Aurélie Filippetti

Aurélie Filippetti (French pronunciation: [ɔʁeli filipɛti]; born 17 June 1973) is a French politician and novelist. She served as French Minister of Culture and Communications from 2012 until 2014, first in the government of Jean-Marc Ayrault and then in the government of Manuel Valls.

Early life and career

Filippetti is of Italian descent and her family originates from Gualdo Tadino, Umbria. She is an alumna of the elite École normale supérieure de Fontenay–Saint-Cloud, she received an agrégation in Classic Literature.

Career as a writer

Filippetti's first novel Les derniers jours de la classe Ouvrière (The Last Days of the Working Class), published by Stock in 2003, has been translated into several languages. In 2003, Filippetti wrote the script for the theatre production Fragments d'humanité.

Political career

Filippetti was a delegate of the French Greens for the Paris municipality and acted as the technical adviser for the Minister of the Environment, Yves Cochet, from 2001 to 2002.

From 2007 until 2012, Filippetti was a member of the National Assembly of France, representing the Moselle département. In parliament, she served on the Committee on Cultural Affairs (2007-2008), the Committee on Legal Affairs (2008-2010) and the Finance Committee (2010-2012).

On Filippetti's initiative, the National Assembly passed a law in 2013 preventing internet booksellers from offering free delivery to customers, in an attempt to protect the country's struggling bookshops from the growing dominance of US online retailer Amazon. In 2014, Filippetti dismissed Anne Baldassari, the director of the Musée Picasso, after mounting criticism of her management.