Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu appointed the first members of his cabinet on Sunday evening, just two days before he is due to give a key policy speech. France's new government contains several familiar faces, with the ministers of the interior, foreign affairs and health among those holding on to their jobs.
Lecornu has assigned 18 posts so far, with more appointments to follow in the coming days.
The Interior Ministry remains in the hands of hardliner Bruno Retailleau. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Labour and Health Minister Catherine Vautrin, Education Minister Elisabeth Borne and Culture Minister Rachida Dati also retain their posts.
Meanwhile former economy minister Bruno Le Maire replaces Lecornu as minister of defence. Gérald Darmanin, who until last year served as interior minister, becomes minister of justice.
Economist Roland Lescure takes over as finance minister, while Amélie de Montchalin stays on as Minister Delegate for the Budget – key positions as the new government takes up the challenge of passing a budget bill by the end of the year.
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'Procession of returnees'
The new cabinet comes after several weeks of negotiations with parties on the left and right in a bid to agree a truce in France's deeply divided parliament.
Time was running short for Lecornu, France's third prime minister of the past year and a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, to appoint his team before he delivers a general policy speech in parliament on Tuesday.
French politics has been in turmoil since Macron gambled on snap elections last summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority. The move backfired, producing a parliament fractured between three rival blocs, none with a majority.
Lecornu's two immediate predecessors, François Bayrou and Michel Barnier, were both ousted in a standoff over France's austerity budget.
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If Lecornu's centrist government is to avoid the same fate, it needs the support of parties on the right or left.
In recent days the prime minister has announced a number of concessions, including a pledge not to ram his austerity budget through parliament without a vote, but members of the opposition said they wanted more.
Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally denounced the new cabinet as "an identical government", while Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the far-left France Unbowed called it "a procession of returnees".
Several left-wing parties have already threatened to put forward a no-confidence motion against Lecornu next week.
(with AFP)
