After his ruling alliance lost its majority in parliamentary elections, French President Emmanuel Macron was forced to reshuffle his cabinet on Monday, which included the replacement of a cabinet minister who is the subject of a rape investigation.
Just one and a half months after the previous cabinet reshuffle, French President Emmanuel Macron made several key changes to other high-profile positions, but the foreign, finance, and defense ministers remained in their previous roles.
A scandal that has embarrassed the government has resulted in the appointment of Jean-Christophe Combe, the director of the French Red Cross, to the position of minister in charge of social cohesion and solidarity. This appointment comes in the wake of allegations made against Damien Abad, who has denied any wrongdoing.
Laurence Boone, the chief economist of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has been named as the new Minister for Europe by Emmanuel Macron in a surprising move. Clement Beaune, who had been instrumental in the negotiations with the United Kingdom regarding Brexit, has been replaced by Boone.
Another significant shift occurred when Christophe Bechu, the mayor of the city of Angers in the Loire region and a key ally of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, was appointed as the new Minister of the Environment.
He takes the place of Macron supporter Amelie de Montchalin, who contested the parliamentary elections but ultimately failed to win her seat and stepped down as a result.
Despite the fact that Macron’s ruling alliance won the most seats in the parliamentary elections on June 19, it did not win the majority. As a result, it will now need to build coalitions in order to get legislation passed by parliament.
The result was interpreted as a significant loss for the president, who secured a second term as president in May by defeating the far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The outcome was seen as a major setback for the president.