Born in Ollioules in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Castaner was Mayor of Forcalquier from 2001 to 2017 and Vice President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur from 2004 to 2012 under the presidency of Michel Vauzelle, before he represented the 2nd constituency of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the National Assembly from 2012 to 2017. He headed the Socialist Party list in the 2015 regional election in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, which saw the party lose all representation at the regional level. He joined Macron's En Marche! (later La République En Marche!) movement in 2016; he became its chairman the following year after a few months as Government Spokesman.
In 2018, Castaner was appointed as Interior Minister following the resignation of Gérard Collomb. His tenure, which was marked by the yellow vests movement, was heavily criticised for police brutality and controversial public statements. While France was battling the COVID-19 pandemic, he allowed a Black Lives Matter protest to take place, attracting further criticism. The following month, he was succeeded by Gérald Darmanin and returned to the National Assembly. In the 2022 legislative election, he lost his seat in the National Assembly to Léo Walter of La France Insoumise (FI).
The youngest of three children, Christophe Castaner's father was in the military and his mother was a housewife.

Return to Christophe Castaner Autograph Profile