- The appointment by the Elysée of Claire Hédon as Defender of Rights must be validated by the Parliament next Tuesday.
- Currently president of ATD-Fourth World, she has been able to defend the most precarious and make her voice heard in the public debate.
She has been the voice of the poorest in recent years. It will now be that of the victims of injustice and discrimination. Claire Hédon, the president of ATD-Fourth World, will become a Defender of Rights if her proposal for appointment by the Elysée Palace is validated by the Senate and the National Assembly on Tuesday July 7, which should be the case. A consecration for this committed 57-year-old woman, especially since she will succeed Jacques Toubon, who shone in this position, both a watchdog of public freedoms and a bit of itch for institutions.
A new direction which should not frighten this daughter of a naval officer, who often moved according to the paternal assignments. This allowed him to acquire an openness and a certain adaptability very early on. A taste for elsewhere that she then maintained through internships in the United States and numerous professional trips abroad. "It is very important to have a look at the world", she confided in an article published on the ATD-Fourth World site.
"She has enormous energy and shows deep sincerity"
A lawyer by training (she holds a master's degree in law from the University of Paris II), Claire Hédon also has a master's degree in communication. A double course which will be useful to him in his new functions. Like his journalistic past (at France Bleu, RFI, France Inter): “This partly explains his great listening skills and his ability to put his interlocutors at ease. She is also very good behind a microphone, ”explains Paul Maréchal, ATD-Fourth World national delegate to 20 Minutes . “She has enormous energy and shows deep sincerity. Hence its ability to attract attention ”, abounds Christophe Robert, the general delegate of the Abbé-Pierre Foundation who has carried inter-associative battles with it. And it is better to be charismatic when you run this independent authority, whose opinions are purely advisory. Because for them to resonate, you have to know how to impose them in public debate.
Claire Hédon will also be able to draw on her experience at the head of ATD-Fourth World since 2015, "even if there, she will change dimension by piloting a large institution", underlines Christophe Robert. She knew how to imprint her mark on this association helping people in situations of extreme poverty. Not "personal" for two cents, she played the team leaders with flying colors, underlines Paul Maréchal: "We all appreciated his ability to lead collective work".
The first woman to hold this position
“She knew how to bridge the gap between the poorest and the public authorities. And has advanced several issues such as the establishment of the 21st criterion of discrimination, namely "particular vulnerability resulting from their economic situation", the development of the operation "Territories zero long-term unemployment", taking into account the voice of the poorest to develop policies for them, ”says Paul Maréchal. “This Movement trained me, helped me to think and act differently. My wish is to continue to fight this fight: a fairer society that leaves no one behind, ”summarizes Claire Hédon on the association's website.
And in each of her previous fights, she showed courage and determination: "She knew how to be very firm, but always keeping a constructive position and never positioned herself on the political chessboard", continues Paul Marshal. "It will be able to demonstrate independence and will assume its power of alert to institutions, employers, institutions", adds Christophe Robert. “I have always shared his convictions. I appreciate his intellectual rigor, his associative commitment and his intransigence in the defense of the most fragile. I am delighted that a woman is occupying this position for the first time, ”also underlines Jean-Claude Borello, the founding president of the SOS Group. So much encouragement that Claire Hédon will need to go to the front. Especially since the institution is overwhelmed with files and lack of resources, as Jacques Toubon recalled on Wednesday at his last press conference.
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