The upheaval has brought former health minister Olivier Veran, who shepherded France through the Covid crisis, back into the French president’s inner circle as a high-profile government spokesman. Former equality minister Marlène Schiappa, who oversaw the “citizenship” portfolio at the interior ministry before the election but stepped down in the first reshuffle, also rejoined the government as foreign minister responsible for the “social and solidarity economy and cooperative life”. Macron and the prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, who was appointed on May 16, were forced to review their cabinet after parliamentary elections a fortnight ago robbed the president’s newly-named Renaissance party of its dominance of the Assemblée Nationale. Damien Abad, who was recently named solidarity minister with responsibility for people with disabilities, lost his post after being investigated for rape allegations, which he denies. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, a gynecologist who has been accused of “rape and/or gynecological violence” by several former patients, has lost her position as foreign minister responsible for development. She denies the accusations against her. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am Macron also had to find replacements for three ministers who lost their seats in the legislative vote and had to resign from their government posts. Clément Beaune, former Europe Minister at the Foreign Office, was appointed Transport Minister. His place in Europe was filled by Laurence Boone, an economist and adviser to former president Francois Hollande. Gérald Darmanin remains at the Ministry of the Interior but with an expanded portfolio. Among the new faces, François Braun, head of the wounded at the public hospital in Metz-Thionville in eastern France and president of the French ambulance service, was appointed health minister. Other ministerial appointments included members of the centrist MoDem party and the mainstream centre-right Les Républicains. Borne is expected to present the new government’s program to the national assembly on Wednesday.
