French President Emmanuel Macron named Clément Beaune as his government's new junior minister for European affairs, replacing Amélie de Montchalin, the Elysée Palace said on Sunday.
Beaune, 37, was among eleven junior ministers — six of them new entries — appointed by the president, who has now completed his reshuffled 42-member government, led by Prime Minister Jean Castex.
As Macron's Europe advisor, Beaune has been an influential voice in shaping the president's European policy, from Brexit negotiations to euro zone reform.
A graduate of France's elite ENA school of administration, he has never held public office but knows the inner workings of government well after a stint as budget advisor to former Socialist prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, before joining Macron's staff at the economy ministry.
The five other new entries have been plucked from the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament.
Lawmakers Bérangère Abba, Olivia Grégoire and Joël Giraud, all three of them from the ruling LREM party, will hold the portfolios for biodiversity, the social economy and rural affairs, respectively.
Macron's main centrist ally, the Modem party, supplies the two other entries: Sarah El Haïry, appointed junior minister for youth, and Nathalie Elimas, who will be in charge of special education.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
