look back at his 12 jobs at the head of Dijon

This Monday, November 18, François Rebsamen, 73, announces that he is leaving his position as mayor of Dijon, a position he has held since 2001. Since that date, his various mandates have been marked by a profound transformation of the city of Dukes.

The 21st century has practically only known him at Dijon town hall. After more than 22 years as mayor of the Burgundian capital, François Rebsamen announced this Monday, November 18 that he is leaving his post, while remaining at the head of the Greater Dijon metropolis.

► ALSO READ: INTERVIEW. “I will continue to play politics”: François Rebsamen explains why he is leaving Dijon town hall

The first left-wing mayor of the City of Dukes since the 1930s, François Rebsamen will have, during his mandate, modernized a somewhat sleepy city at the dawn of the new millennium. Major town planning work, marked by the return of the tram in 2012, as well as the inauguration of the City of Gastronomy and Wine, has enabled the city to gain in attractiveness. Return in 12 dates over more than 20 years of mandate.

June 18, 1995: A second unsuccessful application

Already an unsuccessful candidate in 1989, François Rebsamen, president of the socialist group on the municipal council for six years, is running against Robert Poujade, unfailing at the town hall of Dijon since 1971. Accustomed to being elected in the first round since always, the RPR mayor is taken to the second round by his opponents, including François Rebsamen.

The latter collected a quarter of the votes in the first round, but lost in the second round behind Robert Poujade, elected for a sixth and final term.

March 18, 2001: And Dijon goes left

After two failures, François Rebsamen faces the announced successor of Robert Poujade, Jean-François Bazin, former president of the Departmental Council of Burgundy. The latter, promised to victory, nevertheless paid the price for Poujade's last mandate, very calm, in the face of the youth and dynamism embodied by Rebsamen.

In a city anchored to the right for decades, the socialist surprises his people and gains the town hall of the city where he was born 50 years ago. He was elected in the second round ahead of Jean-François Bazin with 52.1% of the votes.

On March 9, 2008, François Rebsamen returned for a second term by winning, in the first round, the municipal elections ahead of the right-wing candidate François-Xavier Dugourd, with 56.2% of the votes. A plebiscite at the Poujade which allows him to quickly launch his biggest project…

September 1, 2012: The tram arrives in Dijon

Since his arrival at town hall in 2001, François Rebsamen has wanted to reinvent transport in Dijon. Feasibility studies were launched and two months after his re-election, the tram project was voted on by Greater Dijon.

After four years of work in Dijon, Chenôve and Quetigny, the tramway is making its comeback in the Burgundian capital, 60 years after its disappearance.

2012: the start of pedestrianization

In September 2012, the in-depth transformation of the historic heart of Dijon began. Rue de la Liberté, the main artery of the city center where 800 buses run per day, is pedestrianized to complement the arrival of the tramway. At the time, the announcement did not only make people happy. Many traders fear losing part of their customers; some Dijon residents complain of no longer being able to access the city center as easily as before.

At the same time, Place de la République is also pedestrianized. From a huge car park, it passes into a completely pedestrian square, the junction of the two tramways. The Place de la Libération, too, is entirely open to pedestrians – attracting criticism on the too mineral aspect of the square, made of Burgundy stone and devoid of any vegetation.

In the years that followed, work on the city center continued. Latest project to date: the transformation of Place Bossuet, where benches and trees are installed in place of car parking. The development work will reveal ancient remains, which will arouse the curiosity of Dijon residents for several weeks.

► ALSO READ: IN PICTURES. Medieval remains discovered in the basement of the center of Dijon: “an industrial zone before its time”

April 2, 2014: Appointment to the Ministry of Labor

Elected president of the socialist group in the Senate in 2011, François Rebsamen was entrusted with a new role on a national scale. Under the presidency of François Hollande, the new Prime Minister Manuel Valls appoints the mayor of Dijon to the Ministry of Labor. François Rebsamen occupies his first position in government and inherits a delicate ministry while the unemployment rate exceeds 10%.

Due to the non-cumulative nature of mandates, his first deputy Alain Millot takes charge of Dijon town hall.

August 10, 2015: Return to town hall

On July 27, 2015, Alain Millot died of cancer at the age of 63. His death disrupts the plans of the new minister and François Rebsamen decides to return to Burgundy to resume his duties as mayor. In the summer, he submitted his resignation to the government after a delicate year in which he failed to reduce unemployment in the country.

A year later, he refused the Ministry of the Interior in the new government of Bernard Cazeneuve, explaining that he wanted to devote himself to the town hall of Dijon.

May 17, 2019: The renovation of the Museum of Fine Arts is completed

He will talk about it like “biggest cultural project in Burgundy Franche-Comté in the last 20 years”. On May 17, 2019, the Dijon Museum of Fine Arts is completely renovated. The culmination of three mandates, the renovation project having been born in 2001.

“When I embarked on these labors of Hercules, I did not think that it would take 18 years and that leads me to reflect on the passage of time.”

François Rebsamen

A May 2019

The work took place in two stages. The first phase was completed in 2013 with the renovation of 14 rooms. The second stage of the work consisted mainly of the renovation of 50 exhibition rooms.

April 10, 2018: Announcement of his cancer and withdrawal

It is in a press release that the mayor of Dijon announces the news. François Rebsamen is suffering from cancer and can no longer fulfill his role as an elected official. He delegates his functions during his medical treatment to Nathalie Koenders for the city and to Pierre Pribetich for the metropolis.

“Everyone knows, I have always refused to expose my private life. I am doing this today out of concern for transparency and a duty to tell the truth, towards my teams, municipal and metropolitan, and towards the people of Dijon. From this day forward, I will no longer speak about my health. I ask everyone to respect this silence. This will be the best way to support me in my healing.”he declared.

He returned to the political scene four months later, ensuring that the treatments had been effective and that he was ready to resume his activities.

May 6, 2022: The City of Gastronomy is born

This is the end of a long project, initiated in 2013. Dijon was then selected with Rungis and Tours to form the network of “Cities of Gastronomy”. After two years of work, the City of Gastronomy and Wine is inaugurated with great fanfare in May 2022.

A consecration for François Rebsamen, who fought to welcome this space in Dijon entirely dedicated to French gastronomy and wine. The cost of the entire project is estimated at 250 million euros.

February 23, 2023: He will not run again

During a public meeting Thursday February 23, 2023, François Rebsamen announces that he will not represent at the end of his third term. An important revelation in the local political landscape, as François Rebsamen has led the city of Dijon for more than 20 years.

July 4, 2024: The return of the Tour de France

For the first time since 1997, the city of Dukes welcomes a finish of the Tour de France. In total, Dijon has seen the Great Loop pass 28 times, 14 times as a city of arrival, 12 times as a city of departure.

“We have been waiting for his return for more than a quarter of a century in Dijon”then admits François Rebsamen.

October 12, 2024: The OIV in Dijon, the last chapter

He hadn't told anyone, but it was his last big project. On October 12, 2024, the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) inaugurates its new headquarters at the Bouchu d'Esterno hotel, in the heart of the historic center of Dijon.

The OIV manages wine regulations. It mainly acts on three points: technique, safety and health. Seeing its headquarters in Dijon is the realization of a project that François Rebsamen dreamed of. “It’s the UN of wine that’s taking hold. It’s the world capital of wine.”