02/04/2014 15:52
Hollande's ex-partner Royal joins France's new cabinet
French President Francois Hollande's former partner, Segolene Royal, has joined the government in a major reshuffle by the ruling Socialists, the BBC reported.
She will serve as environment minister in the cabinet of the new Prime Minister, Manuel Valls.
Mr Valls was appointed to the job after the Socialists suffered a humiliating defeat at local elections.
The Finance Minister, Pierre Moscovici, has left the government, with his job now split between two ministers.
Michel Sapin takes charge of finance while Arnaud Montebourg will be in charge of industry and economy.
President Hollande is one of the most unpopular French leaders in decades, having failed to restore the economy.
It is open to question how many of the key new appointments were the choice of Mr Valls alone, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Paris.
Mr Sapin is a long-time close friend of Mr Hollande and seen as a safe pair of hands. He was labour minister for the past two years and finance minister in the 1990s.
His first task will be to persuade the EU that France is on track after the country again missed its deficit target.