The new 39-member Cabinet, announced by President Emmanuel Macron's Chief of Staff Alexis Kohler from the Elysee Palace, features a blend of seasoned politicians and unexpected appointments in key roles.

Bruno Retailleau kept his post as interior minister, maintaining oversight over national security.

Gerald Darmanin, a onetime interior minister, was reassigned to lead the Justice Ministry.

Jean-Noel Barrot continues as foreign minister, steering France’s diplomatic engagements on the global stage.

Benjamin Haddad assumed the role of minister for European affairs, focusing on France's relations within the European Union.

Eric Lombard was named economy minister, taking charge of the country’s economic strategy amid challenging times.

Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls was appointed minister for overseas territories. Valls, who held a position in Barcelona’s municipal government in 2019-2021, will confront pressing issues, including the ongoing crisis in Mayotte, a French Indian Ocean archipelago recently hit hard by a cyclone.

Another former premier, Elisabeth Borne, was named education minister. A veteran with an extensive portfolio, Borne previously served as transport, ecological transition, and labor minister.   

Political instability haunted France since June

France has faced political upheaval since June, when Macron's centrist bloc failed and the far-right National Rally (RN) party won the European Parliament elections.

In response, Macron called for two rounds of snap parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7, but no party won 289 seats, the threshold for an absolute majority in the National Assembly.

The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance won the most votes and seats in parliament in the second round and later insisted that the prime minister must be from the alliance, but it failed to quickly nominate a consensus candidate for the position.

After weeks of internal divisions, the NFP nominated Lucie Castets for premier on July 23.

However, Macron rejected Castets and said he would not appoint a premier until mid-August, after the Paris Olympics.

He faced criticism for delaying the process, fueling further instability after he accepted then-Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's resignation on July 16 after initially rejecting it on July 8.

On Sept. 5, Macron finally appointed Barnier, a center-right politician, former European commissioner and former foreign minister, as premier.

Barnier's government was the first French government to collapse with a no-confidence vote since 1962.

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