The government still faces two challenges in the coming weeks: the risk of a no-confidence vote and a tight budget deadline.

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Antoine Armand as finance minister, thrusting a 33-year-old with limited political experience into an urgent budget battle in which he must maintain tacit support from the far right to avoid government collapse.

France's new government, finally appointed two-and-a-half months after elections, features a host of new faces all of whom share the same characteristic -- they are unlikely to stand in 2027 presidential elections.