ABSTRACT
Léotard is a key figure in the Parti Républicain, of which he became leader in succession to Giscard d’Estaing. A former seminarist, he succeeded Jack Lang as Culture Minister in 1986, doubtless helped by his brother Philippe’s fame as an actor. His support for Balladur against Chirac in the 1995 presidential elections cost him political ground in the short term.
