Florence Parly (; born 8 May 1963) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Armed Forces under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

from 2017 to 2022. A former member of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS), she previously served as Secretary of State for the Budget from 2000 to 2002 under President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

Career

An alumna of

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

and the

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

, Parly was appointed Secretary of State for the Budget on 3 January 2000 in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...

. In office until 6 May 2002, she seconded

Christian Sautter Christian Sautter (born 9 April 1940) is a French politician. He served as Minister for Economics, Finance, and Industry from 1999 to 2000 as part of Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who serve ...

, then

Laurent Fabius Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was a ...

at the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

. After briefly serving as a member of the

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

Regional Council from 2004 to 2006, Parly worked at

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

as deputy general director from 2006 until 2014, where she was in charge of passenger activity at

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

and stopovers in France. In 2014, Parly moved on to become director-general of

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

Voyageurs until 2017.

Minister of the Armies

Parly was named Minister of the Armies on 21 June 2017 after

Sylvie Goulard Sylvie Goulard (; born 6 December 1964) is a French politician and civil servant who served as Deputy Governor of the Banque de France from 2018 to 2022. Prior to this, Goulard briefly served as Minister of the Armed Forces from 17 May to 21 Ju ...

was forced to resign due to an ongoing investigation of her party. Following the nomination, she resigned from all her board positions; her husband Martin Vial withdrew from his position on the board of

Thales Group Thales S.A., Trade name, trading as Thales Group (), is a French multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence industry, defence corporation specializing in electronics. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide variety of aer ...

Internal investigations

Shortly after taking office, Parly ordered an investigation into allegations brought forward by the satirical weekly ''

Le Canard enchaîné (; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism ...

'' that the acting head of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

borrowed a

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a attack aircraft, light attack jet aircraft, jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer a ...

on weekends to fly from his base in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

to his home in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. In 2020, Parly placed a French lieutenant colonel, based in Italy and stationed with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, under investigation over a suspected breach of security after having passed sensitive documents to the Russian secret services.

International crises

Regarding the

Iran Nuclear Deal The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; (, BARJAM)), also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. The agreement was finalize ...

, Parly told

BFM TV BFM TV (, stylized as BFMTV) is a French news broadcast television and radio network, wholly owned by RMC BFM. The flagship property of the RMC BFM division of CMA CGM, its headquarters are located in Paris. As the country's most-watched new ...

in 2019 that "nothing would be worse than Iran leaving this deal. We absolutely want to keep this agreement alive". Following the US-led Baghdad airstrike in January 2020 that killed Iranian

Quds Force The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...

leader

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani (; 11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until Assassination of Qasem Soleimani, his assassination by the United States in 2020, h ...

, Parly rejected pressure to withdraw French troops from Iraq, even stating on her

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account that France had already reinforced security for its 160 soldiers stationed in Iraq." Source: France not Planning to Cut Troop Numbers in Iraq for Now"
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'', 7 January 2020. She further reiterated that it was the French government's priority to fight against

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

militants, who were re-merging in the area. Parly also warned Iran not to escalate tensions. Under Parly's leadership, France joined military exercises with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in the Eastern Mediterranean amid a worsening dispute between

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and Greece over energy resources in the region in 2020. During that conflict, Parly underlined that France would stand by Greece and Cyprus. On her initiative,

investigated French accusations that the

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

failed to respond to an allied call to inspect a vessel in the Mediterranean, an incident suspected to involve Turkish arms smuggling to Libya. By mid-2021, Parly oversaw the phase-out of

Operation Barkhane Operation Barkhane (French language, French: ''Opération Barkhane'') was a counterinsurgency operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's S ...

with some 5,100 soldiers across the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

region, and its transition into the

Takuba Task Force The Takuba Task Force was a European military task force placed under French command, established to advise, assist and accompany Malian Armed Forces, in coordination with G5-Sahel partners and other international actors on the ground. TTF ope ...

. As part of Operation Barkhane, she also authorized the killing of al Qaeda leader Baye ag Bakabo in June 2021; Bakabo had been determined the chief suspect for having abducted and shot

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...

journalists

Claude Verlon Claude Verlon (6 July 1958 – 2 November 2013), a 30-year veteran French journalist and sound engineer with Radio France Internationale, was killed along with his colleague Ghislaine Dupont in Kidal, Mali while reporting. Personal informa ...

and Ghislaine Dupont in November 2013. The announcement of the

AUKUS AUKUS ( ), also styled as Aukus, is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States intended to "promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable." Initially announced on 15 September ...

security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in September 2021 sparked a period of diplomatic tensions in French-American and French-Australian relations. The French government received official notification from Australia that the ''Attack''-class submarine project, involving a A$90 billion Australian contract to buy 12 French submarines, was to be cancelled only a few hours before it was publicly announced. In a joint statement, Parly and French foreign minister

Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex (2017–2022) and as Minister of Defence under Preside ...

expressed disappointment at Australia's decision to abandon their joint submarine program with France. Parly's tenure as Armed Forces Minister was marked by the 2021 ''Tribune des généraux'' published in ''

Valeurs actuelles ''Valeurs actuelles'' (; ) is a French weekly news magazine published in Paris. It was initially considered to be Right-wing politics, right-wing but is today associated with the Far-right politics, far-right. It was founded by Raymond Bourgine i ...

'', which spanned talk of a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

after tens of retired army officers openly criticised Macron's leadership in the fight against

Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...

and warned of a possible

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Military procurement

In 2022, Parly led talks with

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...

over Indonesia's decision to order 42

Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...

fighter jets in a $8.1 billion deal, making Jakarta the biggest French arms client in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Other activities

Corporate boards

Caisse des dépôts et consignations Caisse, a French word, may refer to: * Caisse Desjardins, an association of credit unions in Quebec * Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, a road-bicycle racing team *Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Q ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board *

Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. (; derived from the Latin expression, ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publ ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2023) * Newcleo, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2023) *

Altran Capgemini Engineering (previously known as ''Altran Technologies, SA'') is a global innovation and engineering consulting firm founded in 1982 in France by Alexis Kniazeff and Hubert Martigny. Altran Technologies operated primarily in high tec ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (–2017)Matthieu Protard and Mathieu Rosemain (26 June 2017)
"Head of French state holding agency asks to be replaced at Thales board"

. *

Ingenico Ingenico is a French merchant services technology company, that facilitates secure Electronic Funds Transfer, electronic transactions. The company expanded as a manufacturer of point of sale (POS) payment terminals to also include complete mercha ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (–2017) *

Zodiac Aerospace Zodiac Aerospace was a French aerospace group, active from 1896 to 2018, that supplied systems and equipment for aircraft. In October 2018, it was acquired by French aerospace and defense company Safran. History Aeronautic foundations (1896 ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (2016–2017) *

Banque Publique d'Investissement Bpifrance also known as the ''Banque publique d'investissement'' () is a French State-owned enterprise, public sector investment bank. It is a joint venture of two state owned enterprises: the Caisse des dépôts et consignations and Bpifrance ( ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (–2015) *

Servair Servair is a French airline catering company. It is subsidiary of Air France (50.01%) and Swiss catering company Gategroup (49.99%). Servair has its head office in the Continental Square complex in Roissypôle, Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport ...

, Member of the Board of Directors (–2014) * Jolt Capital, Senior Advisor (since 2023)

Non-profit organizations

National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(CNAM), chair of the Board of Directors (since 2023)Florence Parly nommée présidente du conseil d’administration du Cnam

(CNAM), press release of 11 May 2023.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Parly, Florence 1963 births 21st-century French women politicians Female defence ministers Ministers of defence of France Ministers of defence and veterans affairs of France Living people Sciences Po alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Politicians from Boulogne-Billancourt Socialist Party (France) politicians Women government ministers of France 20th-century French women politicians 21st-century French politicians