Half of French President Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet is female, the BBC reports.
Women now fill 11 of the 22 new ministerial positions, fulfilling an earlier pledge, according to the BBC. Among the new appointees: Sylvie Goulard, a French politician, who has been named defense minister, according to the BBC. Olympic fencing champion Laura Flessel is now sports minister.
The news comes after Richard Ferrand, the secretary general of En Marche!, announced that 214 men and 214 women had been selected to run for the party’s legislative elections, CNN reports. He also added that a whopping 52% of the candidates had never held electoral office. Candidates for the legislative elections are from traditional parties on both the left and right, according to CNN. France now has a chance of boasting more women in parliament than all but two countries, according to Quartz.