Christophe Payet

Christophe Payet (born January 10, 1940, in Cilaos, Réunion, France) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (PS), he was President of the Departmental Council of Réunion from 1994 to 1998 and Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2007.

Biography
In 1983, he became mayor of Petite-Île after his list won the municipal elections on the first ballot. The same year, he became a member of Réunion's regional council.

Elected General Councillor for the Petite-Île canton in 1988, he chaired the Departmental Council of Réunion from 1994 to 1998. He was re-elected in the 2001 cantonal elections, but resigned the following year due to a combination of mandates.

In the 2002 legislative elections, he was elected deputy for the Réunion's 4th constituency in the first round, with 50.3% of the vote, notably against David Lorion (UMP). He is a member of the Socialist group at the National Assembly. He did not stand for re-election in the 2007 legislative elections, which were won by the Socialist Patrick Lebreton in the second round.

After four consecutive terms in office, he did not stand for re-election in the Petite-Île municipal elections of 2008, nominating Serge Hoarau as his successor. However, Hoarau was defeated in the second round by Guito Ramoune, the official PS candidate.