New French government sees return of Ségolène Royal, the exit of Moscovici, and an olive branch for the Left

Reading articles is for subscribers only. Subscribe now.

The new French government, which President François Hollande announced on Monday would be a “government of combat”, is one that has little changed on that it replaces, scaling down the number of cabinet ministers from 20 to 16, the lowest number in decades, while keeping most of the last cabinet’s heavyweights.