Renaud ÃÂmile Gontran Muselier (; born 6 May 1959) is a French-Mauritian physician and politician who has served as President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur since 2017. A member of The Republicans (LR) until 2021, he joined Renaissance (RE) the following year. He previously was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2014 to 2019.
A native of Marseille, Muselier is the grandson of Admiral ÃÂmile Muselier. He is the nephew of the Queen Geraldine of Albania (née Countess Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi), wife of the last King of Albania, Zog I, deposed by the Italians in 1939.
Muselier was the member of the General Council of Bouches-du-Rhône for the canton of Marseille â Notre-Dame-du-Mont from 1992 to 1995, as well as a member of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur from 2004 to 2007. He was Deputy Mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2008 under the mayorship of Jean-Claude Gaudin.
Muselier was the deputy in the National Assembly of France for the 5th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 1993 to 2002. During that time, her served on the Committee on Cultural Affairs.
From 2002 to 2005, Muselier served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of successive ministers Dominique de Villepin and Michel Barnier.
Following the 2007 legislative election, Muselier re-joined the National Assembly, serving on its Committee on Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2012.
Muselier was reelected of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in 2015 and became its first vice-president under the presidency of Christian Estrosi.
Muselier became a Member of the European Parliament following the 2014 European election. Throughout his term, he served on the Committee on Transport and Tourism. In addition to his committee assignments, he was a member of the Parliament's delegation to the ACPâÂÂEU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
In the 2016 The Republicans presidential primary, Muselier endorsed Nicolas Sarkozy as the party's candidate for the office of President of France.
On 29 May 2017, Muselier was elected President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, succeeding Christian Estrosi, who returned as Mayor of Nice.
Muselier announced his intention to run for reelection on a joint ticket with La République En Marche! (LREM) in 2021, under an agreement brokered by Prime Minister Jean Castex. However, this led to the resignation of Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi and Toulon Mayor Hubert Falco from The Republicans a few days later. LREM politician Sophie Cluzel subsequently announced she would lead a list herself, thus terminating the joint ticket agreement, before backtracking and announcing the agreement would be upheld. Muselier ultimately received 57.3 percent of the vote, against 42.7 percent for National Rally candidate Thierry Mariani.
Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, Muselier publicly declared his support for Xavier Bertrand as The Republicans' candidate. Shortly after, he announced his decision to leave The Republicans, accusing fellow party member ÃÂric Ciotti of "conveying the ideas of ÃÂric Zemmour within LR", after Ciotti stated he would vote for Zemmour in a hypothetical runoff against Emmanuel Macron.
Muselier has supported the LGV Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. State financing for the project was approved in 2022, and President Macron visited Marseille-Saint-Charles station with Muselier and Martine Vassal in 2025 to mark the beginning of construction work.
Alongside Laurent Wauquiez of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Muselier was instrumental in securing the French Alps hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics. At the 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, he and Fabrice Pannekoucke received the Olympic flag, marking the handover to the next Winter Games host country. Muselier called his efforts for the 2030 Olympics the "apotheosis" of his political career.
In 2022 Muselier stated he had accepted a dual citizenship offer by the government of Mauritius after he made investments in the country. He specified not holding a bank account in Mauritius.