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Macron appoints London ambassador as foreign minister, Le Maire remains on finance

French President Emmanuel Macron named new foreign and defence ministers on Friday as part of a government re-shuffle intended to create fresh momentum ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

Reuters WORLD
Published May 20,2022
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President Emmanuel Macron on Friday appointed France's current ambassador to Britain, career diplomat Catherine Colonna, as the country's new foreign minister, the Elysee said as part of a government overhaul following his re-election in April.

Current Finance and Economy minister Bruno Le Maire and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin will keep their jobs, the Elysee's secretary general added as he read out the new names standing on the palace's front stairway, confirming earlier reports.

Outgoing Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher will take over a newly created ministerial portfolio for "energy transition", the Elysee said.

They will report to Elisabeth Borne, 61, a soft-spoken, leaft-leaning career bureaucrat who Macron on Monday picked as his new prime minister, only the second woman to get the job.