"Upright, rigorous, deeply human," father of two daughters, initial forensic findings... what we know after the death of MP Olivier Marleix this Monday
Editorial with AFP Published on 07/08/2025 at 10:30, updated on 07/08/2025 at 10:30
Shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Monday, July 7, the police, alerted by the MP's parliamentary assistant and the mayor of Anet , "both concerned about his absence from meetings scheduled for the morning in Eure-et-Loir and his subsequent absence from the National Assembly," entered his home. They "discovered his lifeless body, hanging (...) in an upstairs bedroom of the house," according to a statement from the Chartres prosecutor, Frédéric Chevallier.
Following the initial forensic findings, " the involvement of a third party in the death of the MP can be ruled out , with suicide therefore being the preferred option," he added. An autopsy will be carried out on Wednesday morning.
"A telephone and computers" were seized for rapid analysis but "as things stand, no writings were found that could be of interest to the investigation" , according to the same source.
Father of two daughtersTall, with a dimpled chin and receding hairline, the former head of the Les Républicains group in the National Assembly (2022-2024), aged 54 , was the father of two daughters. He was the son of the former Secretary of State and political baron of Cantal, Alain Marleix .
Having entered politics in the mid-1990s, Olivier Marleix then settled in Eure-et-Loir, far from his father's Auvergne constituency.
A general councillor for this department from 2008 to 2014, a year ago he found himself in an unfavourable position against an RN candidate in the first round of the early legislative elections, before winning in the second.
The passing of Olivier Marleix plunges our Parliament into mourning. An experienced politician, he defended his ideas with conviction. I also respected our differences since they were placed in the light of our love for our country.
I send my condolences...
President Emmanuel Macron, who has often been the target of virulent attacks by Olivier Marleix, paid tribute to an "experienced politician" who "defended his ideas with conviction" in a message on the social network X.
A self-proclaimed sovereignist, the Eure-et-Loir MP had notably castigated the controversial sale in 2014 of Alstom's energy branch to the American company General Electric , when the head of state was Minister of the Economy.
After chairing a commission of inquiry into this takeover, Olivier Marleix took legal action in 2019, questioning the role played by Emmanuel Macron.
For his part, Prime Minister François Bayrou expressed, on the same social network, his "astounding" and his "immense sadness" , recognizing that "we never realize the fragility of human beings..."
In the Assembly, where Olivier Marleix had sat since 2012, the announcement of his death shocked the deputies who observed a minute of silence .
Fourth time that a deputy commits suicide under the Fifth RepublicThis is the fourth time under the Fifth Republic that a member of parliament has committed suicide, after Aymeric Simon-Lorière in 1977, Pierre Bérégovoy in 1993 and Jean-Marie Demange in 2008.
After paying tribute to the memory of a " straight, rigorous, and profoundly human" man , the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, will propose on Tuesday to the Conference of Presidents of the Lower House that a tribute be paid to Olivier Marleix at 3:00 p.m.
A close friend of former Prime Minister Michel Barnier, the MP supported Bruno Retailleau's candidacy for the presidency of the Republicans this spring, defeating Laurent Wauquiez, who succeeded him last year as president of the LR deputies.
"We will not forget the man of conviction, a tireless defender of the general interest whose vision lifted public debate," reacted the deputy of Haute-Loire.
Former head of state Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to the man who was his technical advisor at the Elysée, "a valuable collaborator, a loyal supporter whose commitment never failed me."
In a statement to AFP, former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur praised "a great parliamentarian with qualities recognized by all" who "had the abilities of a man of government" .
Among his political opponents, too, many have paid tribute to the memory of this figure of the Assembly.
Like the former socialist president François Hollande who argued that "loyalty to his party did not distract him from the respect he elegantly displayed for ideas that were not his own."
Nice Matin
