France's Fabius leaves office, wider reshuffle due
- 8 years ago
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday he was going to leave office, as had been widely expected, in a move that is set to trigger a wider reshuffle of the unpopular government.
Speculations are rife in France over who could join his re-jigged government, with Hollande's former partner, Environment Minister Segolene Royal, or his previous prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, tipped as possible replacements for Fabius.
Fabius, who had been widely expected to change jobs since the end of last year, told reporters he was likely to start in his new job early March, after parliamentary committees rubber-stamp his nomination by Hollande.
Once France's youngest prime minister in the mid-1980s, Fabius's key role as Hollande's foreign minister has been to be part of an agreement deal on Iran nuclear program and in December to help broker a global deal on climate change.
Speculations are rife in France over who could join his re-jigged government, with Hollande's former partner, Environment Minister Segolene Royal, or his previous prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, tipped as possible replacements for Fabius.
Fabius, who had been widely expected to change jobs since the end of last year, told reporters he was likely to start in his new job early March, after parliamentary committees rubber-stamp his nomination by Hollande.
Once France's youngest prime minister in the mid-1980s, Fabius's key role as Hollande's foreign minister has been to be part of an agreement deal on Iran nuclear program and in December to help broker a global deal on climate change.