the team

JEAN-MARC AYRAULT

Jean-Marc AYRAULT, former Prime Minister, was the mayor of Nantes from 1989 to 2012. Co-sponsor with Christiane Taubira of the 2001 bill that acknowledged slavery as a crime against humanity. In Nantes, he was the first political leader to acknowledge slavery and the slave trade’s role in the city’s history and to devote resources to it. This led to the "Rings of Remembrance" exhibition in 1992, permanent exhibits at the Nantes Castle Museum, the inauguration of the Abolition Memorial, and more.

The city of Nantes is now acknowledged worldwide for its work on remembrance and history.

He was elected President of the Foundation on 13 November 2019 after having led its precursor for two years.

Find out more

PIERRE-YVES BOCQUET

Pierre-Yves Bocquet is an Inspector General of Social Affairs. After a career in the social sector, he became a discourse and remembrance advisor to the President of France (2014-2017). After returning to the IGAS, he served from 2017 to 2019 as a qualified person on the Board of Directors of GIP-MMETA, the precursor of the Foundation. A music critic who writes under the pseudonym Pierre Evil, he is the author of several books on American music (including Detroit Sampler, 2014), and has made a film for Arte (Black Music - From Iron Chains to Golden Ones, 2008). He has been writing a column in the bi-monthly music magazine Magic since 2017.

ARMELLE CHATELIER

A historian by training, Armelle Chatelier has participated in cultural-studies research on African urban cultures and the history of French colonial representations. She has worked as a cultural engineer in France, West Africa and the Caribbean in fields of heritage, culture and digital humanities. With experience in publishing, audio-visual and training, she has contributed to numerous cultural and remembrance projects on three continents. Heritage, education and communication are at the heart of her career.

MAGALIE LIMIER

Magalie Limer worked for many years in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the head of a publishing company. She was, most notably, managing director of an economic and social magazine, RDC Society. Since her return to Paris in 2018, she has worked within the National Committee for the Remembrance and History of Slavery and then joined the Foundation's team.