President Emmanuel Macron has appointed a new government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, his office said.
The move marks a shift to the right 11 weeks after inconclusive parliamentary elections, AFP reported.
The first major task for Barnier, appointed just over two weeks ago, will be to present a budget plan for 2025 to address France's financial situation, which the prime minister this week called "very serious."
Conservative Barnier is best known internationally for leading the European Union's Brexit negotiations with the United Kingdom.
Lately, he has had the difficult task of presenting for Macron's approval a cabinet that has the best chance of surviving a no-confidence vote in parliament.
Opposition politicians on the left have already announced they will challenge his government with a vote of no confidence.
In July's election, a left-wing bloc called the New Popular Front (FNP) won the most seats in parliament of any political bloc, but not enough to gain an overall majority.
Macron argues that the left will not be able to muster enough support to form a government that will not be immediately overthrown in parliament.
Instead, he has turned to Barnier to head a government leaning heavily on parliamentary support from Macron's allies, the conservative Republican (LR) and centrist groups, while relying on a neutral position from the far right.
Among the new faces in key cabinet posts are foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot, a centrist, and conservative Bruno Retolo in the interior ministry, whose portfolio covers immigration.
Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a close Macron ally, retains his job.
The difficult task of presenting the budget plan to parliament next month falls to 33-year-old Antoine Arman, the new finance minister. He was previously head of the parliamentary economic affairs committee.
Even before the announcement, thousands of people with left-wing sympathies took to the streets of Paris and the southern port city of Marseille in protest.
They objected to the cabinet, which they said did not reflect the results of the parliamentary elections. | BGNES
