[1][2][3] His father was a railroad employee for the SNCF at the Gare du Nord, and his mother was a housewife.

[1] He began working at 18 and took evening classes in chemistry at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers.

[1][2][3] He took on a more centrist approach, which led more left-wing labour leaders like Jacques Julliard to criticize him.

[5] He was a supporter of the 35-hour workweek passed by the Socialist government under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in 2000.

[3] Upon his death, Muriel Pénicaud, the French Minister of Labour, tweeted that Maire "transformed and inspired industrial relations.