In 2006, Azoulay joined the French National Centre of Cinematography (CNC), successively holding the positions of Deputy Director for Multimedia Affairs, Chief Financial and Legal Officer and Deputy Director-General. [3][4] Azouley succeeded Fleur Pellerin as Minister of Culture on 11 February 2016. During her time in office, she increased her department’s budget by 6.6% to a total of €2.9 billion in 2017 – the largest amount of government money promised for the arts in the country’s history.[5] Under her leadership, the Ministry lent support to a women's contemporary art prize launched by AWARE (Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions).[6] Internationally, she played a key role in the joint initiatives of France, Unesco and the United Arab Emirates to safeguard cultural heritage in conflict zones, announced in December 2016, and was a signatory to the Florence Declaration condemning the destruction of cultural sites at the first G7 culture summit in March 2017.[7] On 24th of March 2017, she presented Draft Resolution 2347 on the protection of cultural heritage in armed conflicts to the UN Security Council.