Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin (French: [ʒɑ pjɛʁ ʁa.fa.ʁɛ ] ( listen); born 3 August 1948) is a French conservative politician and Senator for Vienne. Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as the Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005, resigning after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. However, after Raffarin resigned, he said that his decision was not based on the outcome of the vote. Opinion polls following his resignation suggested that Raffarin was one of France's least popular Prime Ministers since the Fifth Republic was established in 1958. However, according to the book France: 1815–2003, written by Martin Evans and Emmanuel Godwin, Raffarin was "a remarkably popular Prime Minister" despite his ability "to state the obvious and to make empty statements". He is also Vice President of the Senate from 2011 to 2014.