France's Sarkozy reshuffles cabinet 

Source: ReutersFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a cabinet reshuffle in which his most senior ministers stayed on and a relative of France's only Socialist president joined the government's ranks.

The reshuffle had been expected following this month's European Parliament elections, in which Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier and Justice Minister Rachida Dati won seats they said they would take up full-time.

Economy Minister Christine Lagarde, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Prime Minister Francois Fillon all remained in place but the reshuffle was bigger than many observers had thought, with several other ministries changing hands.

The most high-profile recruit was Frederic Mitterrand, the nephew of former Socialist President Francois Mitterrand and currently the head of France's cultural institute in Rome.

Mitterrand, who is not a politician and became a household name for narrating historical documentaries in his distinctively empathetic voice, gave away his appointment in a television interview, forcing Sarkozy to move forward the announcement.

While Sarkozy has succeeded in recruiting a public figure with the same name as a hero of the opposition Socialists, he did not poach his new culture minister from the left as he did with Kouchner.

The 61-year-old Mitterrand distanced himself from the Socialists decades ago and supported centre-right candidate Jacques Chirac in both his successful presidential campaigns.

The Socialists were at pains to defend the Mitterrand name.

"One Mitterrand is not worth another," Socialist lawmaker Pierre Moscovici told reporters.

Fall from grace

Announcing the new government line-up on the steps of the presidential Elysee Palace, Sarkozy's Chief of Staff Claude Gueant confirmed most top ministers would stay on.

Fillon had been widely expected to remain in place thanks to a low-key style that has provided a foil to Sarkozy's outspoken and sometimes abrasive personality.

Lagarde, well respected for her role in the financial crisis and Kouchner, one of the most popular members of the government, have become pillars of Sarkozy's cabinet.

European Affairs Minister Bruno Le Maire, a friend and former chief of staff to Sarkozy's conservative arch-foe Dominique de Villepin, was promoted to agriculture minister, where he takes over from Barnier.

He was replaced by Pierre Lellouche, currently Sarkozy's special envoy for Afghanistan.

Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie would take over from Dati as justice minister and Brice Hortefeux would leave his job as labour minister to take over from her, Gueant said.

Dati rose from poor origins as the daughter of North African immigrants to become a symbol of Sarkozy's government but fell from grace at the justice ministry, where her confrontational manner and socialite lifestyle made her a political liability.

Sarkozy's decision to send her to the European Parliament was widely seen as a demotion, and the reshuffle marked a setback for another female star of Sarkozy's cabinet.

Human Rights Minister Rama Yade, who refused to go to the European Parliament when Sarkozy asked her and later became the most popular member of his government, was demoted to sports minister, replacing former national rugby coach Bernard Laporte.