- Roma CEO steps down amid anger over club icon De Rossi's sacking
- Hezbollah rockets strike near Israel's Haifa as UN warns of 'catastrophe'
- Haddad Maia roars back to beat Kasatkina in Korea Open final
- Failed Springbok 'gamble' sets up rugby championship decider
- Lebanon strikes send Israelis to shelters as UN warns of 'catastrophe'
- Far-right AfD eyes new win in east German state vote
- Tony Popovic set to become new Socceroos coach - reports
- NZ chase 275 to win first Sri Lanka Test after Patel bags six
- Ashwin bags six wickets as India hammer Bangladesh in first Test
- Nascent French government under pressure on multiple fronts
- Angry French cognac makers see red over Chinese tariffs threat
- Protect the prosciutto: Italy battles swine fever
- UN holds 'Summit of the Future' to tackle global crises
- Marxist leader set to become Sri Lanka's next president
- From blades to pull-up bars: UK charity tackles knife crime
- Swiss vote on pensions and environment protections
- No pain, no gain: Chinese pro wrestlers fight for recognition
- UAE leader seeks to deepen 'strategic' ties in US visit during Mideast crisis
- Hezbollah takes heavy hits but still fighting Israel
- Floods, landslides hit central Japan months after major quake
- All Blacks coach Robertson demands better finishing
- Argentina edge South Africa to keep title hopes alive
- Dubois destroys Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Guardiola says critics want Man City wiped 'from face of the Earth'
- Biden says 'Quad' is 'here to stay' despite challenges
- Dubois knocks out Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Vinicius helps 'faster' Madrid overturn stubborn Espanyol
- Zelensky to press US on long-range missile strikes inside Russia
- PSG drop first points in draw at Reims
- Vinicius, Mbappe on target as Madrid crush plucky Espanyol
- Jeeno leads Ko by two at LPGA Queen City Championship
- Bottega Veneta goes for 'E.T.' chic as Madonna pops into D&G
- Messi, Miami frustrated by New York late leveler
- Musk's X platform takes first step toward lifting Brazil ban
- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
Incoming French government under pressure on multiple fronts
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's hard-won new government faced pressure from day one Sunday as threats of a no-confidence motion in parliament multiplied.
The long wait for a functioning government after President Emmanuel Macron called a snap general election ended after 11 weeks late Saturday with his appointment of a cabinet marking a clear shift to the right.
Opposition politicians from the left have already said they will challenge Barnier's government with a no-confidence motion, with far-right politicians also slamming its composition.
In the July election, a left-wing alliance called the New Popular Front (NFP) won the most parliamentary seats of any political bloc, but not enough for an overall majority.
Veteran far-right leader Marine Le Pen meanwhile saw her National Rally emerge as the single largest party in the Assembly.
Macron had argued that the left was unable to muster enough support to form a government that would not immediately be brought down in parliament, and rejected a National Rally candidate over the party's extremist legacy.
He turned instead to Barnier to lead a government drawing mostly on parliamentary support from Macron's allies, as well as from the conservative Republicans (LR) and centrists groups.
- 'No future' -
Talks on the distribution of the 39 cabinet posts continued right up to Saturday's official announcement, insiders said, with moments of sharp tension between the president and his prime minister.
Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon has called the new lineup "a government of the general election losers".
France, he said, should "get rid" of the government "as soon as possible".
Even before the announcement, thousands of people took to the streets of Paris and other French cities Saturday in a left-wing protest to denounce what they called a denial of July's election results.
Socialist Party chairman Oliver Faure dismissed Barnier's cabinet as "a reactionary government that gives democracy the finger".
Macron had been counting on a neutral stance from the far right, but National Rally leader Jordan Bardella was quick to condemn the composition of the new government, which he said had "no future whatsoever".
While Macron's party Renaissance had to relinquish some key positions, it still got most of the minister jobs -- 12 out of 39.
"This is not a new government, it's a reshuffle," quipped Communist party leader Fabien Roussel.
- 'Same as before' -
Former French president Francois Hollande, a Socialist, called the cabinet "the same as before, but with an even stronger presence of the right" and one that would inflict "painful measures on our fellow citizens".
He said a no-confidence motion was "a good solution".
To pass, a no-confidence motion needs an absolute majority in parliament, which would then force the government to step down immediately -- currently an unlikely scenario as the far right and the leftist bloc, sworn enemies, would have to vote in unison.
The first major task for Barnier, best known internationally for leading the European Union's Brexit negotiations with Britain, will be to submit a 2025 budget plan addressing France's financial situation, which he this week called "very serious".
France has been placed on a formal procedure for violating European Union budgetary rules.
The difficult job of submitting a budget plan to parliament next month falls to 33-year-old Antoine Armand, the new finance minister.
Armand told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that "exceptional and targeted" tax increases, as well as cuts in public spending, could not be ruled out.
Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a close Macron ally, has kept his job.
The only left-of-centre politician is Didier Migaud, a little-known former Socialist named justice minister.
Barnier, who is to address parliament with a key policy speech on October 1, was scheduled to make a TV appearance later Sunday.
burs-jh/js
A.Silveira--PC