France: The composition of the new Government will be announced today

A country that once had great political influence in the EU is now struggling to recover from the multiple failures of its leadership

The news of the resignation of Manuel Valls’ government in France have made the front pages of all the major European newspapers, rekindling the debate about the economic policy of the EU in the second largest economy in the eurozone, as well as in the rest of the EU. The composition of the new Government will be announced today, as early as this afternoon.

According to media reports, Minister of Finance, Arnaud Montebourg is out of France’s new cabinet, along with Minister of Culture, Aurélie Filippetti and Education Minister, Benoît Hamon.

Aurélie Filippetti effectively resigned from her post on Monday. In an open letter to President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls, she said that she did not wish to be considered for a future ministerial position, Le Figaro reports.

Benoît Hamon said on Sunday that he supports the statements of the left-wing Economy Minister, Arnaud Montebourg, who attacked at the weekend the deficit-slashing policies of France and the Eurozone, blaming the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

This is the last chance for Mr Hollande to save his term in office, said Le Monde’s front- page editorial, noting that this is the second major reshuffle in France in less than five months.

However, according to sources, the new cabinet could include new faces from the Green party.