| Post: | Spokesperson |
| Body: | Government |
| Native Name: | French: Porte-parole du Gouvernement |
| Department: | Government of France |
| Incumbent: | Prisca Thevenot |
| Incumbentsince: | 16 July 2024 |
| Acting: | yes |
| Status: | Junior minister |
| Member Of: | Council of Ministers |
| Seat: | Hôtel de Castries, Paris |
| Reports To: | Prime Minister |
| Nominator: | Prime Minister |
| Appointer: | President |
| First: | Léo Hamon |
| Precursor: | Minister of Information |
The spokesperson of the Government (French: porte-parole du Gouvernment, in jargon PPG) is the minister in charge of the public relations of the Government of France.
The position has existed since 1969, with interruptions. It is held either concurrently with a departmental or junior portfolio, or alone with a sinecure rank of junior minister. Its best-known duty is to hold a press conference after the weekly Council of Ministers.
Prisca Thevenot, appointed on 11 January 2024 in the Attal government, is the present acting spokeswoman, and concurrently deputy minister for democratic renewal.
The position was created in 1969 by Jacques Chaban-Delmas, the first prime minister of Georges Pompidou; the first spokesman was Léo Hamon. As part of Chaban-Delmas's liberalization platform, it came in partial replacement to the earlier position of minister of information,[1] who had supervised the broadcasting services under state monopoly, and whose duties were transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister and to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The Ministry of Information was restored by Pierre Messmer, Chaban-Delmas's successor, but eventually disbanded for good in 1974.[2] [3]
Another new junior minister of 1969, Jacques Baumel, was put in charge of “public relations”, with an unclear distribution of responsibilities with Hamon. The position was discontinued in the next government, and the responsibilities of the spokesman were first defined in a decree of 24 July 1972 (“to report on the work of the Government and to provide information relating to the action of public authorities”).[4] Léo Hamon was nicknamed “French: Léo Parleur” (“Loudspeaker”, a pun on “Léo speaker”).[5]
All governments since 1983 have had a spokesperson, except for the 1st Rocard government (May–June 1988), in office fox six weeks between presidential and legislative elections, and for the Jospin government after a year (1998–2002). While a number of holders until the 1990s were experienced figures, younger politicians have since then been frequently chosen; Nicolas Sarkozy (1993–1995), Jean-François Copé (2002–2007), and Gabriel Attal (2020–2022) used their term to raise their profile by intervening on a number of topics.[6]
The president has at times had a spokesperson of his own, upgrading the position of press adviser; the most recent one was in 2017–2018. Some government departments have also appointed an official spokesperson.
The position of spokesperson is held either concurrently with a departmental or junior portfolio, or associated with a sinecure position of junior minister (deputy minister or secretary of state) under the prime minister. When junior to a departmental minister, the holder nonetheless reports directly to the prime minister with regard to the duties of spokesperson.
As for all other members of the government, the appointment, and removal, is by the president on the proposal of the prime minister. The choice is based on personal considerations rather than determined by a concurrent portfolio: the position has been held several times by the minister in charge of the Budget or of relations with Parliament due to their transverse role, but also by the minister in charge of agriculture, culture, education, or women's rights. Jean-François Copé kept the position for five years while moving between three departments.
The spokesperson has a specific private office, separate from one attached to an additional portfolio; it is located at the hôtel de Castries, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The office is supported by the Government Information Service (SIG), although the SIG remains under the authority of the prime minister.
The spokesperson has a dual role of “mouth and ear” of the Government, in charge not only of the usual responsibility of making public announcements and answering the news media, but also of staying attentive to public opinion and to report on it to the prime minister and other ministers.
To that end, the holder is required to keep abreast of the ongoing issues dealt with by all government departments, and works with some of the close advisers to the president and prime minister. The spokesperson takes part to a number of meetings at which government policy and strategy are discussed and decided, and advises on how to promote them to the media and the general public. Any intervention is bound by prior statements made by the prime minister and by the responsible ministers.
The spokesperson's best-known duty is to hold a press conference at the Élysée Palace, open to television cameras, after the meeting of the weekly Council of Ministers. Spokespersons also give regular interviews to explain and defend the government's handling of public affairs, either in general or on a specific current topic. Several former holders have commented on the uneasiness of the brief, such as François Baroin, who held it twice: “You can never be in a position to tell the whole truth. But I had made it my rule of never telling any sham. The job is after all about wooden language.” A 2021 book of interviews called it a “lightning rod”.
In light of the work involved, the spokesperson always attends the Council of Ministers by right, while most junior ministers only do when exceptionally summoned. It is the only minister who may take notes, which is by tradition forbidden to the others, although the president and the two senior civil servants who attend without taking part may do so.
| Holder and other position | Government | Term of office | Party | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| Léo Hamon | Chaban-Delmas | 22June 1969 | 15May 1972 | UDR | |||||||||||
| Jean-Philippe Lecat | Chaban-Delmas 1st Messmer | 15May 1972 | 2April 1973 | UDR | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| André Rossi | 1st Chirac | 8June 1974 | 25August 1976 | CR | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| Max Gallo | 3rd Mauroy | 22March 1983 | 18June 1984 | PS | |||||||||||
| Roland Dumas | 3rd Mauroy Fabius | 18June 1984 | 7December 1984 | PS | |||||||||||
| Georgina Dufoix | Fabius | 7December 1984 | 20March 1986 | PS | |||||||||||
| Alain Juppé | 2nd Chirac | 20March 1986 | 10May 1988 | RPR | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| Claude Évin | 2nd Rocard | 28June 1988 | 14September 1989 | PS | |||||||||||
| Louis Le Pensec | 2nd Rocard | 14September 1989 | 15May 1991 | PS | |||||||||||
| Jack Lang | Cresson | 16May 1991 | 2April 1992 | PS | |||||||||||
| Martin Malvy | Bérégovoy | 4April 1992 | 2October 1992 | PS | |||||||||||
| Louis Mermaz | Bérégovoy | 2October 1992 | 29March 1993 | PS | |||||||||||
| Nicolas Sarkozy | Balladur | 30March 1993 | 19January 1995 | RPR | |||||||||||
| Philippe Douste-Blazy | Balladur | 19January 1995 | 11May 1995 | UDF (CDS) | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| François Baroin (1st) | 1st Juppé | 18May 1995 | 7November 1995 | RPR | |||||||||||
| Alain Lamassoure | 2nd Juppé | 7November 1995 | 2June 1997 | UDF (PR) | |||||||||||
| Catherine Trautmann | Jospin | 4June 1997 | 30March 1998 | PS | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| Jean-François Copé | 1st, 2nd, 3rd Raffarin Villepin | 7May 2002 | 15May 2007 | UMP | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| Christine Albanel | 1st Fillon | 18May 2007 | 18June 2007 | UMP | |||||||||||
| Laurent Wauquiez | 2nd Fillon | 19June 2007 | 18March 2008 | UMP | |||||||||||
| Luc Chatel | 2nd Fillon | 18March 2008 | 13November 2010 | UMP | |||||||||||
| François Baroin (2nd) | 3rd Fillon | 14November 2010 | 29June 2011 | UMP | |||||||||||
| Valérie Pécresse | 3rd Fillon | 29June 2011 | 10May 2012 | UMP | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| Najat Vallaud-Belkacem | 1st–2nd Ayrault | 16May 2012 | 31March 2014 | PS | |||||||||||
| Stéphane Le Foll | 1st–2nd Valls Cazeneuve | 2April 2014 | 10May 2017 | PS | |||||||||||
| colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||
| Christophe Castaner | 1st–2nd Philippe | 17May 2017 | 24November 2017 | LaREM | |||||||||||
| Benjamin Griveaux | 2nd Philippe | 24November 2017 | 27March 2019 | LaREM | |||||||||||
| Sibeth Ndiaye | 2nd Philippe | 31March 2019 | 3July 2020 | LaREM | |||||||||||
| Gabriel Attal | Castex | 6July 2020 | 16May 2022 | LaREM | |||||||||||
| Olivia Grégoire | Borne | 20May 2022 | 4July 2022 | LaREM | |||||||||||
| Olivier Véran | Borne | 4July 2022 | 9January 2024 | LaREM | |||||||||||
| RE | |||||||||||||||
| Prisca Thevenot | Attal | 11January 2024 | 16 July 2024 | RE | - | 70px | Incumbent | --> | |||||||