Macron replaces French interior minister in cabinet reshuffle

French President Emmanuel Macron ousted his top security official Monday following protests over police brutality, part of a government shakeup aimed at focusing on France's post-pandemic economic recovery for the remaining two years of Macron's term, AP reports. 

Macron also named a controversial lawyer who has defended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and suspected terrorists as the head of the Justice Ministry and appointed a former Green Party lawmaker to lead the powerful Ministry for Ecological Transition, a top priority for Macron's presidency.

Macron promised that the new government would be one of "purpose and unity." The French leader tweeted that the platform upon which he ran for president in 2017, promising to modernize France and free up its businesses, remains central to his agenda but "must adapt to the international upheavals and crises we are experiencing. A new path must be forged."

First among the priorities that Macron listed for the coming months is helping the French economy recover from the battering delivered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Former budget minister Gerald Darmanin was named to replace Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who had come under fire amid widespread French protests against racial injustice and police brutality spurred by the death of George Floyd in the United States.

News.Az 

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