Claude Malhuret

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Claude Malhuret
Member of the Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2014
Preceded by	Mireille Schurch
Parliamentary group	UMP (2014–2015) LR (2015–2017) LIRT (2017–present)
Constituency	Allier
Mayor of Vichy
In office 20 March 1989 – 6 October 2017
Preceded by	Jacques Lacarin [arz; fr; vo]
Succeeded by	Frédéric Aguilera
Member of the Regional Council of Auvergne
In office 29 March 2004 – 1 October 2014
President	Pierre-Noël Bonté René Souchon
Constituency	Allier
Member of the National Assembly
In office 2 April 1993 – 21 April 1997
Preceded by	Jean-Michel Belorgey [arz; fr; tr]
Succeeded by	Gérard Charasse
Parliamentary group	UDFC
Constituency	Allier's 4th
Member of the European Parliament
In office 25 July 1989 – 16 April 1993
Parliamentary group	ELD
Constituency	France
Secretary of State for Human Rights
In office 20 March 1986 – 10 May 1988
Prime Minister	Jacques Chirac
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Lucette Michaux-Chevry (1993)
Personal details
Born	(1950-03-08) 8 March 1950 (age 75) Strasbourg, France
Political party	Horizons (2021–present)
Other political affiliations	Republican Party (until 1997) Liberal Democracy (1997–2002) Union for a Popular Movement (2002–2015) The Republicans (2015–2017) Agir (2017–2021)
Alma mater	Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University Paris Descartes University
Profession	Physician, lawyer, politician

Claude Malhuret (French pronunciation: [klod malyʁɛ]; born 8 March 1950) is a French physician, lawyer and politician who has served as a member of the Senate since 2014, representing the department of Allier. A member of Horizons (HOR),^[1] he has presided over the centre-right The Independents – Republic and Territories (LIRT) parliamentary group in the Senate since 2017.

Previously, Malhuret was Secretary of State for Human Rights (1986–1988),^[2] Mayor of Vichy (1989–2017),^[3] a member of the National Assembly (1993–1997) and of the European Parliament (1989–1993).

Malhuret was born in Strasbourg. After completing his doctorate in medicine at the University of Paris, he worked as a hospital intern. In 1973, Malhuret participated in some voluntary overseas work with Coopération Française, before being employed by the World Health Organization in India.^[3]

Malhuret also studied law at the University of Paris.

Malhuret was elected president of Médecins Sans Frontières in 1977. Malhuret's humanitarian aid was beginning to be noticed, and in 1978 he became the President of France's overseas relief agency.^{[citation needed]}

In 1980, Malhuret was one of the organizers of the "March for the Survival of Cambodia" in Thailand, with several media and artistic personalities, and read a speech written by Bernard-Henri Lévy.^[4]

From 1986 to 1988, Malhuret served as Secretary of State for Human Rights in the government of Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, the first in this position.^[2][5]

From 1989 to 1993, Malhuret was a Member of the European Parliament. In parliament, he served on the Committee on Political Affairs (1989–1990) and the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media (1992–1993). In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the parliament's delegation for relations with Japan.^[6]

Malhuret was elected mayor of Vichy and President of the Vichy Urban District in 1989. He initiated a massive programme to modernize and restore the glory of the town, alongside other economic partners. This included the construction of a vast pedestrian area, upgrading of various hotels and renovation of the spas and Opera House.^{[citation needed]}

Malhuret stepped down to vice-president of the Vichy Urban District in 2001, but remained the mayor of Vichy.^{[citation needed]}

Malhuret first became a member of the French Senate in the 2014 elections.^[7]

Following the election of Emmanuel Macron as president, Malhuret left the Republicans and became one of the founding members of the new Agir party.^[8]

In 2023, Malhuret was the Senate's rapporteur on a proposal to ban video-sharing application TikTok.^[9]

On 4 March 2025, Malhuret delivered an eight-minute speech to the French Senate,^[10] critical of the Trump administration,^[11][12] and saying

Washington has become the court of Nero, an incendiary emperor [Donald Trump], submissive courtiers, and a jester high on ketamine in charge of purging the civil service. [Elon Musk]. This is a tragedy for the free world, but it is first and foremost a tragedy for the United States. Trump’s message is that there is no point in being his ally since he will not defend you, he will impose higher tariffs on you than on his enemies and will threaten to seize your territories while supporting the dictatorships that invade you. Then he added : In the Oval Office, the draft dodger [Donald Trump] was giving moral lessons to the war hero Volodymyr Zelensky. Never has any President of the United States trampled on the American Constitution, issued so many illegal decrees, dismissed judges who could stop them, abruptly removed the military leadership, weakened all checks and balances, and taken control of social media. This is not an illiberal drift; it is the beginning of a seizure of democracy. Let us remember that it took only one month, three weeks, and two days to bring down the Weimar Republic and its Constitution.

The speech received significant attention in social media and mainstream media around the world.^{[10][12][13][14]}

In 2016, Malhuret publicly endorsed Alain Juppé in The Republicans' primaries for the 2017 presidential election.^[8]

Malhuret served as a member of the Board of Directors of Korian from 2003 to 2014.^[15]