Jean-François Humbert, former senator and president of the Franche-Comté region from 1998 to 2004, died on Thursday, November 20, at the age of 73. Known for refusing support from the Front National during his 1998 election, he embodied strong republican convictions. Agence France-Presse learned the news from the current president of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Jean-François Humbert, a member of UDF and then UMP, led the Franche-Comté region from 1998 to 2004. His death, which occurred on Thursday, November 20, 2025, was announced by Agence France-Presse via Jérôme Durain, the current president of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
In 1998, during regional elections without an absolute majority, Humbert was elected with votes from the Front National (FN, now RN). He immediately resigned from the presidency, refusing to govern with far-right support. “M. Humbert had profoundly marked minds in 1998 by refusing to govern with the support of the far right, after a regional election that had not given an absolute majority to the community,” recalled Jérôme Durain (PS). A few weeks later, he was re-elected without FN votes, thanks to the left's abstention, reflecting “his powerful republican convictions.”
Christine Bouquin (LR), president of the Doubs department, emphasized: “He will remain one of the first political leaders to clearly affirm a republican line refusing any agreement with the extremes.”
Humbert served in the Senate from 1998 to 2014 and chaired a 2013 inquiry commission on the effectiveness of anti-doping efforts in sports. His refusal of alliances with the far right made him a symbol of the Republic.