Paris
France’s new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, radically overhauled French politics this week, naming the most diverse Cabinet the country has ever seen. Sarkozy cut the number of ministerial posts in half, to 15, and gave seven of them to women. Allies of his two presidential rivals got plum jobs. Hervé Morin, who is close to centrist Francois Bayrou, will be defense minister; Bernard Kouchner, a member of Ségolène Royal’s Socialist party, will be foreign minister. The new justice minister, the half–Algerian, half–Moroccan Rachida Dati, will be the highest–ranking person of North African descent ever in French government. “I am of course proud of this government,” Sarkozy said. “It is an open, efficient government.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Revisionism and division: Franco’s legacy five decades onIn The Spotlight Events to mark 50 years since Franco’s death designed to break young people’s growing fascination with the Spanish dictator
-
Did Cop30 fulfil its promise to Indigenous Brazilians?Today’s Big Question Brazilian president approves 10 new protected territories, following ‘unprecedented’ Indigenous presence at conference, both as delegates and protesters
-
The best Christmas theatre shows across the UKThe Week Recommends Tip-top festive ballets, plays and comedies to book up now
