French President Nicolas Sarkozy has appointed former finance minister Jean-Louis Borloo as the country's new Minister of State. Borloo's appointment comes after former minister of state Alain Juppe failed to secure a parliament seat in legislative elections and had to resign. Borloo will head a new energy and environment mega-ministry. Christine Lagarde, who was previously named the minister of agriculture, will replace Borloo as economy minister. Lagarde is to oversee a series of reforms including tax cuts and a retooling of France's 35-hour workweek. She has also served as France's minister for foreign trade.
Former foreign minister and the European commissioner Michel Barnier will reportedly be named as new minister of agriculture. That is expected to give him a key role in trade negotiations. Francois Fillon, a key ally of Sarkozy in his presidential campaign, remains as Prime Minister.
Sarkozy reshuffled his cabinet after his center-right UMP party fared worse than expected at the polls. Sarkozy's UMP party and its allies won 345 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.
| A solid 60% majority is 'worse than expected'. Any political party would take these results. |