Alain Richard, born on 29 August 1945, in Paris, is a French politician. An alumnus of the Ecole nationale d'administration, he was mayor of Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône and member of the French parliament, elected in Val d'Oise. A member of the French socialist party and ally of Lionel Jospin, he was the French Minister of Defense from 1997 to 2002.