Thierry Mariani serves in the European Parliament, since 2019, under the French party "Rassemblement National", which was led by Marine Le Pen between 2011-2021.
In the European Parliament, he is a regular member of the Industry, Research and Energy Committees, Foreign Affairs and the Human Rights subcommittee. He is also the founder and president of the political movement "La droite Populaire", which was associated with the "Rassemblement National" after 2019, without having officially joined it.
Previously, he served as Minister of Transport (2010-2012) and held positions in the local (mayor of Valreas, member of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur regional council) and central administration (member of the National Assembly) of the Vaucluse department, as deputy minister responsible for transport at the Ministry of Transport and as national secretary of the French abroad.
He conducted international diplomatic activity, as a special representative of France for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and president of the France-Kazakhstan Friendship Group in the National Assembly, was a special representative for Central Asia and Mongolia in the French delegation in Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (AP-OSCE) and was a member of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Since 2012, he is co-chairman, together with Vladimir Yakunin, of the "Association Dialogue Franco Russe", founded (2004) "under the auspices" of Presidents Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Putin.
Under investigation for corruption and influence peddling
In 2021, the French Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into alleged acts of corruption and influence-peddling carried out by Thierry Mariani through the "Association Dialogue Franco Russe". According to sources close to the investigation, Russia allegedly paid for Thierry Mariani's travel multiple times, international media reports.
The international press often cites Mariani's pro-Russian statements alongside presenting a series of actions he took to show his support for the Kremlin:
Visited (July 2015) the Crimean peninsula, as part of a delegation consisting of members of the French Parliament (accompanied by Russian officials). He took the opportunity to praise the region's "courage" in seeking independence from Ukraine and to criticize sanctions imposed on Russia following its annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
Serving Putin
He himself has visited Crimea several times, including as an observer for elections or referendums held there, despite constant criticism from Ukrainian and European officials. He also participated as an observer in the Russian State Duma elections (St. Petersburg, 19.09.2021), characterized by the Western press as a "fake observer", whose presence was only useful to provide some level of legitimacy to the elections at the international level.
• On December 17, 2015, he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and discussed Syria. Thierry Mariani said ensuring that Bashar al-Assad remains President of Syria is essential to countering terrorism in the region.
• In 2016, he submitted to the National Assembly and the Senate (parts of the French Parliament) resolutions aimed at lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union, on the grounds that they affect the French economy.
• On October 16, 2019, he participated in a meeting with Vladimir Chizhov, permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union, with the main focus on improving relations between Russia and the EU.
• On November 25, 2022, he voted against a resolution debated in the European Parliament, which aimed to declare Russia a "sponsor of terrorism" as a result of its aggression against Ukraine.
• He stated that the war in Ukraine is indirectly affecting the economy of some EU member states, while Russia is not a danger to France, a country that is about to be involved in a conflict that does not concern it.
• He welcomed (2022) Serbia's decision not to give in to EU pressure and not to impose sanctions on Russia in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.
• Said (April 2022) that if the EU decides to stop importing oil and gas from Russia, this measure will be "disastrous" for EU states. At the same time, he added that, although this kind of decision will also affect Russia, the country will overcome difficulties and become even stronger.
Thierry Mariani described the AUR as "friends" and "patriots"
Later (January 2023), he said that negotiations between Russia and the EU on natural gas supplies would begin "in a few months", adding that the EU "is either afraid of upsetting Washington or being blackmailed by Kiev".
From 22 to 23 July 2023, Thierry Mariani was in Bucharest, attending the second edition of the Forum organized by the AUR and the Conservative Institute "Mihai Eminescu", entitled "The supremacy of national constitutions over the European bureaucracy".
Thierry Mariani described the AUR as "friends" and "patriots" with whom he and his political party fight against "Brussels bureaucracy" and "can change Europe".
In this context, Thierry Mariani supported the announcement of the AUR candidates for the upcoming elections, stating that the event took place in an "impressive atmosphere" and stated that although the election campaign has not started, the opinion polls place the AUR in a higher percentage of 25%.
In another post on social media, he said that, like France, "the dictates of the European Commission, which want to impose more immigration, more taxes and destroy identities in the awakened culture, are no longer supported in Romania."
In addition, the French MEP was indeed present at the announcement of the AUR candidates for the 2024 European Parliament elections. Thierry Mariani's trip to Romania was facilitated by the MEP who was initially elected on the lists of the PSD, and later called himself a representative of the PNŢCD, the Cristian Terheş.
During the event, Terheş was described as a future candidate for the European Parliament elections in 2024, along with actor Mugur Mihăescu, lawyer Gheorghe Piperea, Prince Şerban Dimitrie Sturdza, former presidential candidate from his Humanist Party Dan Voiculescu, Ramona Bruynseels, Dan Tănasă and Claudiu Târziu.
