lit a candle 4h agoFirst heard her name years ago reading up on the French parity law before a trip through Lot-et-Garonne. Didn't know much about her beyond that one piece on the CIDF, but founding something that lasted ten years says a lot. Sorry to hear she's gone at 77.
Their story
Lucette Lousteau was a French Socialist politician from Lot-et-Garonne who, in 2012, became the first woman elected to the National Assembly for the department's first constituency, centred on Agen and Nérac. A long time campaigner for women's rights, she died on Saturday 7 November 2026 after a long illness, aged…
Lucette Lousteau was a French Socialist politician from Lot-et-Garonne who, in 2012, became the first woman elected to the National Assembly for the department's first constituency, centred on Agen and Nérac. A long time campaigner for women's rights, she died on Saturday 7 November 2026 after a long illness, aged 77.
She was born on 20 December 1948 in Oran, then part of French Algeria, and later made her life and political career in Agen. Before she reached national office she spent years in local public life, serving as a member of Agen's municipal council and as a departmental councillor in Lot-et-Garonne.
Women's rights were at the centre of her work. She founded and for about ten years presided over the Centre d'information sur les droits des femmes (CIDF) in Lot-et-Garonne, an association that helped women gain access to their rights. In interviews she described the advance of equality as a permanent task, welcoming the parity law as a historic moment while insisting that more remained to be done, particularly on violence against women.
Within the Socialist Party she rose to become first federal secretary for Lot-et-Garonne. In March 2010 she was elected to the regional council of Aquitaine, where she held responsibility for integration through economic activity under the region's president, Alain Rousset.
In the legislative election of June 2012 she defeated the sitting deputy, Jean Dionis du Séjour, taking 52.02 per cent of the vote in the second round. She sat in the Socialist group throughout the fourteenth legislature, with Olivier Campan as her substitute. In the 2017 election she was eliminated in the first round and her mandate ended on 20 June 2017. During the 2017 Socialist primary she sat on the political committee of Vincent Peillon's campaign. She was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour on 1 January 2022.
Her death was announced on 7 November 2026. The mayor of Agen, Laurent Bruneau, paid tribute to a woman of conviction who defended her ideas with determination and was willing to speak with a free voice even when it put her at odds with her own side. He said that although she had been discreet in recent years she had kept a close eye on politics, and had faced her illness with great courage and dignity.
Biography adapted from La Dépêche du Midi (7 Nov 2026); Sud Ouest (7 Nov 2026); Sud Ouest interview (June 2011); La Dépêche du Midi (March 2002); Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); Assemblée nationale.
Photos
1Lucette Lousteau in 2012
by People Forever
From social media
2Posts by Lucette, and posts about them, kept here so they are not lost.