Hollande’s new Socialist cabinet in numbers

A list of 34 new cabinet ministers and junior ministers was unveiled amid excitement and speculation in France on Wednesday evening. The government, picked by French President François Hollande and newly appointed Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, will be holding its first meeting on Thursday.

FRANCE'S NEW PRIME MINISTER FRENCH ELECTIONS 2012 Hollande names longtime ally Ayrault as prime minister

Half of all the ministry jobs, 17 in total, went to women, in line with Hollande’s campaign promise to respect gender-parity in his government. It is the first time that as many women as men were present in a prime minister’s cabinet. However, only one heavy ministerial portfolio – the justice ministry – went to a woman, the French Guyanese lawmaker Christiane Taubira.

There were other eye-catching figures in Ayrault’s team.

While the government is composed of mostly veteran politicians, with 52 being the average age of an Ayrault minister, 7 appointments went to people under 40. A pair of newcomers are just 34-years old: Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who will be in charge of the newly-created ministry of women’s rights, and Sylvia Pinel, now a junior minister in charge of artisans and tourism.

Commentators have been quick to point out that more than half of the ministries, 18 in all, are being headed by non-Parisians. This characteristic is significant because bureaucrats from the French capital traditionally dominate the halls of government, cabinet ministries included.

The list counted only 4 politicians who have served in previous governments. The returning ministers, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, Labour Minister Michel Sapin, and Marylise Lebranchu, minister of state reform, decentralization and public service, all served under former PM Lionel Jospin in the late 1990s.

On Wednesday, 4 nominations went to left-wing politicians outside Hollande and Ayrault’s Socialist Party. Cécile Duflot, leader of the Green party in France, was named minister of housing, while Pascal Canfin, another Green and a member of the European Parliament, is now a junior minister under the ministry of ecology. Justice Minister Taubira and the young tourism chief Pinel hail from the moderate-left Radical Party.

The presence of minorities, a trend that began under former conservative PM François Fillon, is another feature of France’s new government. The cabinet includes 7 people from French ethnic minorities, mostly of Caribbean and North African origins. It also counts Fleur Pellerin, a 38-year-old newcomer who was born in Korea and adopted by a French family when she was six months old.

THE FACES OF FRANCE'S NEW GOVERNMENT Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, minister of women’s rights and government spokesperson Moroccan-born Rhône councillor Najat Vallaud-Belkacem served as a spokesperson for both Ségolène Royal in 2007 and François Hollande in 2012. Laurent Fabius, minister of foreign affairs Laurent Fabius has been a fixture of French politics for the past 30 years. In 1984, at the age of 37, he became France's youngest-ever prime minister. Eight times elected to parliament, he has also served as finance minister and speaker of France's National Assembly. Pierre Moscovici, minister of finance A former supporter of shamed Socialist Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Pierre Moscovici, 54, served as minister for european affairs under Lionel Jospin’s government between 1997 and 2002. He started his political career as a member of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR). Nicole Bricq, minister of environment A member of the French Senate, 64-year-old Nicole Bricq worked closely with Dominique Strauss-Kahn before he quit French politics to run the IMF. A specialist of both finance and environment, she is one of the surprise picks in President François Hollande’s government. Manuel Valls, interior minister Spanish-born Manuel Valls, a specialist of security and immigration, is seen as a moderate in the Socialist Party. He ran in the party primary and then acted as Hollande’s campaign spokesperson. At 49, he has been mayor of Evry, an outer suburb of Paris, since 2001. Christiane Taubira, minister of justice A member of parliament for French Guiana, she was born in the South American territory in 1952. Her candidacy in the 2002 presidential election is thought to have contributed to the shock defeat of the former Socialist prime minister, Lionel Jospin. Jean-Yves Le Drian, minister of defence President of the regional council of Brittany, 64-year-old Jean-Yves Le Drian is a long-standing friend of Hollande. He served as secretary of state for maritime affairs in 1991-1992. Valérie Fourneyron, minister of sport Sports medicine doctor and deputy mayor of Rouen (François Hollande’s hometown), 52-year-old Valérie Fourneyron headed the sports dossier as part of Hollande's campaign team. Prior to that, she supported Hollande's rival for the Socialist nomination, Martine Aubry. Jérôme Cahuzac, minister of budget A senior advisor on budgetary matters and head of the parliamentary finance committee, Jérôme Cahuzac is thought of as the Socialist Party’s financial expert despite having trained as a plastic surgeon. He is currently both an MP and mayor in central France. Aurélie Filippetti, minister of culture A Green Party member before joining the Socialists to support Ségolène Royal in 2006, Aurélie Filippetti has been MP for the northeastern constituency of Moselle since 2007. She was in charge of cultural topics as part of Hollande’s campaign team. Michel Sapin, minister of labour Member of parliament for the central constituency of Indre, Michel Sapin is a key economics advisor to Hollande and very close to the president, whom he has known since their youth. He has served as a cabinet minister under three former prime ministers. Fleur Pellerin, minister of innovation South Korea-born Fleur Pellerin has never been elected to office but works as a government official. She worked on new technology as part of Hollande’s campaign team and has called for digital development in France. Vincent Peillon, minister of education A trained philosophy teacher, Vincent Peillon served as Ségolène Royal’s spokesperson during her presidential campaign in 2007. He was in charge of education during Hollande’s campaign for the presidency. Arnaud Montebourg, minister of industry and growth Trained as a lawyer, 49-year-old Arnaud Montebourg is a fierce anti-globalisation campaigner. After coming third in the Socialist Party primary, he chose to back Hollande over run-off rival Martine Aubry. He’s deputy of the eastern constituency of Saône-et-Loire. Marisol Touraine, minister of health Deputy of Indre-et-Loire, 53-year-old Marisol Touraine is also a member of the committee for social affairs at the National Assembly. She was charged with social protection within the PS. Cécile Duflot, minister of housing Leader of France’s Green Party (EELV), 37-year-old Cécile Duflot, a town planner by profession, rallied behind Hollande in the second round of France’s presidential election after her party’s candidate, Eva Joly, picked up a mere 2.3% of the vote in the first round. Stéphane Le Foll, minister of agriculture A member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2004, 52-year-old Stéphane Le Foll worked as François Hollande’s shadow cabinet leader during the latter’s time as Socialist Party chief between 1997 and 2008.