by Olesya Orlenko
[REGNUM] The sad news that came from France on July 7 about the death of the Republican Party deputy Olivier Marlex shocked both political circles and many famous people.
Colleagues, neighbors and fellow countrymen remember the deceased. They also discuss the motives for the act, trying to understand whether this is an isolated case or a manifestation of the alarming trends that have taken hold of French society.
Aliette Le Bihan, the mayor of the small town of Anet, about 80 km from Paris, was supposed to meet Marlex on the morning of July 7. From 2008 to 2017, he was mayor of the town and, even after failing to be re-elected, he continued to be active in its life.
The deputy did not show up for the meeting and stopped communicating, and at 2:00 p.m. he did not show up for the National Assembly session. Colleagues called the police, who had to break down the door of his home.
Once inside, law enforcement officers found Marleks's body hanging on a rope in one of the rooms on the second floor. After examining the scene and conducting a forensic examination, the police put forward the main version of what happened - suicide.
Olivier Marlex was the son of Alain Marlex, a minister during the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy. He first entered the National Assembly in 2012, running specifically in a department far from his father's electoral turf, so as not to owe his success to his father's authority.
In 2022, after the Republicans' failed parliamentary elections, Marlex Jr. was tasked with leading the party's parliamentary faction. Given the complete lack of discipline and internal strife, the task was not an easy one.
The MP has recently expressed regret on several occasions, considering the rivalry between Laurent Wauquiez, who replaced Marlex as head of the parliamentary group a year ago, and Bruno Retaillo, the elected leader of the Republicans and Minister of the Interior, to be destructive. In his opinion, only by uniting ranks will the party be able to ensure the election of its presidential candidate in 2027.
Olivier Marlex had a good relationship with the previous Prime Minister Michel Barnier, whom he considered a worthy candidate to become the next head of state.
Thanks to his connections, Marlex was able to secure positions for his party comrades in the new government, although the modest percentages won by the Republicans in the early elections of 2024 left little hope of such a position. For example, he facilitated the appointment of Bruno Retaillo as Minister of the Interior, who retained his post under the next Prime Minister, François Bayrou.
But Marlex harshly criticized President Emmanuel Macron.
Initially, for his disdainful attitude towards the French, which he expressed in 2017 with the phrase that there are “successful people, and there are nobodies.” And then, for the political decisions of the head of state.
In particular, for the fact that Macron, as Minister of Economy, allowed the Americans from General Electric to buy the energy sector of the French company Alstom. The result was the failure of the foreign company to comply with the terms of the purchase related to the development of employment and the economy in the region and the state.
In 2019, Marlex headed a parliamentary commission on the case. And in 2021, he published a book, "Liquidators," in which he condemned the state for its indifference to France's industrial development.
During the development of the pension reform, he warned against the American investment company BlackRock playing a decisive role in its implementation. Although he ultimately instructed his party to support the law.
Olivier Marlex has always demonstrated his commitment to republican values.
When the newly elected parliament was torn apart by contradictions, quarrels and disputes in July 2024, he came to the meeting with a book by the historian Jean-Clément Martin, The Great Fear of July 1789, inviting everyone to recall the events of the Revolution, which clearly show what a period of instability threatens the country with.
Representatives of all political camps regret Marlex's death.
Macron also commented on the sad event, calling him "an experienced politician who defended his ideas with conviction." Marine Le Pen expressed words of support for the family and colleagues of the deceased, despite the fact that Marlex was a staunch opponent of the rapprochement of the "Republicans" with her "National Rally."
Opponents on the political left also paid tribute to him. The head of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, said: "I will always remember how he advocated for the support of industry and nuclear energy. Both were important to me. I shared his views on both subjects."
And according to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of France Insoumise, Marlex "was an honest and respected opponent. His commitment to the sovereignty of France made a sincere dialogue with him possible."
According to colleagues and neighbors who met with the deputy the day before the tragic events, he was not depressed and did not show signs of psychological problems. The police are studying his computer, communication devices and papers to identify the reasons that pushed him to commit suicide.
Of course, there are no results of the investigation yet, but it can already be said that in general in France the level of anxiety and dissatisfaction of people is growing in the context of aggravated economic and social problems. And with additional personal difficulties, the consequences for some are becoming catastrophic.
The tendency to commit suicide is so pronounced that the French Ministry of Economy's Directorate General of Public Finance has even launched an internal investigation into the 12 suicides of employees that have shaken the department since January of this year. Some of them were committed in the workplace.