In Brief: ONE Campaign's French boss heads back to politics after 1 year in charge

One year after becoming the head of ONE Campaign in France, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem will take unpaid leave to run in regional elections in June.

Vallaud-Belkacem, a well-known politician who served as France’s first female education minister from 2014-2017, confirmed in weekend newspaper interviews that she will vie for the presidency of the southeastern Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which includes Lyon. The 43-year-old will represent the Socialist Party and other left-wing groups, likely against right-wing incumbent and current favorite Laurent Wauquiez.

ONE Campaign told Devex by email Monday that the leave will begin “in the coming days.” Maé Kurkjian, senior policy and advocacy manager, will hold the role of interim director for the eight-person office.

Asked by Devex whether the prospect of Vallaud-Belkacem running for election in summer 2021 was discussed when she took the job, a ONE spokesperson responded: “At the time of the recruitment more than a year ago, this was not part of the discussion as Najat Vallaud-Belkacem did not know yet she was going to run for office.”

The recruitment process started at the end of 2019, the spokesperson wrote, and “her contract was signed in early 2020 and she started at the beginning of March 2020.”

Short and sweet: Even if her tenure proves to be short-lived, Vallaud-Belkacem’s high profile — and recent book on ending extreme poverty by 2030 — has at least proved conveniently timed for ONE, coinciding with lobbying over France’s new law on official development assistance.