[1] His father Michel Baroin was a student friend of Chirac's who went on to become a leading freemason, chairman of retailer Fnac and the insurer GMF, and a powerful local politician.

[2] Baroin studied at Collège Stanislas de Paris[3] before moving to ISG Business School and Panthéon-Assas University.

[7] He became a member of the National Assembly in the 1993 elections – where he served on the Committee on Legal Affairs –[8] and the mayor of Troyes, a mid-sized city South-East of Paris, two years later.

[10] Following the elections, he became first state secretary and government spokesman under Prime Minister Alain Juppé and then, after a reshuffle, a political aide to the president.

During his time as Minister of the Budget in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon from 2010 until 2011, Baroin successfully managed controversial dossiers such as wealth tax reform, the reduction of civil servants and the abolition of Sarkozy's controversial tax cap for the rich.

[16] The appointment was seen as a tribute to Baroin's presumed ability to sell austerity to the French public and to unpick the economic policy of the opposition Socialist Party.

Ahead of the 2017 French presidential election, Baroin played a central role in the campaign of François Fillon.

[22] In 2020, Baroin was mentioned by news media as potential candidate for the 2022 French presidential election;[23] however, he declared in October 2020 that he would not run for president.

[26] In 2015, WikiLeaks revealed that the U.S. National Security Agency wiretapped Baroin's communication during his time as Minister of Finance.