Jean Royer

Jean Royer (31 October 1920 – 25 March 2011) was a French Catholic conservative politician who was a minister and mayor of Tours.

In 1973 he entered the Pierre Messmer government, leaving his seat vacant but stayed on as Mayor of Tours.

During his tenure as Minister of Commerce, he in December 1973 wrote the Royer Law, which regulated the construction of supermarkets that were more than 1000 m2.

He multiplied gaffes: he resigned from the government, unlike Valéry Giscard d'Estaing; he installed his headquarters in Tours, not in Paris; and he refused to take the plane during the campaign.

For example, in Toulouse, the majority of his listeners were young students who laughed at him and yelled obscene sexual slogans.

After the presidential fiasco, Royer returned to Tours and won his old seat back in a by-election in 1976.

Following his re-election in the 1993 election, he joined the parliamentary group République et liberté (composed of the Left Radical Party, the MDC, and other independents).