During her time in office, Bachelot implemented the planned prohibition on smoking in restaurants, bars, discos, casinos and other commercial pleasure enterprises in 2008.

[6] Also in 2008, she publicly endorsed legislation introduced by Valérie Boyer which would have made the promotion of extreme dieting a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of some $45,000;[7] it passed the French lower house, but later failed in the Senate.

"[12] In November 2010, Bachelot was appointed Minister of Social Affairs alongside Marie-Anne Montchamp and Claude Greff in the third François Fillon government.

In March 2016, Bachelot commented on Rafael Nadal's 2012–2013 injury stating: "On sait à peu près que la fameuse blessure de Rafael Nadal qui a entraîné sept mois d’arrêt de compétition est très certainement due à un contrôle positif.

[16] In a 2016 op-ed published by Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Bachelot joined sixteen other high-profile women from across the political spectrum – including Élisabeth Guigou, Christine Lagarde, and Valérie Pécresse – in making a public vow to expose “all sexist remarks, inappropriate gestures and behaviour.”[17] On the eve of International Women's Day in 2018, Bachelot – alongside Marlène Schiappa and others – appeared in a performance of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues at the Bobino theater in Paris.

During her time in office, Bachelot oversaw efforts to stabilize the financial situation of museums, cinemas and theatres affected by public health measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic in France.

[19] She also worked on a 2021 agreement with Benin's President Patrice Talon on the return of 26 artworks seized by France in the 19th century from the Royal Palaces of Abomey.

[22] Bachelot is a long-time supporter of same-sex marriage, and defied her party by speaking on the Assembly floor in favor of passing the PACs in 1999.

and Les Chiennes de Garde (The Watchdogs) – with Prime Minister François Fillon who subsequently ordered the honorific "mademoiselle" – akin to "damsel" and the equivalent of "miss" – banished from official forms and registries across France.