Name that French politician

A quick test (no cheating) for those of you who follow French politics and think you (might) know a thing or two.

Try to name some of the faceless wonders and barely memorable people who hold, or have held, a post in government under the current president, François Hollande.

It’s just a bit of “fun” after watching BFM TV presenter Jean-Jacques Bourdin conducting his daily grilling of a French politician. On Wednesday morning it was the minister of justice.

1. And that’s your first question. Who was in the “hot seat”? In other words, who is France’s minister of justice? (clue - it’s no longer Christiane Taubira - and hasn’t been since the beginning of 2016)


2. Who is Juliette Méadel (in other words, what’s her job)? And who is her immediate boss. (clue - she has had her current job since February 2015 indirectly succeeding Nicole Guedj who held the post for a year in 2004-2005)

Juliette Méadel (screenshot Europe 1, September 2016)

3. Who did Matthias Fekl (who?) replace as minister of state for foreign trade, the promotion of tourism and French nationals abroad? (clue - Fekl’s - who? - predecessor spent just one week in the job and is probably best known for his inability to pay bills/rent/taxes)

Matthias Fell (screenshot BFM TV)

4. Harlem Désir. Apart from surely having the coolest of names, what’s his government job (and does he actually do anything apart from draw a nice, fat salary - here’s a piece outlining some of the reactions when he was appointed to his current post in April 2014)

Harlem Désir (screenshot Public Sénat interview, January 2015)

5. Name the minister of state for higher education (clue - if it helps - he replaced Geneviève Fioraso in March 2015).

6. Can you name either of the junior ministers who work under Marisol Touraine, the minister of social affairs and health? (clue - their job titles are, respectively minister of state for disabled people and the fight against exclusion and minister of state for elderly people and adult care. And they’re both women).

7. Who replaced Sylvia Pinel in February 2016 when she left the government to take on more responsibility at a regional level? (clue - her job was split into one holding the housing and sustainable homes portfolio and another one of town and country planning, rural affairs and local government)

8. Three-part question this time.

How many ministers of sport have their been during François Hollande’s stint as president?

Who currently holds the job?

And does he use the same hairdresser as the president (they both seem to go for the badly dyed look)

9. A nice easy one…name the minister of culture and communication (clue - she’s a close friend of Julie Gayet but denies that had anything to do with her getting the job)

10. Finally, when there’s a full cabinet meeting, how many ministers in total are sitting around the table?

Check out the answers below. If you managed to name all the ministers then give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back, in the knowledge that you’re probably better informed than many political hacks in France.

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Answers

1 - the minister of justice is Jean-Jacques Urvoas

2 - Juliette Méadal is minister of state for victim assistance, a post she has held since February 2016. She reports directly to the prime minister, Manuel Valls.

3 - Matthias Fekl replaced Thomas Thévenoud as minister of state for foreign trade and the promotion of tourism in September 2014. Thévenoud was sacked after just one week in the job when it was revealed in Le Canard Enchainé that he suffered from "administrative phobia" and had “forgotten” to pay his rent for three months. Says a fair bit about Hollande’s judgement.

4 - Harlem Désir (gotta love the name) is minister of state for European affairs which, given that he had an appalling attendance record as a member of the European parliament, pretty much makes a mockery of his appointment.

5 - Thierry Mandon is the minister of state for higher education and research - a post the 58-year-old has held since June 2015.

6 - The two women who report directly to Marisol Touraine are Ségolène Neuville (minister of state for disabled people and the fight against exclusion) and Pascale Boistard (minister of state for elderly people and adult care).
 
7. When Sylvia Pinel resigned from the government in February 2016, her job was split in two. Emmanuelle Cosse took over as minister of housing and sustainable homes while Jean-Michel Baylet became minister of town and country planning, rural affairs and local government.

8 - During Hollande’s presidency there have been three different ministers of sport.

Valérie Fourneyron, May 2012 - March 2014
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem April - August 2014
Patrick Kanner - incumbent minister who, yes, has hair completely the wrong shade of very dark brown for a 59-year-old.

9 - In the February 2016 reshuffle Audrey Azoulay replace Fleur Pellerin as minister of culture. The appointment raised more than a few eyebrows, not only for the way cack-handed way in which the talented Pellerin was “thanked for her time” but also the fact that she way replaced by a woman close to Hollande’s not-so-secret girlfriend, Julie Gayet, and a former advisor to the president.

10

The current government (including prime minister Manuel Valls) numbers 38.

Socialist party primaries - first round on Sunday

So the talking's over and the first round of voting is scheduled for this Sunday.

Yep, it's the Socialist party primaries, open to anyone - as long as they're a French citizen of course - who's on the electoral register, willing to cough up €1 and sign a pledge "recognising the values of the Left".

Socialist party primaries - televised debate (screenshot BFM TV)

Anyone interested in French politics will surely have found the three separate televised debates between the six candidates an interesting and possibly stimulating exercise; getting to know them, where they stand, what differentiates them from one another and so on.

What's more, they all managed to behave in a reasonable manner (for politicians) foregoing the backstabbing that was so prevalent in 2007 and appearing, on the surface at least, to be cordial.

Heck even the country's prime minister, François Fillon, seemed to have been impressed, maybe wishing that the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, had someone else to offer (namely himself) other than the incumbent.

Fillon certainly seems to think it's the way forward in future elections.

Anyway, here's a very short and totally unbiased (ha ha) rundown of the six contenders.

Who knows.

One of them might well be a name you'll have to learn to get to know after May 2012.

François Hollande - widely admired among journalists (oh well, that's all right then) and apparently bright with a great sense of humour. Did nothing for a decade as leader of the party - except help Lionel Jospin and (his then-partner) Ségolène Royal lose in their respective presidential campaigns. One factor in his favour - Fadela Amara is (or at least was) a fan.

Martine Aubry - along with Hollande is the other favourite to make it through to the second round run-off. Seen by some (many) as a stand-in for Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Popular among party activists (apparently) although her election as leader was rather contested. Perhaps it's her destiny to fulfil what her father (Jacques Delors) ducked out of doing.

Manuel Valls - too young (48) born in Barcelona (Ahem, the French seem to have no problem with a foreign-born candidate) too Blairish probably but clearly gunning for the interior ministry should the Socialist party win next year's presidential elections.

Arnaud Montebourg - similarly too young (48) and too radical. Big on anti-globalisation, very principled but probably too far to the Left to have a mass appeal.

Jean-Michel Baylet - very pro-Europe, level-headed and seems to speak a lot of sense, but an outsider - so much so that the Beeb doesn't even have a profile of him on its short description of the six-strong field.

Which leaves Ségolène Royal. Gotta love her. She's a political animal through and through and in touch with "the people" (well so she keeps insisting). Appears bonkers at times, but always, at least...er entertaining. Maybe that's the best the French can wish or hope for from her.

The expected run-off on Sunday week will be between those finishing first and second this weekend.