Michel Roumégoux

Born in Figeac on 10 January 1948, Roumégoux grew up in a family of artisan butchers. He became a veterinarian in Cahors in 1974 and later became an administrator of veterinary products.

A member of the UDF, Roumégoux was elected to the Municipal Council of Cahors in 1989 and re-elected in 1995. He was elected to the General Council of Lot in 1992, representing the Canton of Cahors-Nord-Est [fr]. He was defeated by Bernard Delpech in 1998 but got his revenge in a 1999 by-election, winning the seat back. In 2001, he was elected Mayor of Cahors, but his election was invalidated by the Conseil d'État due to improper campaign finance. His deputy, Marc Lecuru [fr], served out his mandate until 2008.

In 2002, Roumégoux was elected to the National Assembly to represent Lot's 1st constituency. He joined the Union for a Popular Movement group and focused on providing support for foie gras, truffle growing, hunting, and the Dotation globale de fonctionnement [fr]. In 2007, he was defeated by Dominique Orliac of the Radical Party of the Left in the second round, obtaining 45.03% of the vote against her 54.97%.^[2] This came after his defeat in the 2004 cantonal elections.^[3]

In 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture tasked Roumégoux with creating a report on the future of the French wine industry up to 2020. He presented his report, titled Vin sur vin – 2020, on 16 April 2009 to Minister Michel Barnier. That month, he joined the Conseil national supérieur de l’œnotourisme, led by Paul Dubrule, who co-founded Accor. That same year, he founded Lot@venir. He then joined the Association nationale des élus de la vigne et du vin [fr].

In a press conference in October 2010, Roumégoux announced his departure from the Union for a Popular Movement.^[4] He then joined the Centrist Alliance. In 2017, he announced his candidacy for the National Assembly constituency he previously represented,^[5] before withdrawing his name from consideration.^[6]

Michel Roumégoux died on 26 November 2023, at the age of 75.^[7]