She became the first ever sitting cabinet member to take a maternity leave (although a short one) in 1992; she was the Environment Minister under Prime Minister Pierre Beregovoy. Her daughter is now 13, as noted above.

Something not mentioned in this thread: last year, she was elected president of the Poitou-Charentes region, in southwestern France, a position of power, somehow on par with the one held by her significant other, Francois Hollande.

Sadly, the ironic/outright hostile comments, even in her own party, didn't surprise me (much); French pols stay in office for decades, often accumulating several of them like mayor and senator at the same time, and just don't know when to quit. Not much space for newcomers then, or for women.