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Biography
Gérald Darmanin (born 11 October 1982) is a French politician. He has been the Minister of Public Action and Accounts in the Philippe Government since 17 May 2017 and has been municipal councillor for the city of Tourcoing since 2017.
Early life and career
Darmanin was born to a working-class family with Algerian and Maltese roots. His father managed a bistro and his mother worked as a cleaner.
Political career
In 2014, Darmanin ran for election as mayor of Tourcoing and won, establishing himself on the national political scene.
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy brought Darmanin onboard as director of his primary election campaign in 2016.
In May 2017, Darmanin was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron Minister of Public Action and Accounts in the Philippe Government. In this capacity, he supports Bruno Le Maire, the Minister for Economic Affairs. At the time of his appointment, he was one of the youngest members in Philippe's government.
Soon after taking office, Darmanin announced plans to achieve 4.5 billion euros ($5.13 billion) in savings on the French government's operational budget in 2017. That year, he managed to bring the country's the budget deficit below the EU-mandated limit of 3 percent of GDP, the first time in a decade for France.
In 2018 he was accused of sexual coercion and harassment by two women relating to alleged misconduct in 2009 and between 2014 and 2017, with one of the women alleging that while Mayor of Tourcoing he asked for sexual favours in exchange for providing her with social housing. However prosecutors dropped the case, claiming an inability to determine an "absence of consent", and Darmanin denied both allegations.