Paris, 21 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - French President Emmanuel Macron replaced his education and health ministers on Thursday as part of a long-expected government reshuffle.

Key ministries overseeing finance, foreign policy, defence and justice were not affected by the changes, according to Macron's office.

The president already said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne would stay in place, following speculation he could make a change at the top of the centrist government.

Education Minister Pap Ndiaye and Health Minister François Braun are departing. Neither had a previous career in politics, but as a university professor and an emergency physician, respectively, they were considered well-versed in their fields.

Gabriel Attal, until now junior minister for public finances, received a promotion to take on the education portfolio. Aurélien Rousseau, the prime minister's chief of staff, moves to the top of the Health Ministry.

Macron, who still has almost four years in office ahead of him, was left weakened by the months-long struggle over his wildly unpopular plan to raise France's retirement age by two years, which he ultimately pushed through in March at significant political cost.

Resentment over the reform was compounded by the recent nationwide riots following the killing of a teenager with North African roots at a police checkpoint in a suburb of Paris.

Photo: MIA archive