Besancenot, Olivier

   b 1974.

   Chief spokesman and virtual leader of the NPA, the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste, a left-wing anti-capitalist party founded in early 2009. Prior to the founding of the NPA, Besancenot had been leader of the LCR Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire party. Very telegenic and a good speaker, Besançenot is a popular guest on radio and TV talk shows. He ran in the presidential elections in both 2002 and 2007, and each time achieved over 4% of the vote. Eschewing labels, he simply describes himself as a "revolutionary", and can be described as a classic example of the French intellectual left. Born into a middle-class family, he achieved a postgraduate degree in modern history from the University of Paris, but works as a postman.