France's Government Announced with Only One Major Change at Foreign Ministry

France's newly-appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal attends the evening news broadcast of French TV channel TF1 in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris, on January 11, 2024. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

The new government of French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was announced Thursday with only one major change at the foreign ministry.
The interior, finance, defense and justice ministers remain in place, according to the French presidency's statement. The members of the government were agreed upon by the 34-year-old Attal, who is France's youngest-ever premier, and centrist President Emmanuel Macron.
Stéphane Séjourné, 38, has been named as France's foreign affairs minister, succeeding Catherine Colonna.
Séjourné is the head of Macron’s Renaissance party and the leader of the Renew Europe group of liberal, pro-European lawmakers at the European Parliament.
Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra keeps her job less than six months before the Paris Olympics, and also gets the education portfolio — a role previously held by Attal.
The culture ministry goes to Rachida Dati, 58, a member of the conservative party. Dati, whose outspoken personality and flashy style has made her well known among the French, was a justice minister under conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Governments under Macron's presidency, since he was first elected in 2017, have included figures from both the right and the left.
But many observers saw a recent debate on an immigration bill as a symbol of the government’s shift to the right: Macron’s centrist alliance was able to pass the measure only after making a deal with the Republicans.
The new government spokesperson is Prisca Thevenot, 38, previously a junior minister in charge of the youth.
Attal was appointed Tuesday as the head of the government, with President Emmanuel Macron seeking a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right.