimed that what the working class needed was social housing. In a dramatic and often emotional way, Buffet will exclaim her wishes for quality housing in a timely fashion.

Other issues that Buffet is interested in and has spoken on are the Bolkestein Directive (a free trade directive issued by the European Union), energy initiatives, and ideological issues linked with stopping privatization and aiding the lower classes or working people. As a member of the French National Parliament, Buffet has begun to recognize the need to organize with the Communist and Socialist parties of other states within the EU. This can be seen in the Marie-George Buffet Statement, which came out in June 2005. It constitutes a comment on the aftermath of the referendum on the establishment of further free trade rulings inside the European Union, one which was rejected by the entierty of the Left. Buffet sees this French Communist victory as a victory for communists across Europe. She remarked:

I invite from the bottom of my heart men and women and organizations of the left, even those who might have voted "yes", to take your place, to participate with us in this noble adventure to construct another Europe, a genuine left wing alternative.

In 2006, Buffet took part in a "rally of the anti-liberal left", in an attempt to reconcile the PCF, the rest of the radical left, and anti-globalization militants, by the nomination of a common candidate for the 2007 French presidential election. As Buffet was voted as candidate by most members of the rally, several other participants fell out, denouncing the Communist Party's influence, effectively crippling the "anti-liberal left" and leaving Buffet as candidate for the sole PCF.

• Official National Assembly Page
• Speeches - Personal info page on National Assembly web site

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