France set to announce new government after months of political deadlock

France's new premier said he hoped to finalise a long-awaited government "before Sunday", as President Emmanuel Macron weighed a line-up that marks a shift to the right, with left-wingers due to protest on Saturday. 

The full line-up, which includes fresh faces in almost all key posts, is due after "final fine-tuning", Prime Minister Michel Barnier's office said, after two-and-a-half months of deadlock created by inconclusive legislative elections.

While there appeared to be no major surprises or big-name entrants into the cabinet, there are set to be new foreign, economy and interior ministers, with only the defence minister remaining unchanged among the key offices of state.