Sarkozy's women in government - Roselyne Bachelot - a woman who breaks the mould

Time for another slab of French politics with part five in an occasional series looking at the women in the French government.

Perhaps not before time as there's likely to be a cabinet reshuffle before or just after the European parliamentary elections in June.

If, as expected, two serving ministers - Rachida Dati and Michel Barnier - are successful in winning seats, they'll have to step down.

So before all that happens, it's time for a look at the minister for health and sport, Roselyne Bachelot.

As mentioned in previous pieces, when the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, came to power in May 2007 he promised parity within the government, and he duly lived up to that pledge by appointing seven women to the 15-strong cabinet of front-line ministers - plus several others to junior ministerial portfolios.

Bachelot's appointment at the time came as something of a surprise to many even though the 62-year-old was no political beginner.

She first took her seat for the centre-right Rassemblement pour la République (Rally for the Republic, RPR) which later became today's ruling Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party in the National Assembly in 1988.

And she served in government as the minister for the environment, ecology and sustainable development from 2002-2004 under two successive governments of the prime minister at the time, Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

But she has always had the tendency to buck the trend and speak her mind, most notably back in the 1990s when she was the only member of her party to vote in favour of the Pacte Civil de Solidarité (Civil Pact of Solidarity, PACS) and she's also an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage and gay couples being allowed to adopt.

Bachelot has often been poked fun at - in a tender way - by French commentators and humourists - not least for the way she fairly warbles her way through interviews on the airwaves and is sometimes spoofed on telly as having no clue as to what she is doing.

That indeed might be true somewhat for her sporting ministerial hat.

In fact she struck quite an amusing figure during France’s hosting of the rugby world cup in 2007 with a definite twinkle in her eye as the players grappled each other for the ball on the pitch.

And before last year's Olympics in Beijing she made a wager with the French team. "Bring home at least 40 medals and I'll wear a pair of pink Croc sandals to the first cabinet meeting following the games," she challenged.

The team duly obliged - just - and Bachelot kept her word (take a look here).

She’s also not averse to putting her foot in it - handsomely, just as she did several years ago when she let slip that former president Jacques Chirac was slightly deaf in one ear.

Old habits clearly die hard for Bachelot, and she made another blunder early on in her current ministerial portfolio when she named someone as a new recruit in the post of junior minister before Sarkozy or the proposed candidate had given their approval.

The appointment was never made.

There is of course a more serious side to Bachelot and she has had to face a fair number of problems.

Hospital staff shortages and medical mistakes have rather dogged Bachelot since she took over the ministry and things rather came to a head over the Christmas period last year.

That was when, within the space of five days, there were two deaths, which many healthcare professionals and commentators said should have and could have been avoided.

They highlighted some of the problems and pressures felt by those working in hospitals: too few staff on occasions, and breakdown in co-ordination.

On Christmas Eve, a three-year-old child died in a Parisian hospital after being given the wrong drug.

And just a few days later a 53-year-old man died after suffering multiple heart attacks because the emergency services failed to find him a hospital bed - even though there were apparently some available at the time.

On the purely social side or health issues, campaigns have already been launched to fight obesity, and lower the rate of alcohol consumption by prohibiting its sales to anyone under 18.

A ban on television advertising for a range of products during children’s programming is just part of the multi-pronged approach Bachelot has taken to cut down on child obesity.

She also wants sweets withdrawn for supermarket checkouts and there are plans afoot for
a Gallic-style Food Quality Agency to monitor a complete overhaul of what’s on school menus with new dietary and nutrition plans due to come into effect at the beginning of the next academic year in September.

Most recently Bachelot has been battling to push through reforms to hospitals and the country's health insurance system.

Many within the ruling UMP and opposition Socialist party feel an overhaul is necessary, but there's profound disagreement as to exactly what needs to be done.

The country's healthcare and health insurance system is one the French pride themselves on and many now see as coming under threat.

Bachelot - and her boss, Sarkozy, want to balance the health insurance budget (by 2012) by, for example, encouraging public hospitals to group together (on a voluntary basis).

Just last week she was forced to respond to a petition signed by 25 leading doctors from the capital's hospitals who, among other things, were particularly critical of the number of jobs under threat from the proposed reforms and the potential for administrative chaos there could be.

They claim the reforms marginalise the medical aspect of healthcare and makes hospitals first and foremost about the "business" of health, balancing budgets and meeting targets.

Those employed in the health sector have been at the forefront of public sector workers demonstrating during the two national strikes that have already been held this year.

And there's the threat that there could be a strike among administrative staff at hospitals in the French capital later this month protesting job cuts.

While Bachelot has undoubtedly faced a tough time of it over the past couple of months as the reforms made their way through the National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament - in the process requiring around 500 amendments according to Bachelot - the next month could prove even tougher.

Those strikes are scheduled to take place at exactly the same time as the reforms are debated in the Senate.

Maybe after all Bachelot was a wise choice to help push through such controversial reforms.

She doesn't create the same sort of "loathe or love" feeling as say Rachida Dati or Rama Yade, two much younger colleagues who are often hitting the headlines and appear high in the list of the country's most preferred politicians.

And she doesn't follow the usual pattern of iron-fisted politics clothed in a velvet glove.

But the following month and how she handles opposition and any concessions she might need to make before the reforms are passed could have an influence on any decisions Sarkozy takes when he announced that much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle.




See also

Sarkozy's women in government - just - Rama Yade

Sarkozy's women in government - Christine Lagarde. Who would be a finance minister?

Sarkozy's women in government - MAM, a rough ride for even the toughest

Sarkozy's women in government - Rachida Dati, a star on the wane?