Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy late Tuesday
re-shuffled his government for the third time in a little more than
two years, changing eight ministerial and junior ministerial posts.
As announced by the head of Sarkozy's office at the Elysee Palace,
Claude Gueant, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie replaces
Rachida Dati as Justice Minister and sees her status elevated to that
of minister of state.
The daughter of Moroccan immigrants, Dati was a symbol of
Sarkozy's social openness to women and minorities. But she fell out
of favour because of her flamboyant and often strident personality.
Sarkozy obliged her to stand in this month's EU elections as a
means of gently removing her from the government, and she was easily
elected.
Sarkozy's close political ally and friend Brice Hortefeux replaces
Alliot-Marie as Interior Minister after a disappointing, brief stint
as Labour Minister. Education Minister Xavier Darcos replaces
Hortefeux at the Labour Ministry.
Government spokesman Luc Chatel was named to replace Darcos as
Education Minister.
As he himself announced earlier Tuesday, Frederic Mitterand, a
nephew of former Socialist president Francois Mitterand, is the new
Culture Minister, replacing Christine Albanel.
The move will be seen as an expression of Sarkozy's
dissatisfaction with Albanel's failure to draw up a credible law
against internet piracy.
The law she pushed through Parliament was struck down on June 10
by the Constitutional Council, a body roughly equivalent to the
US Supreme Court.
Junior Minister for European Affairs Bruno Le Maire was named
Agriculture Minister, replacing Michel Barnier, who was also elected
to the EU parliament.
Sarkozy said Monday that the government re-shuffle would be
announced on Wednesday. But Mitterand's public declaration on Tuesday
that he was the new Minister of Culture apparently forced his hand.
The re-shuffle was more extensive than had been foreseen, with
analysts suggesting that Sarkozy wanted to infuse new blood into his
government at the halfway point of his five-year mandate.
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