who is Nathalie Koenders, the deputy who will succeed François Rebsamen?

This Monday, November 18, François Rebsamen will leave his position as mayor of Dijon, and announces that he will hand over to his first deputy, Nathalie Koenders, 47 years old.

If the municipal council validates her candidacy on Monday, November 25, Nathalie Koenders will become the first woman at the head of Dijon town hall. François Rebsamen, current socialist mayor, elected since 2001, announced this Monday, November 18 that he will leave his functions and propose the candidacy of his first deputy to the next municipal council, in a week.

► ALSO READ: At the head of the city since 2001, François Rebsamen announces that he is leaving his position as mayor of Dijon

A anticipated and prepared succession

This handover is not a surprise. Nathalie Koenders is far from being unknown: she has held the position of first deputy since 2015 and for some time now, she has no longer hidden her ambitions at the head of the city.

Questioned in March 2024, when François Rebsamen had announced that he did not want to run again in the 2026 municipal elections, Nathalie Koenders declared to France 3 Bourgogne: “It is certain that it is the most beautiful mandate. We must improve the lives of people on a daily basis while having ideas for our city in the more or less long term (…) What I can tell you two years of municipal elections, I have ideas for the Dijon of tomorrow.”

He prepares me for this

Nathalie Koenders

interview on France 3, March 2024

And to add: “I think that [François Rebsamen] like many mayors, wishes to ensure succession so that the city continues to develop as it has done since 2001, with the social, democratic and ecological values ​​that he defends. He’s preparing me for this.”

► ALSO READ: Mayor for 22 years: a look back at the 12 jobs of François Rebsamen at the head of the city of Dijon

In recent months, the first deputy to the city of Dijon has appeared at important media events. She was the one who was present in Paris during the presentation of the route of theTour de France 2024Dijon being the finish city of the 6th stage. She was also the one who represented the City on election night.Miss France on December 16, 2023.

More recently, it was Nathalie Koenders, and not François Rebsamen, who spoke to France 3 regarding the development of the canal port, a major project launched this winter in Dijon. Likewise, at the beginning of 2024, she was at the inauguration of the new nautical base on Lake Kir, aging and dilapidated.

► ALSO READ: PHOTOS. Built in the 1960s, the Lake Kir nautical base is getting a makeover

Before entering politics, Nathalie Koenders is first and foremost a high-level sportswoman. For 12 years, she practiced canoeing at the ASPTT in Dijon. She was part of the French team from 1992 to 2001 and won several titles in the French championship.

Sport is an integral part of his life. Born in Rennes in 1977 but raised in Dijon, she studied at the University of Burgundy in the STAPS sector. Two years later, she won the INSEP (national sports institute) competition and became an executive at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. She then obtained a public law degree and passed the ENA preparatory exam in 2006.

Nathalie Koenders then took a teaching position at CREPS in Dijon. In 2008, she was approached by François Rebsamen during the municipal elections. Nathalie Koenders becomes deputy for the first time, delegated to commerce, crafts and the “heart of the city” project. She then rose through the ranks, reaching the position of first assistant in 2015.

In a civil partnership and mother of two children, Nathalie Koenders has always remained discreet about her daily life. But in 2020, she broke the silence on a personal aspect of her life: she announced that she was suffering from breast cancer and decided to testify to France 3.

“I had to explain the reasons” of her temporary withdrawal, she said. “I also wanted to send a message of hope to women, in particular to tell them that breast cancer is treatable and curable, if it is detected in time.”

► ALSO READ: “Breast cancer is treatable if it is detected in time”: After the announcement of her cancer, Nathalie Koenders testifies

Nathalie Koenders reveals that she lost her mother and grandfather early, who were also affected by breast cancer. EShe explains that she chose to have surgery, rather than undergo chemotherapy: “The advantage is that it saves me from other more serious treatments and it greatly reduces the risk of recurrence.” Nathalie Koenders will return to her duties for three weeks after his operation.