Roselyne Bachelot


Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, generally known as Roselyne Bachelot is a French politician who has been serving as Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex since July 2020. In the past, she has served as Minister of Solidarity and Social Cohesion. She was a member of the Union for a Popular Movement, which was part of the European People's Party.

Early life and education

Bachelot was born as Roselyne Narquin on 24 December 1946 in Nevers, France. Her father Jean Narquin, was a résistant and gaullist député, and her mother Yvette Le Dû, a native from Gourin, both dentists. She has a brother, Jean-Yves Narquin, who ran for the European Parliament as a member of the National Front in 2015.
Bachelot received a Doctorate in Pharmacy.

Political career

Member of the French Parliament

From 1988 until 2002 and again in 2007, Bachelot was a member of the National Assembly, representing Maine-et-Loire's 1st constituency. During that time, she served on the Committee on Cultural Affairs.

Member of the European Parliament

From 2004 until 2007, Bachelot served as a Member of the European Parliament for the west of France. She was a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. She also was a substitute on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, a member of the delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, and a substitute for the delegation for relations with Israel.

Career in government

From 2007 until 2010, Bachelot served as French Minister for Health and Sports. Since French ministers cannot be members of Parliament, she was forced to give up her seat in the European Parliament.
During her time in office, Bachelot implemented the planned prohibition on smoking in restaurants, bars, discos, casinos and other commercial pleasure enterprises in 2008. She notably issued a warning against excessive mobile phone use, especially by children. Also in 2008, she publicly endorsed legislation introduced by Valérie Boyer which would have made the promotion of extreme dieting a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of some $45,000; it passed the French lower house, but later failed in the Senate. She also encouraged the National Assembly of France to change the legal age to purchase alcohol in France from 16 to 18; the new law took effect in July 2009.
In 2009, Bachelot ordered 94 million vaccines from Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Baxter International for the French Government at a cost of 869 million euros to fight against the H1N1 influenza virus; however, less than 10% of French population had been vaccinated by the end of the winter. She later canceled over half the flu vaccines ordered to combat the virus, in an effort to head off criticism after reserving too many shots.
In June 2010, Bachelot made headlines when she reduced some players of the France national football team to tears after a 2-1 defeat to host South Africa in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the meeting, she accused the players of tarnishing France's image and called their behavior a “moral disaster.”
In November 2010, Bachelot was appointed Minister of Social Affairs alongside Marie-Anne Montchamp and Claude Greff in the third François Fillon government. She was supposed to reform the public healthcare system for elderly people, but, due to the budgetary restrictions made necessary by the 2008-2012 global recession, she had to abandon any reform project. After the victory of François Hollande at the French presidential election in 2012, she was replaced by Marisol Touraine. She announced that she would support former Prime Minister François Fillon for the Presidency of the Union for a Popular Movement.

Later career

From 2012, Bachelot was a contributor in the French adaptation of The View alongside to former evening news anchor Laurence Ferrari and others.
In March 2016, Bachelot commented on Rafael Nadal's 2012–2013 injury stating: "On sait à peu près que la fameuse blessure de Rafael Nadal qui a entraîné sept mois d’arrêt de compétition est très certainement due à un contrôle positif." In response Nadal sued Bachelot over her comments in April 2016. The case was won by Nadal in November 2017 with Bachelot ordered to pay him 12,000 Euros.
On the eve of International Women's Day in 2018, Bachelot – alongside Marlène Schiappa – appeared in a performance of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues at the Bobino theater in Paris.

Return to politics

On July 6, 2020, Bachelot was appointed Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex, under the Presidency of Emmanuel Macron.

Other activities

Bachelot is a long-time supporter of same-sex marriage, and defied her party by speaking on the Assembly floor in favor of passing the PACs in 1999.
In 2005, Bachelot was one of the few prominent politicians who early and publicly defended Ségolène Royal's presidential bid – the first made by a woman in French history – ahead of the 2007 elections and denounced the sexist comments aimed at Royal.
In 2012, Bachelot successfully pleaded the case of two French feminist organizations – “Osez le féminisme!” and Les Chiennes de Garde – with Prime Minister François Fillon who subsequently ordered the honorific “mademoiselle” – akin to “damsel” and the equivalent of “miss” – banished from official forms and registries across France.

Personal life

Bachelot is married to Jacques Bachelot. Her brother-in-law, François Bachelot, served in the National Assembly from 1986 to 1988 as a member of the National Front.

Political career

Governmental functions
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
National Assembly of France
Regional Council
General Council