 Papon was elected to the National Assembly from Loire-Atlantique between 1986 and 1997, successively affiliated with the Union for French Democracy, Centrist Union group, and the Union for a Popular Movement group.A member of the political bureau of the Union pour la démocratie française since 1995, she was elected senator September 2001, in second position on the list led by André Trillard.She rejoined the Union for a Popular Movement on that date.