Edouard Philippe, re-elected mayor of Le Havre in the last municipal election, will join the board of directors of the Atos IT group in a few weeks.

Before him, many French political figures, whether or not they were withdrawn from public life, turned to the private sector.

He remains elected, but takes a noticeable step towards the corporate world.

Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will join the board of directors of the Atos IT group in a few weeks, while remaining mayor of Le Havre.

He said he was "very happy to be able to bring his experience to the company".

His name is thus added to the already long list of politicians who end up joining the private sector.

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Examples are legion: François Fillon, who very quickly consoled himself for his defeat in the presidential election by becoming a senior associate of the Tikehau-Capital investment fund, Nicolas Sarkozy, director of the Accor group and, since this year, member of the Lagardère supervisory board.

Not to mention Renaud Dutreil, former Minister of SMEs in the Raffarin government, who left for New York in 2008 to head the American subsidiary of LVMH.

Let us also quote Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, unsuccessful candidate for the right-wing primary in 2016, also left for the United States to exercise the same type of function at Cap Gemini.

A few years earlier, in 2003, the former Minister of Industry in the Juppé government, Yves Galland, had been appointed boss of Boeing France.

An extraordinary address book

For these politicians, going into the private sector is an opportunity to boost a salary that large groups are generally ready to pay to benefit from an experience in the heart of power, and an address book outside standards.

It is still necessary to obtain the green light from the High Authority for the transparency of public life (in any case when the transition to the private sector occurs shortly after the end of political functions).

This is the case for Edouard Philippe, who received the approval of this body.