Emmanuel Macron prepares to introduce new French government

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Edouard Philippe, a 46-year-old centre-right French politician and lawyer, has been named prime minister by Emmanuel Macron, France's new president.

The far-right National Front party of Marine Le Pen, who was beaten handily by Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election, has joined the criticism of Macron's appointment of Edouard Philippe as prime minister.

As well as their similarities in outlook and experience, Philippe's political positioning is crucial to understanding why France's youngest president has plucked him from relative obscurity.

But European Commission Chief Jean-Claude Juncker had pointed out that "a major change with a eurozone finance minister and a budget would require a change in the EU's main treaty", said Friederike von Tiesenhausen, German Finance Ministry spokeswoman.

Other appointments included Francois Bayrou, the head of the centrist Modem party, as justice minister and Marielle de Sarnez as junior Europe minister.

Environmentalist Nicolas Hulot, takes charge of ecology, and publisher Francoise Nyssen became culture minister.

In his first speech in the ministry's courtyard Wednesday, Collomb said Europe and France especially "are being targeted by terrorists", noting that the terrorist threat comes from overseas, but is also "rooted in our territory".

Members of the government will also be forced to sign an "integrity" pledge that they are not engaged in illegal activities.

Work with the European Union , not against it, Michel Barnier tells May
Mr Barnier told the European Parliament: "The figures will depend on the methodology that we have to agree on". He repeated that he had never himself cited a figure for the possible bill Britain would have to pay.

Mr. Philippe's early political leanings were with the Socialist Party, but later he came to be associated with former President Jacques Chirac and former centre-right Prime Minister Alain Juppe's Union for a Popular Movement. Macron named a mix of prominent and un.

Macron wants to win a parliamentary majority in June elections with the REM, which he hopes will redraw the political landscape, ending the grip on power of the traditional forces of left and right, the Socialists and Republicans.

Alexis Kohler, Macron's new general secretary at the presidential Elysee Palace, made the announcement Monday.

He might be less at ease now with a more critical column he wrote mid-January, in which he said Mr Macron was no John Fitzgerald Kennedy, adding that he didn't have JFK's charisma.

In his busy first week, Macron met EU Council President Donald Tusk in Paris late yesterday as he tackles his top foreign priority of reforming the European Union.

This item has been corrected to show that Goulard is 52 years old, not 59.

Macron's office is scheduled to announce his government Wednesday afternoon, after a delay to dig deeper into proposed ministers' tax records and potential conflicts of interest.

Macron wants the 19 nations that use the euro to harmonize their tax policies to allow for fairer economic competition between companies that want to work in other countries.

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