Édouard Balladur, the former French Prime Minister who spearheaded the privatization of state-owned enterprises, has died at the age of 97. Current Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed the news today, while President Emmanuel Macron and former President Nicolas Sarkozy also issued statements expressing their condolences.
According to reports from Reuters and AFP, Balladur—who was born in Turkey—served as Prime Minister under President François Mitterrand from March 1993 to May 1995 (during Mitterrand’s final term). During his tenure, he led the large-scale privatization of state-owned enterprises and vigorously promoted pension system reforms.