France names new government
 | |
| |
| RELATED |
• Profile: Dominique de Villepin
• Dutch opposition to charter grows
• Dutch PM: Vote on treaty not me
• Chirac urges 'Yes' to EU charter
• Barroso: 'No' vote failure for EU
• Leaders bid to save EU charter
|
| EU CONSTITUTION | * Permanent EU president to replace six-month rotating presidencies
* EU foreign minister to conduct common foreign policy
* Qualified majority voting in most areas with vetoes limited
* Commission to be reduced to 15 with 10 non-voting associates
* Policy areas covered by European Parliament up from 34 to 70
* Legally binding Charter of Fundamental Rights
|
|
PARIS, France -- Just days after French voters handed the EU constitution a big "thumbs down," a slimmed-down government to be led by new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has been unveiled.
Foreign minister Michel Barnier becomes another casualty of Sunday's referendum vote -- he is being replaced by 52-year-old former health minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, a novice in international affairs.
Douste-Blazy faces the uphill battle of upholding France's influence in the EU despite the massive "No" vote, which has left the French leader's popularity at an all-time low.
Nicolas Sarkozy -- who is considered a possible presidential contender in 2007-- will serve as interior minister and minister of state.
"I want to give people faith again in politics," Reuters quoted the 50-year-old Sarkozy as saying.
Thierry Breton will remain minister of finance, with Michele Alliot-Marie continuing as defense minister.
The 51-year-old Villepin, appointed Tuesday by President Jacques Chirac, says his new team will focus on combating unemployment of 10.2 percent and restoring confidence to the French.
"It is an absolute requirement of our social pact so that the French people regain confidence in the future," Villepin said on a visit to an unemployment office outside Paris.
He is set to outline his policies to parliament on June 8 and has given himself 100 days to restore voters' confidence.
As France's foreign minister from 2002 to 2004, Villepin gained a worldwide reputation for his impassioned defense of the French stance against a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Analysts say the EU defeat was humiliating for Chirac, who had campaigned heavily for a "Yes" vote. France, a founding member of the European Union, was the first country to reject the charter.
Villepin has called for quick work to win the confidence of the French, who a new poll suggests are losing faith in their 72-year-old president.
A new poll released Thursday shows public confidence in Chirac at its lowest level since he took office 10 years ago, following the rebuff to the EU constitution that he had championed.
The May 30-31 poll, to be published this weekend in weekly Le Figaro magazine, found 24 percent of respondents expressed confidence in Chirac -- down 8 points from April's level, The Associated Press reported.
Seventy-four percent expressed little or no confidence in the president, while 2 percent did not respond.
Chirac is the second French leader, after Gen. Charles de Gaulle, to lose a referendum since the founding of the French Fifth Republic in 1958.
Chirac and other backers had argued that establishing the framework for the union would streamline the organization, let Europe speak with one voice on global issues and strengthen the euro.
But opponents argued that it would diminish French national identity and sovereignty and lead to an influx of cheap labor just as France struggles to reduce unemployment.
Chirac says he intends to meet with EU leaders in Brussels on June 16 and "defend the position of our country."
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
