Marietta Karamanli has been a member of the French National Assembly since 2007, making her the only Greek woman to hold...

Marietta Karamanli has been a member of the French National Assembly since 2007, making her the only Greek woman to hold a seat in the French parliament in the last 20 years. Born in Athens on December 18, 1964, she represents the Socialist Party and has built a career focused on justice, human rights, and European institutions. For nearly two decades she has served on the Legal Affairs Committee and has been part of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since her first election. Between 2014 and 2016 she held the role of the Assembly's General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty, a platform she used to speak out against Russia's Duma when it proposed introducing capital punishment for terrorism-related offenses in March 2015. Karamanli recently sat down with journalist Kostas Laskaratos inside the historic Delacroix hall of the National Assembly in Paris, for the documentary series "Greece in the Museums of the World." The conversation centered on Greek cultural heritage embedded in the French parliament, including the famous tapestry "The School of Athens," based on Raphael's masterpiece, which hangs in the plenary chamber and depicts the towering figures of ancient Greek philosophy. She also ran for mayor of Le Mans in 2020, extending her political footprint beyond her national assembly role. Her presence in Paris has made her a notable figure for Greeks in France and the broader diaspora watching how Greek voices navigate European institutions. The documentary series she participated in highlights an ongoing effort to trace Greek heritage through the major museums and institutions of Europe. #Greece #GreekDiaspora #France