France's Prime minister François Bayrou unveiled his top ministers on Monday night after protracted talks with party chiefs across the political spectrum.
Former prime minister Elisabeth Borne was named as Education Minister in the reshuffle. Gerald Darmanin, who served as Interior Minister between July 2020 and September 2024 under three prime ministers, returns as Justice Minister.
Bruno Retailleau, a conservative who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, retains his post as Interior Minister. Rachida Dati keeps the culture portfolio while Jean-Noel Barrot and Sebastien Lecornu maintain their jobs leading the foreign affairs and defence ministries respectively.
The composition of the cabinet was unveiled just before 7pm following a frantic weekend of negotiations.
Xavier Bertrand, who had been offered the Justice Ministry, stated that he would not join Bayrou's government, because it had been formed with the approval of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN).
Bayrou drafted Manuel Valls back into government as minister for overseas territories. The 62-year-old served as prime minister under President François Hollande between April 2014 and December 2016. His first assignment will be to implement a recovery programme for Mayotte which was devastated after Cyclone Chido swept through the Indian Ocean archipelago on 14 December. At least 35 people have been confirmed dead and more than 2,500 injured. The death toll is expected to rise due to the number of undocumented migrants in Mayotte.
Other appointments include Éric Lombard as Minister of the Economy and François Rebsamen as minister in charge of decentralisation.
Repeated delays
The Elysee presidential palace said on Monday morning the new cabinet would not be announced before 6pm Paris time due to the day of mourning in France for the victims in Mayotte.
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Bayrou, 73, who heads the liberal Democratic Movement (MoDem) party, promised to present a government last week.
But his delay reflected the chaos swirling over the French body politic since President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections last summer. The move backfired spectacularly. No party or alliance secured a majority.
After weeks of bickering and manoeuvring, Macron named former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier prime minister on 5 September 2024.
His reign ended ignominiously earlier in December when the far right and left joined forces to oust him and furnish him with the infamy of being the premier with the shortest tenure since the start of the Fifth Republic in 1958.
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Macron appointed Bayrou on 13 December, hoping that his new administration would be presented before Christmas".
"The length of this auditioning process ... is unbearable," far-right National Rally lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy told French broadcaster BFMTV-RMC.
Bayrou says he wants to make sure his government can pass a budget for next year.
But many commentators predict his premiership will rival Barnier for rapidity: many of the names adorning his cabinet featured in the past two governments that failed.
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(with newswires)
