France legend Serge Blanco takes huge step into new arena

Former France fullback Serge Blanco was elected mayor of Biarritz on Sunday night, winning 41.92 per cent of the vote to beat Maïder Arosteguy and Ana Ezcurra.

Born in Venezuela in 1958, Blanco moved to France with his parents when he was two, and Biarritz has been his hometown ever since. After a few years splitting his time between football and rugby, he opted for the latter and joined Biarritz Olympique, the club he would represent throughout his decorated career.

In 1980, Blanco won the first of his 93 caps for Les Bleus, helping the team reach the 1987 World Cup final and win several Five Nations titles before retiring from Test rugby in 1991.

Although his club career ended a year later, Blanco remained involved in the game, becoming president of Biarritz Olympique in 1995, a position he held until 1998 before moving on to the Ligue Nationale de Rugby.

Under his leadership, the professional game took major steps forward, with Blanco’s administration pushing to grow rugby in France as a fully fledged professional sport.

After his stint with the LNR, Blanco worked with the French Rugby Union between 2012 and 2016.

In December 2025, he announced his bid for the mayoralty of Biarritz, citing his passion for the city and his desire to “revitalise Biarritz” as the driving forces behind his independent, centre?right?aligned campaign.

In the first round of the French municipal elections, Blanco secured 26.68 per cent of the vote to progress to the run-off, where he went on to defeat the remaining two candidates.

Blanco wasn’t the only rugby figure on the ballot, with Mohed Altrad, Mourad Boudjellal and David Gérard also standing in Montpellier and Toulon.

However, none of their campaigns proved successful on the night.