François Piquemal

François Jacques Benoît Michel Piquemal (; born 28 December 1984) is a French politician, teacher and activist who has represented the 4th constituency of Haute-Garonne in the National Assembly since 2022. A member of La France Insoumise (LFI), he ran as a candidate of the left-wing New Ecologic and Social People's Union (NUPES) coalition. Piquemal has also been a municipal councillor of Toulouse since 2026, previously holding a seat from 2020 to 2022.

Biography Piquemal was born in Besançon and studied at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès. He lives in Toulouse's neighborhood.

Piquemal is a history and geography teacher.

2022 National Assembly election Piquemal officially entered the race for Haute-Garonne's 4th constituency in September 17, 2021. He made ending homelessness in France a top campaign priority, stating "It is not acceptable" for people to "die in the streets" in France. As a candidate, Piquemal was a vocal supporter of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's 2022 presidential candidacy.

Political views and activism As a candidate, issues central to Piquemal's program were ending homelessness, boosting consumer spending power through price freezes, and environmentalist policies.

Following his victory, Piquemal stated that his movement was following in the "footsteps of Jean Jaurès".

Controversies

Refusal to shake hands Piquemal drew international attention when, during voting to choose the president of the French National Assembly, he declined to shake the hand of secretary and National Rally MP Flavien Termet. A number of other MPs had also declined, but Piquemal chose to play rock paper scissors with Termet instead of shaking his hand. He chose 'scissors', thereby making Termet's handshake appear to be a losing play of 'paper'.

Alleged anti-white comments In June 2025, the magazine Marianne reported that Piquemal, LFI candidate for the 2026 Toulouse municipal election, had privately declared that he did not want white candidates among the top candidates of his list. Piquemal categorically denied having made the comments and announced his intention to take legal action against Marianne.