French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Antoine Armand as finance minister, thrusting a 33-year-old with limited political experience into an urgent budget battle in which he must maintain tacit support from the far right to avoid government collapse.

The government still faces two challenges in the coming weeks: the risk of a no-confidence vote and a tight budget deadline.

French President Emmanuel Macron named a new government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier Saturday, marked by a shift to the right 11 weeks after an inconclusive parliamentary election.The first major task for Barnier,

President Emmanuel Macron named a new government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier Saturday, his office said, marked by a shift to the right 11 weeks after an inconclusive parliamentary election.

The new cabinet is marked by a shift to the right 11 weeks after parliamentary elections that saw a left-wing alliance come out on top but short of a majority in the Assemblée Nationale.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has a higher approval rating than President Emmanuel Macron as he works to form a new government, according to a poll by Ipsos.

France edged closer to having a new government, more than two months after a hung election, as new Prime Minister Michel Barnier's office said he had pulled together a list of ministers he will submit to President Emmanuel Macron later on Thursday.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier met with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris late on Thursday to propose a new government after two weeks of tense consultations with rival political groups.