French Cabinet’s 17 Chic Women Ministers (PHOTOS)
From culture minister Aurelie Filipetti to housing minister Cecile Duflot, see the stylish female members of Hollande’s new cabinet.
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From culture minister Aurelie Filipetti to housing minister Cecile Duflot to justice minister Christiane Taubira, see the stylish female members of Francois Hollande’s new cabinet.
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Filipetti, 39, is Francois Hollande’s new minister of culture and communication. A member of the National Assembly of France and the Socialist Party, she published a book in 2003 whose title translates to The Last Days of the Working Class. Her second novel, A Man in the Pocket, reportedly has some explicitly erotic scenes. In 2008, Filipetti said she had been subjected to a “very heavy-handed flirt” from Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
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Born in Seoul and adopted by a French family as an infant, Pellerin, 38, favors printed skirts, high boots, and tailored jackets. She is the junior minister for innovations and digital economy, which has earned her the title of the “geek minister.” Pellerin, who recently was featured in French Elle, explains that she likes to champion small companies and designers.
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Benguigui, who favors platform heels, is the junior minister for French living abroad and Francophony.
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The down-to-earth Duflot is the former head of the Green Party. Now the minister for equality of territories and housing, she has become infamous for wearing jeans to cabinet meetings. She surprisingly caused a stir in July for wearing a conservative floral dress to the French Parliament. When she stood to speak at the microphone, her appearance inspired whistles from the male crowd. To which she responded: “Ladies and gentlemen. Obviously more gentlemen than ladies.”Afterwards, she elaborated: “I have worked in the building trade and I have never seen anything like that. This tells you something about some MPs. I think of their wives.” She also made a name for herself by traveling on public transportation to her first cabinet meeting.
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Batho, 39, is a minister in the justice department.
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Born in Morocco, Vallaud-Belkacem grew up in northern France with her father, who was a building worker. Now 34, she serves as both the government spokesperson and a minister of women’s rights. She currently is planning a major conference about women’s rights, prostitution, and human trafficking.
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The newly-appointed Carlotti, 50, is the vice minister for the disabled.
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Touraine, the minister of health and social affairs, has openly spoken out about Obamacare.
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Briq, a member of the senate, became the minister of ecology, energy, and sustainable development in May.
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The highest-ranking woman in the cabinet, Taubira, 60, is a native of French Guiana. France’s first black candidate for president in 2002, she is now the minister of justice. In 2001, she wrote a law that made slavery a crime against humanity.
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Pinel, 35, is a member of the Radical Party of the Left, for which she represented the Tarn-et-Garconne department. In May, she became the junior minister for crafts, trade, and tourism.
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Pau-Langevin has served as the junior minister for educational success since May.
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Lebranchu is the minister of reform of the state of decentralization.
Lionel Bonaventure, AFP / Getty Images
Fioraso is the minister of higher education and research.
Jacques Demarthon, AFP / Getty Images
The minister of sports and community life, Fourneyron favors a structured, more masculine style.
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The Algerian-born Conway-Mouret is the minister for French nationals abroad, attached to the French minister of foreign affairs.
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Bertinotti is the junior minister for families.
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