André Santini, a leading political figure in the Hauts-de-Seine and mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux since 1980, has died in the early hours of Monday at the age of 85, Le Parisien reports. The man nicknamed the “unshakable” was just reelected to a ninth term in March 2026, despite frail health. His passing marks the end of an era for the town of around 70,000 inhabitants on the banks of the Seine, just a few minutes from Paris.
Born on October 20, 1940, in Paris’s 14th arrondissement and of Corsican descent, André Santini grew up in Courbevoie before moving to Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1977 at the urging of Charles Pasqua. Serving as an aide to Mayor Raymond Menand, he took the helm after Menand’s death in 1980 and would never leave. For nearly half a century, he would literally transform the face of Issy-les-Moulineaux: rehabilitating derelict industrial sites along the Seine, and building a digital and tech hub that drew in companies like Capgemini, Microsoft, Orange, and Warner Bros. This drive has earned him the label of “builder” mayor and “visionary,” in the tradition of some top local leaders in Île-de-France.
Beyond his municipal record, André Santini has established himself as a colorful figure in national politics. A deputy for the 10th constituency of Hauts-de-Seine for more than twenty years, he was regularly named “the funniest member of Parliament” by the parliamentary press, famed for his verbal duels and quips that became legendary in the Assembly’s Salle des Quatre Colonnes. He served as a minister under Jacques Chirac from 1986 to 1988 (Secretary of State for the Repatriates, then Delegate for Communications) and later was named Secretary of State for the Civil Service under the Fillon government in 2007, a post he held until 2009. A devoted cigar enthusiast, he founded in 1991 the “Club des parlementaires amateurs de havane” and held its presidency for life, reportedly allocating up to €1,000 a month to this passion.
In March 2026, hospitalized since October 2025 at Corentin-Celton hospital after a fall and heart problems, André Santini nonetheless runs in the municipal elections for a ninth term. Visibly gaunt at his sole public appearance, he wins the poll in the second round with 47.9% of the vote — a first in his municipal career. This final term, hard-fought, proved short-lived. His health deteriorated sharply in the weeks that followed, culminating in his death on Monday morning.
His record extends beyond urban planning achievements. André Santini was convicted several times for public insults directed at political opponents. Involved in the Hamon affair (misappropriation of funds tied to a contemporary-art collection), he was ultimately acquitted on appeal in 2018 after fifteen years of legal wrangling. More recently, two complaints alleging sexual assault and moral harassment, as well as a complaint for sexist insult, had been filed against him, with the proceedings still underway at the time of his death.
The city of Issy-les-Moulineaux has lost, alongside him, a local official who helped shape it in his image: ambitious, sometimes brutal, often surprising. A page turns in the Hauts-de-Seine.
