Second Term Begins for Macron with First Cabinet Appointments... Half of Ministers Are Women

8 Female Ministers Among 17 Government Ministries

French President Emmanuel Macron [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] French President Macron has begun his second term and announced the ministerial appointments for the new government on the 20th (local time).

President Macron, who had postponed government appointments including the prime minister to prepare for next month's general election, completed the cabinet list just four days after appointing former minister ?lisabeth Borne as prime minister.

Several ministers who worked with Prime Minister Borne in the previous government are expected to continue their duties in the next government, while some positions have been filled with new faces.

Prime Minister Borne worked alongside President Macron for five years, serving as Minister of Transport from 2017 to 2019, Minister of the Environment from 2019 to 2020, and Minister of Labor from 2020 to 2022.

Interior Minister G?rald Darmanin, Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, and Justice Minister ?ric Dupond-Moretti are three ministers who retained their positions alongside Prime Minister Borne.

The new Foreign Minister is Catherine Colonna, former Minister for European Affairs under the Foreign Ministry and French Ambassador to the United Kingdom since September 2019. Minister Colonna represented France in the UK during a period of intense conflict over the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) and fishing rights disputes.

S?bastien Lecornu, Minister of Overseas Territories, was appointed as Minister of Defense. France, which had not been proactive in providing weapons support, recently promised to supply Ukraine with anti-tank missiles and self-propelled artillery.

AFP reported a "surprise" appointment of Pap Ndiaye, a historian specializing in ethnic minorities and director of the Paris Immigration History Museum, as Minister of Education.

President Macron also made appointments from outside the political sphere in 2020, such as appointing star lawyer ?ric Dupond-Moretti as Minister of Justice.

Meanwhile, this French government is led by the second female prime minister in history, the first in 30 years, and among the 17 ministries, eight ministers are women.